Page 94 of A Novel Summer
“Only if Hunter comes, too.”
Hunter raised her eyebrows. “Do you see what I’m wearing?”
“So? What happened to our punk rock friend?” Colleen said.
“Yeah,” said Shelby. “Now you’re not just wearing a suit, youarea suit.”
“And proud of it,” Hunter said.
Walking to the water was a lovely idea, but there really wasn’t time. Mia was already at the podium, asking guests to take their seats. After two years working at Land’s End, she was leaving at the end of the summer for Boston University. Shelby was already wondering what she’d do without her. The only consolation was that in a few months, while Mia would no longer be her part-timer, she would officially be Shelby’s sister-in-law.
Shelby hurried over to her spot in front of the crowd. She faced the audience and spotted all the familiar faces in the front rows: Duke and Max, the Lombardos, Colleen and her brood, Hunter, and Ezra Randall. He and Hunter were becoming quite the literary “it couple,” and Shelby suspected some aspiring writers in the audience were more interested in seeing them than in meeting her.
The sun dropped lower on the horizon, casting everything in a pinkish-gold light. Shelby caught Justin’s eye and he gave her a wink. She knew they were probably thinking the same thing: at the end of the summer, on Labor Day weekend, they’d be standing on that very spot together. She wondered how nervous she would feel taking her vows. It certainly put her pub day jitters into perspective.
“Thank you, everyone, for being here with me to celebrate the publication ofBeach Friends, my second novel. And everyone, please—a big hand for my colleague Mia Lombardo. Mia, if I hadn’t been able to leave this store in your capable hands so I could write a few hours every day, this book would not exist.” People applauded, and Carmen reached over and squeezed Mia’s arm.
“A special thanks to my agent, Hunter Dillworth. Knowing that you were waiting on the other end of this writing process gave me the confidence I needed to dust myself off and start over.” Hunter stood up and turned to wave at the audience like she was the Queen. And she was. She’d read the first draft of Shelby’s manuscript, took it to her boss, and said if they didn’t let her represent it she’d leave and go out with it on her own. They promoted her.
Shelby still thought about Claudia Linden sometimes. She’d wondered if she’d hear from her when her new book deal was announced. Something along the line of “no hard feelings?” But maybe that was the type of neat resolution she really would have to save for her novels. In real life, some plot lines dangled messily until the very end. But she didn’t need for real life to be perfect. Thanks to Colleen, and Hunter, and Justin, it turned out to be good enough.
“Most of all, I want to thank my friend Colleen Miller for bringing me back to where I belong. None of us would be here on this beach tonight without you.”
The changing light cast warm gold on the white chairs. She could smell the salty bay breeze, and from somewhere down the beach, an ’80s song played. It was all so familiar, but new at the same time. It felt as if she were standing at the intersection of her past and her future. But really, wasn’t that always the case? Life kept moving forward. The difference was, she finally understood that didn’t necessarily mean leaving things she loved behind. She’d have to learn to get comfortable with the idea.
Now that she was home, she would.
