Page 35 of Starfish Cottage
“It’s a good sign,” Jules said. “The motel is fully booked for two weeks, and we got a few reservations for next month too.”
Maddie handed out the coffees, a hopeful look of excitement on her face. “Let’s hope this is the thing that keeps people thinking about and coming back to Shell Cove.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Gina held out her Styrofoam cup, and they clinked rims.
“So what’s left to do? Can we help with anything?” Jules asked.
Maddie shook her head. “Everything is going smooth as butter. The tents are being set up right now, and I’m going to go down after to double-check on that. The caterer is going to start prep in the old donut shop on the pier at noon for the party tomorrow. There’s nothing left to do but enjoy.”
“Well, in that case, I say we get our costumes today and try them on here tomorrow night before the party. Then we can all go to it together,” Jules said.
“And Nick?” Gina teased.
“I’m meeting him there, nosy,” Jules said. “I wanted to hang out with my favorite cousins a little first.”
Gina smiled. It felt good to be a favorite cousin, though that hadn’t always been the case. The three of them had come far in their relationship since inheriting the motel, and that was worth moving out here, even if her dreams of a pie shop never came true.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dex sat on the front steps of Starfish Cottage and unwrapped the sandwich Rose had brought him. Tuna fish, just like she used to make when he was a kid. This did not bode well. She only reverted to that when she had something important to talk about.
She sat down beside him, reached into the wicker picnic basket she’d used to transport the sandwich, and pulled out a bag of chips, which she opened and tilted in his direction. “The cottage is coming along nicely. Where’s Maddie? I brought an extra sandwich.”
He grabbed a handful of chips and put them on the red-checked paper plate Rose had provided. “She’s over at the Beachcomber visiting with her cousins.”
Dex wondered why he hadn’t seen much of Maddie lately. It wasn’t exactly like she was avoiding him. She’d been pleasant when their paths had crossed. They’d both been so busy that they hadn’t had much time to chat. Dex missed that. He felt like there was a little hole in his life now that he wasn’t spending as much time with her.
With most of the work done now for the event, he’d been focusing on the cottage. He didn’t know when he was going to be moving, but he wanted to finish up here before he did. He still needed to address the feeling of doom whenever he thought about moving.
“That’s nice. I ran into her yesterday, and she’s excited about the party.” Rose tore a corner off her own sandwich and sighed. “I can’t believe you’re not going to the party. You worked so hard on everything, seems a shame for you to miss it.”
“I promised Lorelei I’d go to Portland so she could show me her favorite places, and that’s when she wants to go. I guess those are going to be my favorite places now too.” Dex could feel the disappointment radiating from his grandmother and could barely look at her. Nick was going to be disappointed too. When he’d promised Lorelei, he hadn’t realized she meant to go on the weekend of the event, but he hadn’t been able to persuade her to change it. “I’m not much for dressing up, anyway.”
“It’s funny. I would think Lorelei would want to be here for the event and the party too. She’s from Shell Cove. You’d think she’d want the town to be successful.”
“I guess she’s just not as attached to the town as we are.” Dex took another bite of the tuna, but the usually delicious sandwich now tasted like sawdust.
“That’s too bad.” Rose popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth and brushed the crumbs from her fingers. “But I guess when you truly love someone, it doesn’t matter where you live. As long as you and Lorelei are together, it won’t be a huge sacrifice for you to not live in Shell Cove.”
Dex swallowed hard. Doubts roared in his head. He’d never questioned his love for Lorelei, but when Rose put it that way… “You moved to live with Gramps here in Shell Cove. Did you ever regret it?”
Rose smiled. “Not a minute. I would have lived anywhere with him, but the town is beautiful, and the people, too, so that was a bonus.”
“How did you know it was the right thing?”
Rose smiled, a faraway look in her eye. “Well, you just know. Nothing is more important than being with that person, and every time you see them your heart is filled with joy.” She turned to him, her expression now quizzical. “You know what I mean, of course.”
Dex gave her a half smile. He couldn’t exactly say that he did. He felt happy when he saw Lorelei… well, most of the time. But joy? And sometimes when she was in Portland and he was here, well, those were some of his best days.
“Of course, you have that with Lorelei or you wouldn’t be moving so far away from everything else you love. You’re much too smart to just float along a path you don’t really desire just because it’s something you’ve had in your head for a long time.” Rose patted his knee. “I just hope you remember to come back and visit your old grandmother.”
Dex hugged her. “Of course I will, Gram.”
“Okay then.” Rose jumped up and started putting everything away in the picnic basket. “I hope our little talk has been enlightening.”
“As always.” Dex helped her pack up the plates, napkins, and chips. But his mind wasn’t on the task.
His brain was whirling on Rose’s words—not to float along a path just because you’d had it in your head for a long time. Was that what he had done? Settled on something in his head instead of taking the time to think about what he really wanted? And why did it seem like his grandmother’s words had a lot more weight than the casual way in which they’d been said? Rose always did know what was best for him.
