Page 34 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
After bidding Liz and Chad goodbye, Vaughn and I helped the children play in the oversized plastic pool in the backyard.All the kids, even Gabe, had taken swim lessons and though the water in the pool wasn’t deep, we watched them carefully.Noah liked playing with the water table, a small table that held a few inches of water in a built-in trough.He liked playing with his cars there, while the girls played house with their plastic dishes and cups in the pool.Gabe was content to sit and splash in the water.
With their parents away, it was interesting to see how the children interacted.For their age, the triplets were pretty nice at sharing and checking up on one another.Gabe followed them around the yard when he could but would sometimes get frustrated and sit and cry.
Both Emily and Olivia were sweet about comforting him, but as the youngest, he couldn’t keep up with them.
I lifted Gabe into my arms, not caring that his wet bathing suit was soaking my top.I hugged him, loving the moment.I could see he was getting tired, and while Vaughn watched the other kids, I took Gabe into his room to rock him to sleep.Liz had admitted to me that she and Gabe both liked this special time together.After trying to take care of three at once, Liz was enjoying this little one by herself.I loved having these moments with him, too.
Later, after the Ts were changed out of their bathing suits and given snacks, Vaughn and I sat and read books with them.Vaughn loved playing the parts of characters in the books bringing gales of laughter from the kids.
By the time Liz and Chad returned from lunch and errands, Vaughn, the kids, and I were all tired.
As Vaughn and I left Liz’s, he turned to me.“Want to grab a burger at Ken’s?I’m really hungry for his special.”
“Sounds delicious,” I said, realizing we hadn’t had lunch, and it was almost suppertime.“Let me check in with Robbie.He and Brett are doing a project together at Brett’s house.”
I called Robbie and told him what Vaughn and I had planned to do.
“Okay,” Robbie said, “Brett’s mother already invited me for supper.Is that all right?”
“Perfect.Vaughn and I’ll come home after we eat.”
I ended the call satisfied that Robbie was content to be more independent.At fourteen, it was time.
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Vaughn parked the car in town, and we walked down the street hand in hand to Ken’s, a neighborhood bar in town that served great food.It was a favorite of the locals.
Ken, the owner of the bar, acted as bartender, a job he loved.It was a convenient way for him to collect the news of people in town.
He waved to us when we walked inside.“Back from movieland?”he said to Vaughn.
“Back home.My favorite place to be,” said Vaughn wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
Ken waved me over to him.
When I reached him, he leaned over the bar and said softly, “I hear the new owner of Osteria Arno is out to get you and Rhonda.He wants to become the number one place to go for dinner on the Gulf Coast.He’s telling everyone you stole his chef.”
I sucked in my lips.“If you hear anything else, will you let me know?He wants us to compete, but Rhonda and I aren’t about to play any games with him.We don’t need to compete.We have our clientele, and they’re happy with us.”
Though Ken and I were talking softly, Vaughn was able to hear some of the conversation.He gave me a worried look.
I’d been dreading the time when I’d have to tell Vaughn about the harassment Rhonda and I and the hotel were facing.Now, I couldn’t avoid it.
Vaughn led me over to a corner booth and we sat down.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”said Vaughn.“I don’t like what I’m hearing.”
The waitress came to our table, and we placed our orders.
After she left, Vaughn said, “So?”
“I told you about hiring Chet and how he was blackballed in Miami by the chef he accused of stealing his recipes,” I said.
“Yeah, there shouldn’t be any problem doing that,” Vaughn said.“So what aren’t you telling me?”
“After Rhonda and I worked on the special Italian dinner, I went out to my car to find the tires on it slashed.We think it was Jonny Arno’s supporters who did it.Our security team at the hotel now patrols that area and we’ve had no other incidents like it.”I swallowed hard.“But there was no mistaking the venom in Jonny’s eyes when he vowed to best Rhonda and me and the hotel.”
“He threatened you?”Vaughn hissed in an effort to keep his voice down.
