Page 130 of The Beach Shack Summer
“You’re betting on my love life in euros now?” Meg demanded.
“International betting pool,” Anna said cheerfully. “Bernie’s got reach.”
“Darn right I do,” Bernie confirmed.
“This family is insane,” Stella announced.
“Your family,” Tyler corrected quietly.
She looked up at him, something shifting in her expression. “Yeah. My insane family.” Then, because she was still Stella: “Including Coffee Drinker Number Two over there.”
“I’m burning your napkins,” Joey threatened.
“You wouldn’t dare. You love those napkins morethan life itself.”
“Friday,” Anna said firmly, drawing them back. “We’ll come by the Shack as soon as we can after landing. Can’t wait to meet Stella properly! And then on to the festivities!”
“It’s not a debut! I was a villager last year!”
“A coffee drinker’s much better than a villager,” Stella consoled him. “More sophisticated. Do you have to hold your pinkie out?”
“I hate everything.”
“No you don’t,” she said, echoing Tyler’s earlier words. “You love us.”
“Unfortunately,” Joey muttered, but he was fighting a smile.
They talked for a few more minutes—flight details, whether Joey’s makeup would survive the stage lights. Normal family chaos, except for the way Tyler kept looking at Stella like she’d handed him the world with one casual word.
After Anna hung up, the Beach Shack settled back into its rhythm. But Meg caught Tyler touching his coffee cup like he was checking if it was real, and Stella’s cheeks stayed pink for the next hour.
“Hey Joey,” a customer called out. “Heard you’re in the Pageant! Break a leg!”
“Please don’t,” Joey said fervently. “I have to hold perfectly still. A broken leg would ruin everything.”
Later, as the afternoon wore on, Meg heard Stella helping a customer: “Sorry about the wait. My dad’steaching the new girl his secret cheese-melting technique.”
Tyler didn’t freeze this time. Just smiled and kept working.
Dad.
Such a small word to change everything.
“Four days,” Stella said during a lull. “Think I should practice my standing ovation for Coffee Drinker Number Two?”
“Please don’t,” Joey begged. “It’s embarrassing enough.”
“Too late. Already planning to yell ‘That’s my friend!’ during the applause.”
“The audience is supposed to be respectfully quiet,” Joey informed her.
“Even better. My voice will really carry.”
“Tyler, your daughter is planning to ruin my theatrical career.”
“Your theatrical career as a coffee drinker?” Tyler asked mildly.
“It’s ART!”
