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The wait was too unbearable. It left Olivia shivering with excitement. Against Anthony’s advice to let it go till Monday, Olivia called the contractor the following morning and told him with a burst of excitement that they would be able to break ground on the rebuild and refurbishing on The Hesson House as soon as possible. He suggested that they meet at the site later that afternoon for another analysis.
“I’m so happy to hear that,” he said. “Really. It’s a beautiful space. It deserves to flourish.”
Olivia, Anthony, Xavier, and Chelsea piled into Olivia’s car and sped out to The Hesson House. That drive had once been so familiar, and now, Olivia relished every second of it. The sunlight caught the diamond of her ring and reflected out beautifully, so much so that Chelsea complained that the light might blind her.
“Good,” Anthony said. “I told the woman at the jewelry store that I wanted the kind of diamond that could blind someone, so it could be used as a weapon.”
“When am I going to need to use my ring as a weapon?” Olivia asked, laughing.
“I don’t know. It could come in handy, though,” Anthony joked. “Like now, when you want to annoy your daughter.”
“Good point,” Olivia said as she flashed her daughter again with that bright light.
“You guys are gross,” Chelsea offered, even as her smile remained plastered between her ears.
Up at The Hesson House, the contractor led them again through the foyer, around the grounds, past the tennis court, toward the now-dilapidated boathouse. He made notes, asked questions, and then stated that if all went according to plan, they could have The Hesson House back up and running by April or May. Olivia clutched Anthony’s hand excitedly. They would be given a whole summer to try again.
A celebration was in order. Olivia texted her best friends and her family members and announced that they would have a dinner and a bonfire up on The Hesson House grounds, with a start time at three.
MILA: Seriously? Isabelle and Zane are both home! We’d love to come!
CAMILLA: What should we bring?
AMELIA: Cool if I bring Mandy? We had plans today.
Olivia’s text messages rang out after that — that everyone was invited, of course; that wine and more wine was always welcome; that they’d probably have hot dogs and hamburgers and anything else grill-worthy for this particularly glorious day in early October.
JENNIFER: I’ll bring tons of desserts!
Her mother, father, brother, and his family also agreed to the barbecue. When Olivia invited Marnie, however, she sent only this:
MARNIE: You know I don’t eat barbecue.
MARNIE: You’ll receive the funds this week.
MARNIE: Ciao.
Firewood was needed for the upcoming gathering. Olivia and Chelsea set out through the woods to gather what they could. As they walked quietly, Olivia removed her engagement ring again and held it up, examining it.
“He did good,” Chelsea affirmed then, her first words to her mother in quite some time.
“He really did, didn’t he?” Olivia returned her gaze to Chelsea. Again, she felt it: that strange tension between them. How could they force themselves through it? “I hope you know you’ll have to be another maid of honor.”
“I’m in high demand these days, I guess,” Chelsea returned with a grin.
Olivia laughed tenderly. Her heart ached to ask Chelsea everything that had happened since her arrival back to the island a few weeks before. She yearned for the kind of mother-daughter relationship that lacked boundaries. Perhaps that was never really possible. Even on Gilmore Girls, Lorelei and Rory had grappled with that sometimes.
“Dad came back to the city,” Chelsea suddenly said. “To say he was sorry. And tell me the baby was born.”
Olivia’s heart jumped into her throat. This was it—the truth.
Chelsea drew a line with her finger across the bark of the nearest tree. She simply couldn’t look into Olivia’s eyes as she explained.
“He’s started therapy and AA. And he seems better, although I know I shouldn’t completely trust in him yet,” Chelsea told her. She huffed and then added, “I don’t know what it is about Dad. I guess just trauma from the past. I never really got over his leaving. And when he wants me in his life, I freak out. I need to handle that better. Really look at it for what it is.”
“He’s just lost and being somewhat immature about the whole thing. Like all of us act sometimes but him more so than most,” Olivia said tenderly.
“I guess that’s true. We all have our moments,” Chelsea agreed.
Olivia placed her hand on Chelsea’s shoulder and massaged it gently. “Everything okay between you and Xav?”
“Yes. Now that Dad’s gone and we’ve been allowed to really start our new life, everything is great.”
“I knew you could handle it— all of it. You’re only nineteen, but you have the bravery of a much older woman,” Olivia said.
“Thanks for saying that. It really means a lot.”
Olivia bowed her head. Silence passed between them.
“I don’t think I want to be a teacher anymore,” Olivia said suddenly.
Chelsea’s eyebrows rose. “Really!”
“Yeah. I think this might be my last year.” Olivia hadn’t known the power of this emotion until now, as she spoke it aloud to her daughter. “I want to throw myself completely into The Hesson House. And I’ve been writing. Silly stuff, maybe — but I also might want to write a book about Great Aunt Marcia.”
Chelsea’s smile erupted. “That’s incredible, Mom.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“Too bad it’s only October. You have many more months of teaching,” Chelsea said.
“True. But it’ll be good to close out the year with them,” Olivia said. “Really give it my all until The Hesson House reopens.”
“Are you going to finally let the kids read what they’ve always wanted to read? Books about sex and drugs and rock 'n roll?” Chelsea asked.
“Not quite. I want to give my notice, not get fired,” Olivia clarified.
The bonfire crackled and spat and threatened to tear itself toward the sky. Olivia and Chelsea piled their new firewood off to the side; the fire would eat it when it was ready.
“I’m just glad it’s not still wet from the storm,” Anthony said. “That could have been a real problem.”
“Funny that all this space was just ocean a few weeks ago,” Olivia pointed out as she kicked the ground.
“And a restaurant before that,” Anthony affirmed.
“Now, it’s just a bonfire,” Olivia breathed.
“But it has space and time to be anything else,” Anthony said. “We just have to will it to existence.”
Jennifer, Derek, Nick, his fiancé, Stacy, Camilla, Jonathon, Andrea, Isaac, Mila, Liam, Isabelle, Zane, Amelia, Mandy, and Oliver, arrived a few minutes after three — all of them touting bottles of wine, bags of chips, hot dogs, hamburger meat, freshly-cut vegetables, fruits, and desserts galore. In their wake, Olivia’s parents, her brother Jared, along with his family, arrived. Some of the guys carried a few of the left-over plastic tables out from the basement and lined them across the grounds, while Anthony started up the grill they’d brought down from the hotel itself. As he heated the charcoal, he whistled to himself. Olivia wrapped her arms around his sturdy frame and inhaled his scent — sandalwood and sage and something else, something uniquely his. For the zillionth time in twenty-four hours, her mother grabbed her hand and inspected the ring, then spoke at length about Olivia’s options for wedding gowns.
“I think Mom should wear whatever she wants,” Chelsea pointed out as she sat on a log near the fire.
“Yes, but within reason,” her mother countered.
“Yes. When Mom told me she wanted to wear a toga down the aisle, I wasn’t so sure about it,” Chelsea said.
“A toga?” Her mother looked stricken.
“Chelsea is pulling your leg, Mom,” Olivia laughed. “Chelsea, can you try to control yourself for like, five minutes?”
“No can do, Mom,” Chelsea returned. She then placed her head on Xavier’s shoulder and winked.
But this, of course, led her grandmother to dig into her with countless questions. “How is it in the city? Have you seen any crimes? What is your apartment like? Is it true that every apartment in New York City is infested with cockroaches?”
“It’s true,” Andrea confirmed as she joined in. “You can count on me to tell the truth.”
“Chelsea! You absolutely must move home,” her grandmother spouted.
“She’s just pulling your leg, Grandma,” Chelsea chuckled at her grandmother. She was so gullible. “Me and Xavier have an okay place. It’s not Buckingham Palace, but it keeps us warm at night.”
“Do you think you’ll do anything different with the hotel now that you have to redo it?” her father asked as he appeared beside her, beer in hand.
Olivia gazed up at the beautiful mansion; the old stones glistened beneath the October sun, and the bright red, yellow, and orange leaves made the view a gorgeous streak of vibrant colors.
“I don’t think so. Do you have any recommendations?”
Her father considered this. “I think you should have a sauna.”
“Huh. Actually, not a bad idea,” Olivia said. “Very sellable in the pamphlets.”
“Exactly my thought,” he returned. “And you know, I can help out with anything you need. It’s going to be a hard road. I’m sure you feel like you’re back to square one.”
“Not really, surprisingly,” Olivia told him. “Yes, the hotel is about as ready to open as it was last February when I inherited it. But along the way, I’ve gained so much. A fiancé, for example, and a huge sense of purpose. I can’t explain it, but it really feels like everything that happened was for a reason. Doesn’t that sound so silly?”
“It doesn’t,” her father told her. “I’ve thought that so many times over the years, especially when I look around at your mom, your sister, your brother and my grandkids. I can’t believe every decision led me to this point. But it must have.”
“It must have,” Olivia echoed.
Anthony and Olivia portioned out the hot dogs and hamburgers on various plates. Chelsea had chopped lettuce and tomato and onion, which she portioned out on several large plates, to allow for all the guests to pass through and decorate their own burger and hot dog to their hearts’ content. Perhaps in previous years, Chelsea might have grumbled at the idea of helping out; now, however, she flung herself into action — becoming a part of the great cycle of women in their family. Kim and Olivia and Chelsea — and someday, maybe, Chelsea’s daughter; they would all find one another in the kitchen at various holidays, gossiping and ensuring everyone else was fed.
Toward the far log, Chelsea and Andrea fell into another conversation about Andrea’s approaching wedding. Camilla collapsed on the picnic table alongside Olivia and said, “Wedding, wedding, wedding. Will it ever end?”
“I don’t think you want it to,” Olivia told her.
Camilla smiled playfully. “You’re right. I don’t. I’ll soak up every minute.”
“And when do you think yours will be?” Jennifer asked.
Olivia turned her gaze back to meet Anthony’s. “I don’t think there’s any rush. After all, we’ll want to have it here, after everything’s finished. Don’t you think, Tony?”
Anthony laughed. “I told her I hated when my dad called my Tony, and now, she’s picked up on it.”
“You’re evil, Olivia Hesson,” Mila quipped.
“Maybe a little bit,” Olivia returned.
“I had to get it from somewhere,” Chelsea said.
“A wedding at The Hesson House? What a dream that will be,” Amelia breathed.
“And what about you?” Kim demanded of Amelia.
“What about me, what?” Amelia asked, her burger poised.
“You know.” Kim wagged her eyebrows.
“She’s suggesting you should get married before you have a baby,” Olivia said with a funny grin. “But you shouldn’t listen to her.”
Amelia shrugged lightly and laughed it off. “If you’d told me ten years ago about the way everything worked out, I would have told you that you were crazy. But life is funny that way. Right, Oliver?”
Oliver beamed and dotted a kiss on her cheek. “And thank goodness for that,” he added.
The fire continued to spit and crackle into the evening. Olivia’s nearest and dearest bubbled with life and conversation. Everyone spoke over everyone else — with Olivia’s mother the most frequent offender. Olivia laughed so hard that her stomach ached. And through it all, Anthony sat beside her, his hand gently on her knee — her knight in shining armor, her rock through it all. Soon, winter would come; the leaves would die and flutter to the ground. Martha’s Vineyard would burrow itself beneath layers of snow and when spring came, The Hesson House would rise again — better and stronger than ever.
Like Olivia herself.
**
Coming Next in the Sisters of Edgartown Series
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You can now pre-order An Edgartown Christmas
