Page 50 of The Beach Shack Artists 3
Natalie appeared moments later, lesson plans tucked under her arm and that particular glazed look that came from spending the morning trying to figure out how to make Shakespeare relevant to teenagers who hadn't been born yet. "Please tell me someone has normal human problems to discuss," she said, sliding into the booth. "My eyes are crossing from writing curriculum."
"Define normal," Meg said with a laugh. "I called my sister a diva last night."
"To her face?" Paige asked, eyes lighting up with interest.
"To her face. At the dinner table. In front of everyone."
Natalie and Paige exchanged glances—the look of people who had known Anna Walsh since middle school and understood exactly what this meant.
"How did that go over?" Natalie asked carefully.
"About as well as you'd expect. Anna stormed out. Bea looked mortified. Tyler pretended to suddenly need more wine." Meg traced lines on the condensation of her glass. "I'm not sure it helped anything."
"But how did it feel?" Paige asked with a grin.
"Honestly? Pretty good. For about thirty seconds." Meg laughed. "Then I remembered I have to live with her for the rest of the summer."
"Speaking of which," Natalie said, "how's Anna's artistic takeover going? I heard Bernie's been... expressive about some recent changes at the Shack."
Meg groaned. "The Florence Method. Anna reorganized the entire restaurant based on circulation and aesthetic harmony. Moved Bernie's booth to the center of the room for better energy flow."
"Classic Anna," Paige said, shaking her head. "Remember eighth grade when she decided to improve the science fair by adding interpretive dance to her volcano project?"
"And somehow convinced three other kids to be her backup dancers while their actual projects were forgotten in the background," Natalie added.
"Same energy," Meg confirmed. "Except now instead of ruining a school project, she's confusing paying customers. Mrs. Henderson couldn't find the condiment station. People were navigating around furniture just to order coffee."
"And Bernie?" Paige asked, knowing Bernie's legendary attachment to his corner booth.
"Bernie was not amused. He spent twenty minutes explaining to anyone who'd listen how his booth had been inthat corner for fifteen years and the acoustics were all wrong in the center." Meg smiled. "I think his exact words were 'some people think they can just rearrange other people's lives without asking.'"
"Ouch. How's Margo handling the Bernie situation?"
"Margo thinks it's hilarious. She said Bernie needed his routine shaken up anyway." Meg paused. "Actually, that's been the strangest part of this whole summer. Watching everyone adapt instead of expecting me to fix everything immediately."
"That sounds like growth," Natalie said.
"It feels weird. Good weird, but weird." Meg's expression softened. "Speaking of good weird, Luke's been helping with closing duties at the Shack."
Both friends immediately perked up, recognizing the shift in Meg's tone.
"Luke Donovan?" Paige asked with barely contained excitement. "Your old surf instructor Luke Donovan?"
"He's not my old anything anymore," Meg said, trying to sound casual. "He's my... current everything."
"Current everything?" Natalie laughed. "Look at you being all romantic and non-corporate in your language."
"We're together. Really together. He shows up, helps with cleanup, listens to me complain about Anna's artistic visions without trying to fix them for me." Meg smiled. "It's nice having someone who supports my decisions instead of questioning them."
"That's a big deal for you," Paige said gently. "Letting someone that close."
"Huge deal. Terrifying deal." Meg's smile grew wider. "But also the best thing that's happened to me in years."
"Are you in love?" Natalie asked directly.
"Completely. Hopelessly. It's ridiculous." Meg laughed. "Three months ago I was convinced I was too busy for relationships, and now I can't imagine not having him around."
"I love this for you," Paige said. "You deserve someone who appreciates how amazing you are."
