Page 11 of Captiva Café

Three dots appeared, disappeared, then reappeared:

I knew it! It IS a something else thing! And excuse you, my t-shirts are vintage and awesome.

Isabelle laughed softly, setting her phone aside. The house felt too quiet tonight, too empty. Sebastian's absence still created hollows in unexpected moments, like now, when she would have loved to show him the artifacts, to hear his thoughts on what they might mean for the café.

He would have been fascinated by the history, would have wanted to know every detail of Captiva's past. He had loved this island with the passion of someone who had chosen it deliberately, not been born to it.

Carefully, she gathered the artifacts and returned them to their archival box. Tomorrow would bring decisions about wood samples and paint colors, conversations with contractors, and Gretchen's coffee not-date with Marco. Normal, everyday concerns that somehow felt more significant now, weighed against the centuries of history contained in these small objects they'd discovered.

Isabelle worried about Linda and her insistence that islanders know what was going on at the café. Once the word was out about their discovery, it wouldn’t be long before she’d lose control of next steps. Mostly, she worried that the previous owner of the building would lay claim to everything they’d found, and she’d have little say about any of it.

As she turned out the lights and headed upstairs to bed, Isabelle wondered what other secrets the café building might hold—and what new connections might form in the process of discovering them.

Later that evening, after the beach sunset and family dinner, Maggie retreated to the small office off the main lobby. The day's excitement had finally settled and she looked forward to catching up with her scattered children. With everyone's busy schedules, coordinating a family video call had become something of an art form, usually involving multiple calendar apps and at least one rescheduling.

Tonight, however, the stars had aligned. Maggie settled into her chair and opened her laptop, smiling as the screen filled with familiar faces in their separate windows.

"There she is!" Lauren exclaimed from her new kitchen in Sarasota, the glossy cabinets gleaming behind her. Baby Daniel sat on her lap, chewing contentedly on a rubber giraffe. "Mom, you would not believe the day we've had. The moving company finally delivered the last of our boxes."

"Is that my grandson?" Maggie asked, leaning closer to the screen. "Daniel, sweetheart, can you wave to Grandma?"

The baby gurgled and flapped an arm that might generously be interpreted as a wave.

"Where are the girls? And Jeff?" Maggie asked.

"Lily's arranging her bookshelf for the third time," Lauren said. "And Jeff took Olivia to her evening training session. He insists on staying for every practice—won't even consider dropping her off until he's vetted every coach and parent within a ten-mile radius." She rolled her eyes fondly. "They'll be back around nine."

"That sounds like Jeff," Sarah chimed in from her window. "Trevor's the same way with Noah's sailing lessons."

"It's called being a responsible parent," her brother, Michael, said. His wife Brea appeared briefly behind him, waving before disappearing again.

"Speaking of responsible parents," Maggie said, "where's our expectant mother?"

As if on cue, Beth's window lit up, her face appearing against the backdrop of the farmhouse kitchen. Gabriel leaned in beside her, raising a hand in greeting.

"Sorry we're late," Beth said. "Someone was very busy hiding my car keys this morning, and I just found them in the refrigerator." She gave Gabriel a pointed look.

"Pregnancy brain," he mouthed silently behind her, earning a playful swat.

"How are you feeling, Beth?" Maggie asked, noting the slight shadows under her daughter's eyes.

"Like I'm carrying twice the load I signed up for," Beth replied dryly.

Gabriel grinned beside her, unable to contain his excitement. "Should we tell them now?"

Beth took a deep breath, her hand drifting to her slightly rounded belly. "We had our ultrasound yesterday." She paused, her eyes meeting Maggie's through the screen. "Mom, you're getting two grandchildren for the price of one. We're having twins."

The screen erupted with exclamations and gasps.

"Twins?" Maggie's hands flew to her cheeks. "Oh my goodness!"

"Double trouble!" Lauren laughed. "Welcome to the club of maternal exhaustion."

"Two Wheelers at once." Michael shook his head. "The orchard won't know what hit it."

“Two Walkers at once,” Gabriel corrected him.

Michael smiled. “Of course.”

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