Page 44 of A Novel Summer
He patted his pocket. It was right there.
“I didn’t know you called.”
“You ran off last night and then I never heard from you again.”
He couldn’t argue with that. When he got Shelby’s call, he dropped his credit card on the table and apologized for having to leave. Kate stood to leave with him. But Carmen waved her back into her seat.
“Stay. Eat. Just because Justin has to run, there’s no reason the rest of us can’t eat.”
Kate had given him a trapped look, but he just kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “I owe you one.”
He never followed up with his parents. He had, however, immediately called Kate when he drove back from Wellfleet. She’d been understanding about the work emergency. But he could tell now from the look on his mother’s face she wouldn’t let him off quite so easily.
“We had a stranded sea turtle. Sorry about that. But I can’t talk now. I’m meeting Doug to drive out to Wellfleet.”
His mother frowned. “You could have told me about the Fourth of July ahead of time. I felt a little blindsided. Your father, too.”
Justin sighed. It was too much to hope that she’d let that slide.
“I’m sorry, Ma. I should have told you.”
“After you left, I made sure Kate understood it was a family tradition to be together on the Fourth, thinking she might change her mind. But she didn’t seem to get the hint.”
“Well, you’re the one who always told me relationships are about compromise.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And how is she compromising for you?”
There was really no talking to his mother when she was in a mood. She was annoyed with him; she was judging Kate. But he loved her and he knew she meant well and so he texted Doug he’d be five minutes late.
“Mom,” he said, walking closer and putting an arm around her. “Kate’s out here all summer so we can spend time together. Trying out a new location for Hendrik’sisa compromise. A big one.”
Carmen waved a finger at him. “So is that why you denied Shelby beach access? To give Kate’s store an advantage?”
Justin stepped back. Where did that come from? “No, Mom. It was an impartial decision. I vetoed the beach access because it’s not what’s best for the larger community.”
“You want to talk about community? We’ve been friends with the Millers your entire life. Land’s End Books has been part of this town for eighty years. I love you, but you’re on the wrong side of this one. And I’m very disappointed if Pam and Annie’s business suffers because of your unresolved feelings for Shelby.”
“I don’t have feelings for Shelby.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Mom, I have work to do. Again, apologies for running off last night. And I don’t want to sound harsh, but I’m a grown man with my own life.”
Carmen reached out and patted his cheek. “And like it or not, no matter how old you are, I’m always going to have something to say about it.”
She turned and walked in the other direction. He shook his head, and watched her go.
Shelby leaned on the bookshop counter with a yawn. She wasn’t just exhausted; she was guilt ridden over not writing before work. It was the price she paid for spending the night with Anders. If it weren’t for her deadline, it would be worth every minute of exhaustion. But she needed to be more disciplined. She had time for exactly two things: working at the store and writing her book. That was what the summer was all about, and it was important to remember that.
Mia walked in, dragging a box that had been delivered to the front stoop.
“This is our Ann Brashares order,” she said. “The movie theater is playing a revival ofSisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Colleen planned a whole table.”
Pam and Annie were always creative with their display tables, like the “blind date with a book” displays on Valentine’s Day or putting historical fiction front and center if a new period drama was streaming. She was happy to see Colleen continuing the tradition.
“Fantastic. By the way, did you read that ARC I gave you from HarperCollins? Was it great?”
“I didn’t read it yet,” Mia said.
“Oh, okay. Well, if you don’t have time, feel free to just bring it back to the shop. I’ll take a look.” She didn’t want to overburden Mia, and besides, there was something else she wanted to ask her to read.
The idea came to her that morning in the shower. She was writing her new book so fast she didn’t have perspective on whether or not the story was working. She thought about asking one of her friends from the city to read what she had so far, but she was embarrassed to show them something so rough. Maybe hitting theNew York Timesbestseller list should have made her more confident, but it had the opposite effect. She imagined showing the draft to someone, that person telling her it was awful and wondering how, really, she’d ever had a bestseller in the first place. But she’d feel less anxious about showing the manuscript to someone who wasn’t in her incestuous little publishing orbit. And she thought of Mia.
