Page 40 of The Beach Shack Artists 3
“You look like you’ve had a day,” Luke said, setting down his pen and giving her his full attention. “Everything okay?”
“Define okay.” Meg picked up a piece of sea glass, rolling it between her fingers. “Anna reorganized the entire restaurant. Called it the Florence Method.”
“That sounds... ambitious.”
“That sounds like Anna.” Meg laughed, though it came out slightly strained. “She had this whole system based oncirculation patterns and aesthetic harmony. Moved Bernie’s booth to the middle of the room for better energy flow.”
Luke straightened, clearly sensing there was more to the story. “How did that go over with customers?”
“About as well as you’d expect. Mrs. Borden couldn’t find her usual window spot because the condiment station was there. Bernie’s booth was in the middle of the dining room. Just hanging there.” Meg stood, brushing sand off her jeans. “Want to walk? I need to move around.”
They headed down the beach, Luke somehow managing to carry his coffee and research notes without spilling either.
“So, what happened?” Luke asked.
“I had to move everything back. Took about forty minutes to drag Bernie’s booth to his corner, relocate the condiment station so people could actually reach it.” Meg found a smooth rock and threw it toward the waves, watching it skip twice before disappearing. “The customers were genuinely confused, Luke. Someone had to fix it.”
“That must have been stressful.”
“It was chaos. But at least Anna saw how confused people were getting. I’m sure she learned from it.” Meg picked up another rock, testing its weight. “She really thought she was helping. Making the place more beautiful, more harmonious.”
“She means well.”
“She does mean well. That’s what makes it hard.” She threw the second rock, watching it disappear into the waves. “I’ve tried talking to her about thinking things through first, you know? But she just gets defensive. Says I’m limiting her creative potential.”
Luke was quiet for a moment, letting her process. “How are you feeling about all of it?”
“Exhausted,” Meg admitted. “But it’s fine. It’s handled. And honestly, I think this morning was a wake-up call for Anna. She saw firsthand how her improvements affected customers.”
They walked in silence for a while, skirting around early beachgoers setting up for the day. The morning fog was starting to burn off, promising another perfect Southern California day.
“Tyler wasn’t around to help?” Luke asked gently.
“Tyler had urgent Festival business right when everything started falling apart.” Meg’s voice carried a familiar resignation. “He’s got perfect timing for avoiding Anna’s projects.”
“Strategic timing?”
“Yes. Though to be fair, his photography work is important too. And really, Anna’s experiments usually sort themselves out eventually.” Meg found a perfect sand dollar and bent to pick it up, checking for cracks. “This one just needed a little help getting back to reality.”
“You make it sound routine.”
“Anna’s artistic phases come and go. This was just more public than usual.” She examined the sand dollar more closely. “The good news is, now she knows what doesn’t work. I can’t imagine she’d try something like this again.”
Luke nodded, not pushing further. “How’s Stella handling all the family creativity?”
“Stella was amazing. She jumped right in, helped customers navigate around the relocated furniture, kept everything running smoothly.” Meg tucked the sand dollar into her pocket. “She’s so competent for sixteen. Really stepped up.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility for a teenager.”
“She didn’t seem to mind. And she’s good at it—organizing, problem-solving, keeping things calm. Natural talent for crisis management.”
They paused at a cluster of tide pools, watching hermit crabs scuttle between the rocks. Luke pointed out a bright green anemone tucked between the stones.
“These little ecosystems are fascinating,” he said. “Everything has its role, but when one element gets disrupted, the whole system has to adjust.”
“Sounds familiar,” Meg said with a wry smile. “Though our ecosystem adjusted pretty quickly. Anna’s back to her art, customers are happy, everything’s running normally again.”
“And you’re confident Anna learned from the experience?”
