Arms laden with groceries, Emily struggled to the car and dumped them in the trunk. It was the night of the party. She'd had twenty RSVPs and found that she was more excited to be a hostess than she'd expected she would be. She'd woken up early that morning to get the beef stew cooking in the slow cooker. The desserts were already done; she'd made them late last night and they were sitting in the fridge to set overnight. Which meant once she got home all she had to do was decorate and whip up the vegetarian option of risotto an hour before the guests arrived.
She smiled to herself as she drove back home, relishing the opportunity to organize and plan, something she'd been denied the chance to do during her seven-year relationship with Ben.
When she pulled up into the drive, she noticed that Daniel wasn't on the grounds anywhere. She grabbed her groceries from the trunk and went inside, then dumped them on the kitchen table. She listened but couldn't hear the sounds of hammering or drilling coming from anywhere in the house. It was unusual for Daniel not to be around but Emily shrugged it off and got to work decorating the house. She put candles everywhere, then fresh flowers in vases on both the coffee table and the dining table, the two rooms she was planning on hosting the party in, though she made sure the kitchen looked up to scratch as well, knowing how people tended to migrate around it at soirees, particularly when in search for more alcohol. She hung homemade bunting around the living room, put a large glass bowl of potpourri in the bathroom, and set the table with the finest silver-pieces of value she'd salvaged from amongst the hoards of junk. She poured red wine into the six beautiful crystal decanters she'd salvaged from a cupboard in the kitchen.
Emily relocated the puppies to the back utility room so she could use the living room for the party. Her plan was for socializing and aperitifs in the living room, then a dinner in the dining room.
The clock reached 5 p.m. so she got to work making the risotto. As she entered the kitchen, the smells of the stew that had been slow cooking all day wafted up her nostrils and made her salivate. She'd gotten out of the habit of spending time cooking meals when she'd been with Ben-he preferred to go out for dinner-and was thoroughly enjoying it now. Twenty people was a lot to cook for, though, so it was a little stressful to get the quantities and timing right. But with the vast kitchen and all its gadgets at her disposal, it wasn't as bad as she'd worried it could be. She just wondered about Daniel. He was supposed to be here helping her fix the dinner; he was the self-proclaimed foodie, after all. But every time she peered out the window, there was no sign of him. Not on the grounds, nor in the carriage house that sat in darkness.
When she was done, she went up to her room and changed. It felt strange dolling herself up after so many months without having even worn a lick of eyeliner, but she enjoyed the old rituals. She went for a striking look with bold, crimson lips and dark lashes that brought out the color in her eyes. The dress she'd chosen was electric blue and figure hugging. She had matching heels, then rounded the whole ensemble off with a silver cuff necklace. Outfit complete, she stepped back and admired herself in the mirror. She'd completely transformed herself and laughed with delight.
It was 6.45 p.m. so she lit all the scented candles to give the smell time to permeate through the house, then checked on the stew and the risotto.
Once everything was ready, Emily looked around again for Daniel. She went and checked the carriage house but he wasn't there. That's when she noticed his motorcycle wasn't in the garage. He must have gone out for another ride.
Great timing, she thought, staring at the clock. He was supposed to be here. She didn't want to be clingy but she still couldn't help but worry, especially when Daniel still wasn't back when the first guests arrived.
Emily had to put him out of her mind and put on her game face instead.
She opened the door to find Charles Bradshaw from the fish restaurant and his wife, Barbara, on the steps. He handed her a bottle of red wine; she handed her flowers.
"This is very kind of you," Emily said.
"I really can't believe my eyes," Charles said, glancing all around him. "You've restored the place so beautifully. And so quickly."
"It's not finished yet," Emily said. "But thank you."
She took their coats and led them into the living room, where there were more appreciative gasps. Before she had a chance to offer them anything to drink, the doorbell rang again. People in Sunset Harbor were pretty prompt, it seemed.
She opened the door and saw Birk standing there, alone. He apologized for his wife, who was feeling under the weather. Then he said, "It's really true. It wasn't your ghost that came to visit me in my gas station. You really did last up here by yourself!" He started laughing and grabbed her hand to shake.
"I can hardly believe it myself," Emily said with a laugh. She was going to add that she hadn't been by herself, that she'd had Daniel's help all along, but since he wasn't here, the words somehow didn't leave her mouth. She realized then that she felt let down by him for not being here.
Emily led Birk into the living room. She didn't need to introduce him; he already knew Charles and Barbara.
The doorbell rang again and Emily opened the door to find Cynthia standing there. Cynthia owned a small bookstore in town. She had bright red curly hair and always wore clothes that clashed terribly with it. Tonight she was in a strange lime green and purple ensemble that did nothing to flatter her slightly overweight frame, with bright red lipstick and bright green nail polish. Emily knew that Cynthia had a reputation for being outspoken and slightly outrageous but had invited her anyway out of goodwill. Maybe she'd provide a source of entertainment to the other guests if she really did live up to the rumors!
"Emily!" Cynthia exclaimed, her voice so shrill it was painful.
"Hello, Cynthia," Emily replied. "Thanks so much for coming."
"Well, you know what the locals say in Sunset Harbor. 'It's not a party without Cynthia.'"
Emil suspected that such a statement had never been uttered by a single person in Sunset Harbor. She gestured for Cynthia to join the others in the living room, then heard a squeal of excitement as Cynthia greeted the other guests with equal enthusiasm and volume.
The doorbell rang again and when Emily answered she saw Doctor Sunita Patel and her husband, Raj, at the doorstep. A little way behind them, Serena was helping Rico along the garden path.
"I saw the tree on your lawn," Doctor Patel said, kissing Emily's cheek and handing her a bottle of wine. "The storm hit us pretty badly as well."
"Oh, I know," Emily replied. "It was pretty frightening."
Raj shook Emily's hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm a landscaper, by the way, so if you want me to take care of that fallen tree for you I'm more than happy. Just pop in anytime. I own the nursery in town."
Emily had walked past the beautiful garden store with its gorgeous flower displays and hanging baskets many times during her trips into town. She'd wanted to go inside on more than one occasion to check out all the bird baths, sundials, and pre-grown topiaries but hadn't yet gotten the chance.
"You'd do that?" Emily asked, taken aback by the generosity. "That would be amazing."
"It's the least I can do considering you're opening up your home for us."
Raj and Sunita went into the living room and Emily turned her attention to Serena and Rico, who had almost reached the doorstep. Serena looked beautiful in a black dress with a scooped back and gold choker, her black hair hanging in loose waves, her lips a beautiful red.
"We made it!" she grinned, reaching an arm out around Emily's neck and hugging her.
"I'm so glad," Emily said. "You're pretty much the only person here who I actually know."
"Oh really?" Serena said, laughing. "What about Mr. Beefcake?"
Emily shook her head. "Oh God, don't even mention him right now."
Serena pulled a face. Emily laughed and turned her attention to Rico.
"Thanks for coming, Rico," she said. "I'm really happy to see you."
"It's just nice to get out of the house at my age, Ellie."
"Emily," Serena corrected.
"That's what I said," Rico replied.
Serena rolled her eyes, and the two of them stepped into the hallway. Emily didn't get a chance to close the door behind her because she saw Karen parking up along the street. Of all the people whose RSVPs she'd been skeptical over, Karen's had been the main one. But maybe the fact that Emily had done all the grocery shopping for the party at Karen's store had swayed the woman and won her over. It had been a pretty huge sum of money to spend at a small, local store.
Then right behind Karen, Emily saw the town mayor. She hadn't had an RSVP from him! She was shocked that he'd want to come to her humble party, but worried at the same time that she wouldn't have enough food to feed everyone.
Karen was the first to reach the door and Emily greeted her.
"I've brought one of my oregano and sun-dried tomato loaves," Karen said, handing her a basket that smelled delicious.
"Oh, Karen, you shouldn't have," Emily said, taking the basket.
"It's actually a business tactic," Karen said in a hushed tone out the corner of her mouth. "If this group likes them, they'll be coming to the general store to stock up!" She winked.
Emily smiled and stepped aside to let her in. She hadn't been sure about Karen, but it seemed like the woman's usual friendliness had returned.
Emily then turned to face the mayor. She nodded courteously and held out her hand to shake.
"Thank you for coming," she said.
The mayor took one look at her hand, then reached past it and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm just glad you're finally opening your heart to our little town."
At first Emily felt uncomfortable being hugged by the mayor like that, but his words touched her and she relaxed.
Finally, all the guests were in the house, mostly congregated in the living room, and Emily had a chance to socialize with them.
"I was just telling Rico here," Birk said to her, "that you should think about turning this place back into a B&B."
"I didn't know it used to be one," Emily replied.
"Oh yes, before your dad bought the place it was," Rico said. "I think it was a B&B from 1950 to sometime in the eighties."
Serena laughed and patted Rico's hand. "He can't remember my name but he remembers that," she said out the corner of her mouth.
Emily laughed.
"I bet it paid for itself," Birk added. "And just the sort of place this town needs."
The more she spoke to people, the more Emily realized how gracious they were. The idea of her turning the house into a B&B seemed to spread like wildfire, and the more she thought about it, the better an idea it seemed to her as well. It had, in fact, been a dream of hers when she was younger to work in a B&B, but after becoming a surly teenager she'd lost confidence in her ability to connect with people. Her dad's abandonment had hit her hard, had knocked her for a loop, and she'd been guarded and hostile ever since. But the town had softened her. Maybe she did still have it in her to be a gracious hostess?
It was time for dinner so Emily shepherded everyone into the dining room. There were lots of gasps and cries of admiration as everyone wandered in and took in the sight of the renovated room.
"I won't be able to show you the ballroom, I'm afraid," Emily said. "The window was damaged in the storm so it's all boarded up again."
No one seemed to mind. They were too enthralled by the dining room. Everything was complimented, from Emily's floral centerpiece to the color of the rug to the choice of wallpaper.
"You have quite the hand for flower arranging," Raj said, sounding impressed.
"And aren't these chairs delightful?" Serena joked, running her fingers across the dining chairs she'd helped Emily source from Rico's flea market.
It took a long time to get everyone seated. Once they were, Emily went out into the kitchen to serve up. The sound of the hubbub radiating from the dining room made her feel warm and loved.
She made it into the kitchen and quickly checked on Mogsy and the pups in the utility room. They were all sleeping contently as though without a care in the world. Then she went back into the kitchen and began to serve the food.
"Want a hand carrying it all in?" Serena's voice came from the door.
"Please," Emily said. "This is bringing back terrible memories of my waitressing days."
Serena laughed and helped stack up Emily's arms until she was balancing five plates. Serena did the same, and together they went into the dining room to the sounds of delighted "oohs" and "ahs."
Emily couldn't help feeling a little frustrated. Daniel was supposed to be here to help her out. She'd thought of the dinner party as a sort of coming out party for the two of them. She wanted to see how people reacted to her being with a local, with one of them. She thought at the very least it would buy her a little bit of kudos. But Daniel had disappeared, leaving her to do everything alone.
Once everyone had a plate in front of them-and thankfully there had been just enough to feed them all-the meal began.
"Emily, your father went to a Catholic school, didn't he?" the mayor asked.
The fork that had been on its way to Emily's mouth suddenly paused. "Oh," she said awkwardly. "I don't actually know."
"I'm sure we shared a few stories of mean nuns," the mayor said quickly, sensing Emily's discomfort about talking about her father.
Cynthia, on the other hand, seemed oblivious. "Oh, your dad, Emily. He was such a great guy," she exclaimed. She had her glass high in the air. Red wine sloshed precariously close to the rim every time she gesticulated, which was often. "I remember this time, it must have been at least twelve years back now, because it was before Jeremy and Luke were born, while I still had my figure." She paused and cackled.
Emily didn't correct her that it had to have been at least twenty years, but she could tell from the awkward shuffles around the dinner table and the averted eyes that enough people were thinking it and feeling bad on her behalf.
"It was the first time he came into my store," Cynthia continued, "and he was asking for this very specific book, an old one that was out of print. I don't remember the title but it was something to do with flower fairies. Now I knew he'd moved into the house on West Street and I'd seen him a few times. Every time I'd seen him he was alone. So I'm looking at this grown man, getting a bit nervous, wondering what he wants a collector's edition book on fairies for. I keep thinking I must have misheard him and I'm leading him around the bookstore showing him all these different books with similar titles, and he's saying, 'no, no, that's not it. It's about fairies.' I didn't have it so had to order it in for him, which bumped up the price even more. He didn't seem to mind at all, so I'm thinking he's really committed to getting this collector's edition of a book on fairies. So a few weeks later the book is delivered and I call him up to say it's there for him to pick up. I'm a bit nervous, but when he comes in he's pushing this lovely little girl in a stroller. That must have been you, Emily. The relief I felt, you would not believe!"
There was a moment of silence around the table as people looked to Emily, trying to work out what would be the appropriate way to react. When they saw that she was starting to giggle, they too let their own stifled laughter out. There was almost a perceptible moment where the tension they'd been holding was released.
Cynthia finished off her anecdote. "I told him I thought you were a little too young to read the book but he said that it was for when you got older, that his mom had owned a copy and he wanted you to have one too. Isn't that just the most darling thing you ever heard?"
"Yes," Emily said, grinning. "I'd never heard that story before."
Emily felt grateful to Cynthia for giving her another beautiful memory she could cherish. It also saddened her, making her miss her dad even more.
After Cynthia's story, conversation quickly turned to the idea of turning the house into a B&B.
"I think you should do it," Sunita said. "Turn this place into a B&B. You'd be more likely to get your permit for that because it would benefit everyone in town to have one."
"True," the mayor said. "It would protect you from Trevor as well."
Emily smirked. She was getting the distinct impression that Trevor Mann was thoroughly disliked in the community, and that he in no way represented any of the people sitting around her dining table.
"Well," Emily said, sipping at her wine, "it's a lovely idea. But I only have three months' worth of money left before I go broke."
"Enough to get some of the bedrooms fixed?" Birk asked.
"That's a good point," Barbara joined in. "The dining room, living room, and kitchen are all already done. If you had a bedroom you'd have everything you needed to start you off. Voila. Bed and breakfast."
She was right. They all were. That really was all Emily needed to get her dream off the ground. Enough of the house and grounds were already to a standard that guests would enjoy. If she set the bar low-just to get one customer through the door, for example-that would be achievable just as soon as she'd renovated a bedroom. Then with a small amount of income dripping in, she'd be able to reinvest in the business, do up another room, and grow the business slowly that way.
"Well, Barbara," Karen said, "she'd need the breakfast part as well."
Everyone laughed.
"Funnily enough," Raj said, "I've actually got some chickens I need to rehome. You could take them and then you would have fresh eggs for the breakfasts!"
"And you already make the best coffee in town," the mayor added. "No offense, Joe."
Everyone looked at the diner owner.
"None taken!" he chuckled. "I know coffee isn't my strong suit. I'd be more than happy to endorse Emily's business."
"So would I," Birk said.
"And if you need any advice," Cynthia added, "I'd be more than happy to impart my wisdom. I managed a B&B when I was in my twenties. No idea how they thought I was responsible enough to do that, but the place didn't burn down on my watch, so I guess they were right!"
Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing. All these people were willing to help her out. It was an amazing feeling, and she was overwhelmed by their generosity and kind words. To think she'd been so dismissive of them when she'd first arrived here. How different things had become in just a few short months.
But her joy was diminished by one snag. Daniel. He lived on the grounds too. His life would be disrupted immeasurably if she opened a B&B. They'd lose their privacy. She couldn't do it without speaking to him first. In some way it had the potential to work out brilliantly for them. Daniel could move into the main house with her and they could rent out the carriage house as a self-contained unit, or a bridal suite, even. And the ballroom would be the perfect venue to host weddings.
Emily's mind began to run away with her. Maybe she'd had one glass of wine too many, but she was filled with a sense of optimism she hadn't felt for years. Suddenly, the future looked bright, exciting, and secure.
She just wondered why Daniel wasn't here to share the moment with her.
