Page 41 of Starfish Cottage
“It’s our pleasure. Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to grab some champagne.”
The happy couple walked away, and the three cousins scanned the crowd. Maddie figured Jules was looking for Nick. Thoughts of Dex bubbled up. Of course, he wouldn’t be with Nick tonight. He was with Lorelei, and why in the world was she thinking of him anyway?
“Oh, look, there’s the welcome wagon ladies.” Jules pointed into the crowd, and Maddie squinted to see the three senior citizens in a group of people laughing. Pearl and Rose looked elegant, Pearl with a simple sheath dress and pearls dangling to her waist, Rose in black with a colorful peacock feather artfully placed on her head. Both women had matching beaded purses dangling from their wrists. Leena looked the best though. She wore a pinstripe suit and off-white fedora.
Pearl was gesturing with a long cigarette holder she held in her right hand. Maddie was glad to see there wasn’t actually a cigarette in it.
“Wow, look at them.” Gina stood on her tiptoes and waved at them. Leena saw them first and pulled the other two over.
“I didn’t know you smoked, Pearl,” Jules said.
“Oh, this?” Pearl held up the cigarette holder. It was about a foot long and black with silver accents. “It’s just an accessory for show.”
“You girls look gorgeous, and everything is amazing!” Rose gushed. “Maddie, you’ve outdone yourself.”
Maddie beamed. “Thanks. I did have a bit of help.” Despite being thrilled about the outcome of the party, Maddie couldn’t help but feel a little sad that Dex wasn’t there to see it. He had done as much as she had to make it happen. Then her mind flashed to the look of triumph on Lorelei’s face when she’d told Maddie that Dex was going to Portland with her instead, and she pushed thoughts of him away.
“Will you look at that?” Leena nodded toward the dance floor, where Henry and Aggie were whirling around. Aggie’s skirt swirled out, and the red feather bobbed atop her head. As they watched, the couple ended the dance in a dramatic dip, and the crowed clapped.
“I didn’t realize Henry had that in him,” Rose said.
“Aggie must be special.” Pearl winked.
“Lucky they didn’t throw their backs out. He’s not the only one with a surprise up his sleeve.” Leena pointed toward the corner of the tent. “Look over there.”
Maddie’s jaw dropped. Constance Harbinger was standing at a high-top table in a gold lamé dress, chatting with Lorna and Belinda.
“Who knew that would ever happen?” Pearl asked.
“I did.” Rose sounded confident. “Connie was always a nice person. She just had a bad thing happen to her, and it soured her for a bit. All it took was someone doing something nice for her.”
“What did anyone do for her?” Leena asked.
“My Dex. He fixed up her house for her in his spare time,” Rose leaned in and whispered. “But don’t tell anyone. He doesn’t like to let the word out that he does free work. She had really let the house go.”
“It’s really too bad he couldn’t be here,” Maddie said. A big reason they could have this party was because of Dex.
“Oh, didn’t you hear?” Rose asked.
“Yeah, I know, he’s in Portland looking for a place with Lorelei.”
“No, dear. I’m afraid he isn’t going to move in with Lorelei at all. Dex is staying in Shell Cove, and as far as I know, he should be here at this party.”
This was good news, or was it? Why hadn’t Dex mentioned it to her? Maybe they weren’t as good of friends as she’d thought. Maybe he didn’t think that his decision to stay in town would matter to her. Maybe the fact that they could become better friends… or something more… wasn’t even anything that played into the decision.
* * *
* * *
“I wonderwhy Maddie looked sad when you mentioned that Dex was staying in town,” Leena asked as they watched the three cousins drift off into the crowd.
“My guess is that he hasn’t mentioned it to her and hearing it from me made her feel left out. That’s a good sign. Means she cares,” Rose said.
“He better get his butt here and let her hear it from him if he does care about her. But maybe he doesn’t like herthatway, though.” Leena scanned the crowd. “I think I still have a chance to win that bet.”
Rose laughed. “Maybe. I just want the two of them to be happy, whether or not they get together.”
“How could anyone not be happy with this going on?” Pearl gestured at the crowd. “Not just this amazing party, but the whole town. This event is the thing that will change Shell Cove. I feel it in my bones.”
