Page 73 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
“And you are mine,” I said turning and giving her a hug.
“Well, well, what is this?A love fest for two?”came a familiar voice we hated.
Brock jogged up to us.
“Did you hear about Jonny Arno?It’s all over the news,” said Rhonda, and I knew she was trying to find out how Jonny’s death might affect him.
Brock drew a deep breath and kicked at the sand with the toe of his sneaker in an uncharacteristic vulnerable pose.“Yes, it’s a real shame.I’m still trying to come to terms with it.No matter what Jonny told others, we were business partners.”
“Of a kind,” I said.I knew that instead of putting money into the enterprise, he’d donated items from his import business.
He grimaced.“Yeah.I don’t know what’s going to happen with the restaurant.”He studied Rhonda.“You women certainly didn’t help.I heard you were offering a special Italian dinner at the hotel.Wasn’t that going a little overboard on competition with Jonny?”
“All the restaurants in the area do what’s right for them.That’s how they survive in a competitive market,” I said quickly.
“Yeah, mind your own damn business,” said Rhonda unable to hold back.
“Don’t think your troubles are going away.I have a job to do as president of the Neighborhood Association,” said Brock getting back his fighting spirit.
“You be careful yourself,” said Rhonda.
He gazed at the sunset building and said, “Good that you got that graffiti covered up, huh?”
My eyes widened, and I sent Rhonda a silent message not to say anything.
“Ciao,” said Brock waving to us before taking off in a jog down the beach.
Watching him go, Rhonda muttered, “That ass!”
I grabbed hold of her arm.“Listen.Brock talked about cleaning up the graffiti.How did he know it was there?We saw it early in the morning.Earlier than this time.And Bernie said they got it cleaned up right away.”
“You think he had something to do with it?”Rhonda asked.
“Maybe he didn’t do it, but I think he knew about it,” I said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” said Rhonda.“C’mon, I’ve got to walk off some of my anger.”
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We headed up the beach, past the guesthouses, to the next major hotel and then turned around and walked back to our own.
As we returned, Catarina called to us and walked our way.
“Ann and Rhonda, I’m so glad I saw you.Enrico has returned to The Beach House Hotel with two very important guests.Philippa’s and Luciano’s grandfathers.They’re staying in the guesthouse with Enrico and me, and I want to do something special for them.Like the dinner you had for Enrico.”
I turned to Rhonda.
A sparkle returned to her eyes, and I could see her mind working.
Sure enough, she said, “I have an even better idea.I’d like to invite all of you in the family to my house for dinner tomorrow evening.Chet and I will prepare a similar meal there.”
“Oh, that would be fantastic,” said Catarina.“I want both men to see what a delightful place this hotel is and why we’d want to buy a house here.Tomorrow is perfect.They’ll have had a chance to rest a little after their flights.”
“Are they here about the kids?”Rhonda asked.
“They’re here, in part, to see for themselves that their intended plan would never work.Seeing the kids and talking face-to-face will help settle this situation.It was a sweet dream between two dear old friends and the wives they loved.That’s all.”
“We’re delighted they’re here,” I said.“Hopefully, they’ll spread the word about our hotel.We love having international visitors.”
