Page 25 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Oh!” Julia gasped as she realized that the pasta was boiling over. She hurried over to the stove and placed a wooden spoon across the opening of the pot.

“Are you all right?” Vivian asked her as she tore off a few paper towels to wipe up the mess with. She patted her daughter on the shoulder. “You’ve usually got laser focus in the kitchen.”

Julia sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Mom. I am really distracted.”

“No need to apologize,” Vivian assured her, shooting her a curious glance as she began to wipe up the starchy water, being careful not to burn her fingers. “What’s on your mind, honey? Wedding stress?”

“Oh, I’m not stressed about the wedding. Well, not directly. That I feel like I have completely under control. It’s that… well,Cooper told me that his parents are coming into town soon and I’m really nervous that they won’t like me.”

“Sweetheart.” Vivian gave her daughter a hug, being careful not to touch her with her hands, which were still dirty from touching raw meat. “You have nothing to worry about. You’re kind and smart and charming. Besides, Cooper adores you and I’m sure they’re going to take that into account,” she added in a teasing tone.

Julia mustered a smile, but she still felt concerned. “I just… I mean, Cooper tells me that they’re really outdoorsy and they like to hunt and stuff. What if they ask me to go hunting with them while they’re here?” She bit her lip. “If it were anyone else, I would say, ‘No way, absolutely not.’ But I just know I’m going to be so worried about impressing them that I might say yes. And then I’ll be miserable and I won’t be able to hide it, and there’s no way I’m actually going to try to shoot something, and the whole thing will just be a total disaster.”

Vivian chuckled. “Even if they’re outdoorsy, it’s unlike they’d insist that you become some kind of hunting enthusiast. I would think that even avid hunters recognize that it’s a pastime that’s not for everyone. Besides, no matter what they want you to do, it doesn’t mean you have to be that way. Don’t go changing yourself to please anybody. Not even Cooper’s parents.”

Julia nodded, knowing that what her mother was telling her was good advice. She knew it would be hard for her to put it into practice, however. She could already feel her people-pleasing instincts squirming, wanting to go above and beyond to make a spectacular impression.

“And remember that Cooper loves you,” Vivian told her. “That’s the most important thing. Even if his parents don’t love you right away, I’m sure they will before long. And besides, you’re not marrying them. You’re marrying Cooper.”

Julia nodded and mustered another smile. She wanted to believe what her mother was telling her, but she was having trouble fully embracing it.

“I guess I just feel kind of blindsided by this new development,” she said, turning back to preparing the spaghetti sauce with a sigh. “I’d felt like I had everything totally under control, and I was just thinking how nice it was that I was moving toward my wedding without any stress. And now this happens. Something that’s totally outside of my control.”

Vivian smiled and touched Julia’s foot with hers, since she was still working on rolling the meatballs. “There are lots of things in life you can’t control, dear. So many things. Just consider this good practice in learning to accept and let go.”

Julia smiled back at her mother. “You’re right. I’ll have to do my best to do that.”

“It’s normal to be a little nervous,” Vivian assured her. “But don’t let those thoughts spiral out of control.”

“I do feel like I’m dealing with an unexpected swarm of emotions.” Julia shook her head. “I think it’s hitting me harder because I expected to feel relaxed and peaceful.”

Vivian nodded. “I hear that. But remember, you had to meet them at the wedding anyway. Isn’t it nice that now you don’t have to be nervous about that on your wedding day?”

Julia shook her head. “I wasn’t nervous about meeting them on the wedding day. I’m worried because they’re making a special trip. What if it’s because they think they’re not going to like me, and they want to kind of check me out before the wedding?”

Vivian chuckled again. “Remember what I said about spiraling?”

Julia groaned. “Oh, you’re right. But don’t you think that’s weird? All of a sudden, they want to meet me early? MaybeCooper said something to them and now they’re worried they’re not going to like me.”

“You know, they could be coming early because they’re excited to meet you.” Vivian lifted a brow. “It might be a totally positive thing.”

“I guess so.” Julia swallowed. “You’re right, I need to stop thinking negatively about it.”

Vivian kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Just step away from those thoughts and they’ll stop appearing so formidable. How about we turn on some folk music? I’ll need you to do it, though.” She held up her messy hands with a smile.

“Sure. Folk music sounds good.” Julia went over to the radio her mother kept in a corner of the kitchen counter and turned it on. She chose a local station that played folk music, mainly classic songs from the 1970s. Her dad had loved it, and Vivian still listened to it a great deal.

She thought about her parents, and how well they’d always gotten along with her grandparents. She found herself wishing that she could have that kind of relationship with Cooper’s parents.

She crossed her fingers and went back to making the spaghetti sauce, determined to put a more positive face on things.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Faith stepped back and inspected her reflection. There was a beautiful full-length oval mirror in her room at the bed and breakfast, and she was using it to decide on an outfit to wear to dinner that night.

All afternoon she’d been feeling butterflies of excitement and nervousness. She kept imagining all of the Owens liking her a great deal—and then she would imagine them being bored with her or showing signs of dislike. She’d done her best to keep picturing positive outcomes, but she didn’t want to think about that too much either. She didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have them dashed.

She didn’t know how formally to dress. Was it the kind of dinner where people would just show up in sweatshirts and jeans, or was it more of a business-casual type of dinner? She didn’t know how rich the Owens were, or what their family culture was. She didn’t want to show up looking overdressed and come off as stuffy or arrogant, but she also didn’t want to show up looking too casual and come off as disrespectful.

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