Page 81 of Happy Harbor
“Good sometimes, stressed other times. What’s up?”
“I have some exciting news! Peter proposed. I’m getting married!”
Josie smiled. Melody and Peter had dated for five years, and Josie had often wondered if the man was really serious about Melody. It appeared he was.
“Congratulations, Melody! I’m so happy for you.” Shewashappy for her friend, but she was also sad for herself. Here she was in her midthirties without ever having been married.
“Thank you. We’re getting married next month. No need to wait! I was calling because I’m having my bridal shower next Saturday. I’m hoping that you can drive in?”
Josie paused for a long moment. The truth was, she didn’t know what her life would look like by next Saturday. Would she be out of a job and no longer the owner of a restaurant by then?
“I don’t know, Melody. There’s a lot going on here that I can’t really talk about right now,” she said, trying not to scream into the phone. The noise from the crowd was all around her, and there was no getting away.
“Oh, please, Josie. It just wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Fine. I’ll make a way to be there. I really am happy for you.”
“Thank you. Now, the shower is on Saturday at two o’clock. It’s going to be at my apartment. You remember where that is, right?”
Melody’s apartment complex was nice, but Josie felt the distinct rush of dread flow through her body. The thought of being stuck in a room with a blushing bride-to-be and her friends didn’t seem like the best way to spend her weekend. But she really did feel happy for Melody and wanted to show her friend support.
“Got it. I’ll see you then.”
As she ended the call, she prepared herself to go back out onto the street and thank people for what they were doing. She really was grateful but overwhelmed. Meeting people one by one just during the normal course of the day was challenging enough. Going out there like a politician shaking hands and kissing babies was a whole different level.
* * *
Diane sat at the table and stared out over the enormous crowd of people. Even though she knew how helpful the people of Happy Harbor could be, this was beyond anything she’d ever imagined Walker could do. At least now there was a chance they could pay back the money her mother borrowed.
She felt horrible that all of this was really because of her. If she’d never brought Dan into their lives, none of this would be happening. She hadn’t talked to the jerk in many years, and she had no idea why he’d tried to get in touch with her. Why had he extorted money from her mother like that?
Unfortunately, her curiosity had gotten the best of her the night before. She opened Josie’s laptop that was sitting on the kitchen table and did some searching, trying to find him on any social media platform. He had a Facebook account, but he hadn’t posted on it in a couple of years. Even then, it was a post about getting drunk the night before. It might’ve been cute for a young adult to post that, but not a fiftysomething washed-up alcoholic. Just not cute at all.
What had she ever seen in that man? He wasn’t kind. He wasn’t loving. He never wanted to get sober. He’d abused her. Dan had been running from his childhood for his whole life. At first, she’d felt sorry for him. Now, she just wanted to strangle him with her bare hands.
There was a part of her that wanted to track him down and make him pay for worrying and upsetting Adeline in her last days. She wanted to make him pay for almost breaking her relationship with her daughter apart just when it was working again. She wanted to make him pay for putting the restaurant at risk.
But she wanted Josie to trust her even more. If she yanked Dan’s chain and made him come back to Happy Harbor looking for her yet again, Josie would probably flee. And Diane wouldn’t blame her. Dan had been horrible to her daughter as well—verbally abusive. He hadn’t wanted Josie around, and eventually Diane was so under the thumb of alcohol that she let it happen.
So, she wouldn’t pursue him. She’d let him get away with it because she didn’t want him back in their lives. They had no proof that he’d gotten the money from her mother anyway, so all it would result in was a long legal battle. She wanted a fresh start with Josie and Kendra, and sometimes that meant not letting her emotions get the better of her.
* * *
“You must be very hungry?” Josie asked when she saw Walker approaching with two funnel cakes in his hands, each one covered in a mound of powdered sugar. It brought back memories from her childhood when her grandmother would often take her to the local festivals. Funnel cake was her favorite.
“Excuse me, but one of these is for you. Do you want one or should I eat them both?”
“I’m starving. I’ve been working at the cotton candy station all day. Do you know how little cotton candy fills up your stomach? It’s literally like drinking water that has been turned into fiberglass insulation.”
He handed her the funnel cake. “That’s one way to sell it. ‘Come and have some of this delectable cotton candy. It looks like fiberglass insulation!’”
Josie laughed. “So, what have you been working on?”
“Well, I have some big stuff in store for everybody tomorrow, so that has taken up a lot of the day. I was also helping with the cakewalk.”
“I didn’t know there was a cakewalk,” she said, craning her head and looking around.
“It’s over behind the pavilion. Those people were crazy. I thought some of them were going to get into a wrestling match over those cakes.”
