Lucy felt underdressed next to her sister. When Camilla had asked her that morning if she wanted to go out to breakfast, Lucy had just thrown on a pair of denims and a pullover sweater. She didn’t bother putting on makeup, and the only jewelry she wore were the same stud earrings she always wore, and her wedding ring.
Camilla came out dressed as if she were going to show property and she wanted to impress the clients. She had obviously taken extra time applying her makeup and fixing her hair. With her outfit, she wore a gold necklace and matching bracelet along with her gold earrings. Even if Lucy wanted to change her clothes, she had only brought casual clothes with her, aside from the outfit she had worn to her uncle’s funeral. She hadn’t brought extra jewelry along, and the only makeup she owned was a tube of lipstick.
“I wonder if they still have really good hamburgers here,” Camilla said as she and her sister walked into the diner and looked for an open booth.
“I doubt they’re serving lunch yet.” Lucy stopped at an empty booth. “This okay?”
“Sure.” Camilla sat down in the booth.
“When we were kids and visited Uncle Homer, I always liked coming here.” Lucy slid into the booth across from her sister.
“I remember. You called it your restaurant.” Camilla picked up a menu from the end of the table.
“Well, they named it after me,” Lucy teased. She picked up a menu.
“Really? Didn’t Uncle Homer tell us he used to come here when he was a kid, years before you were born? Maybe Mom and Dad named you after a restaurant?” Camilla teased.
“Oh hush.”
Camilla’s cellphone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at it. “It’s our brother.”
“So he finally decided to wake up?”
“I guess.” Camilla accepted the call and put the phone to her ear. “Hello, Ted.”
“Where are you?” he asked.
“We just sat down at Lucy’s Diner.”
“I’m hungry. There’s no food in this house.”
“You can meet us here. I can put your order in,” Camilla offered.
“No. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’d rather look at the menu.”
“Okay.” Camilla set her phone on the table and looked at her sister. “Our brother’s joining us for breakfast.”
The server showed up at the table with a coffeepot. After being told they were waiting for one more person, the server poured them each a cup of coffee and then left the table.
Camilla looked at her sister. “I’m really surprised you and Ted are staying for so long. I figured you’d both be leaving right after the funeral.”
“We assumed we’d have to go through Uncle Homer’s house, clean it up, put it on the market. Neither of us imagined you’d decide to stay in Frederickport and move into the house.”
“You should have asked. You knew the terms of the will. We can only sell the house if we all agree. Otherwise, it’s to be used as our family’s vacation home.”
“It’s not exactly a family vacation home if you move in full time.”
“Hey, you and Ted are welcome to move in, too.” Camilla picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip.
“I don’t get you. It’s been ten years. Why do you want to move back here? Do you still have friends here? If so, I didn’t see them at the funeral.”
“It was time to move back.”
“Is this about Brian?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Cam. You seem upset that he has a girlfriend. You’re the one who left him. Did you seriously think he’d stay single all this time?”
“I didn’t expect him to start dating women young enough to be his daughter. Especially one who looks like she belongs to a cult.”
Lucy fidgeted with the rim of her coffee cup, absently running a finger over its rim while staring down into the coffee. Without looking up at her sister, she said, “When you first told us you were leaving Brian, Ted and I wondered if you had a boyfriend.”
“Maybe Brian had a girlfriend.”
Lucy looked up to her sister. “Brian? Brian cheated on you?”
Camilla let out a sigh. “Not that I know of. I’m just saying, why did you wonder if I had been cheating and not Brian?”
“I never saw Brian as the cheating type. When I was around him, he never flirted with other women. He used to get really irritated with guys who disrespected their wives. It was one thing I always respected about him.”
“And so you assumed I cheated?”
Lucy shrugged. “Admit it, you always liked to flirt. I often wondered if it bothered Brian.”
“Brian never complained. Fact is Brian never complained about anything. He was always quite content. Too content.” Camilla took a sip of her coffee.
“Is that a bad thing?”
Camilla let out a deep sigh. “No. When I look back on things, I have regrets. I admit I took Brian for granted. The grass is not always greener on the other side.”
“When you told us you were leaving Brian and moving from Frederickport, we sorta figured the next time we heard from you, you’d be telling us you were living with someone. Ted and I figured that’s why you left town. Knowing Uncle Homer, he would have cut you out of the will if he found out you left Brian for another guy.”
“Uncle Homer was disappointed, to say the least, when I told him I didn’t love Brian anymore, but he didn’t think anyone should stay with someone they didn’t love. Is that why you made me that surprise visit a month after I moved?”
Lucy shrugged sheepishly, no longer fidgeting with her coffee cup. “You were living in a little one-bedroom apartment. There was no sign of any man. In fact, you didn’t get any calls while I was there. And you seemed genuinely happy to see me. So I figured, I guess there really wasn’t another guy.”
“I was lonely. I was happy to see you.”
“I told Ted you weren’t living with anyone. And I didn’t think you had a boyfriend. You did seem a little lonely.”
Camilla shrugged. “I guess I was trying to find myself.”
“Ted didn’t quite believe me. He had talked to Brian after you split up. Brian told him you left him for another guy.”
“Yeah, I imagine he thought that. He asked me once if there was someone else, and I said no. He obviously didn’t believe me. Not sure what he believes now.”
“Hey, scoot over,” a male voice said. Both women looked up and found their brother standing over them. Lucy scooted over, making room for Ted.
* * *
Lucy’s Diner was a short walk from Adam Nichols’s office. Adam often walked there for a quick breakfast or lunch. This Tuesday morning, he assumed he was alone when he headed to the restaurant. He didn’t know the spirit of his grandmother, Marie Nichols, had stopped by to check on him and decided to join him for breakfast.
Walking toward an empty booth, absently distracted by his cellphone, he heard someone call out, “Adam? Adam Nichols?”
Adam stopped walking, lowered his cellphone, and looked to the nearby booth. There were three people there, and only one looked familiar.
“Hi,” the familiar-looking woman said. “I’m Camilla Henderson. I worked at the title company. We closed a lot of escrows together.”
“Oh my. I smacked that woman the other day,” Marie told deaf ears.
Adam’s eyes widened with recognition. “Oh, yes, Camilla Henderson.” He almost added Brian Henderson’s ex, but said, “I heard your uncle Homer died. I’m sorry for your loss. I didn’t know him, but my grandma was friends with him.”
“Yes. She was more friends with my aunt. I heard she passed away. She was a nice lady,” Camilla said.
“A nice lady who whacked you upside your head,” Marie scoffed.
“Adam, this is my sister, Lucy, and my brother, Ted.” Camilla looked at her siblings and added, “This is Adam Nichols. He’s a real estate broker and owns Frederickport Vacation Properties, down the street.”
Ted stood briefly, shook Adam’s hand, and then sat back down as they all exchanged more pleasantries.
Camilla scooted down in the booth and said, “Would you like to join us, Adam?”
Adam smiled at Camilla and accepted her offer, taking a seat next to her.
Marie chuckled. “I know why you accepted her offer. You’d like a shot at listing Homer’s house.”
“Are you still working as an escrow officer?” Adam asked.
“No. Actually, I got my real estate license.” Camilla smiled at Adam.
“How is the real estate market here?” Ted asked Adam.
“It’s a seller’s market. I understand Homer left his house to the three of you.” He looked at Camilla. “If you decide to sell and want to use a local Realtor, I do referrals.”
“Actually, I’ve moved back to Frederickport.”
Adam arched his brows, wondering if Brian knew. He and Melony had been so busy the last couple of weeks working on their new house, they hadn’t had an opportunity to visit with friends and catch up on the gossip. “Do you have an Oregon real estate license?”
Camilla shook her head. “Not yet. But we’re not planning to sell the house. I intend to move into it.”
“Adam, we’re trying to convince Cam to sell Uncle Homer’s house and buy something a little more manageable for just one person. Are there any good properties on the market right now that might be good for Cam?” Ted asked.
“Ted, I don’t want to sell,” Camilla snapped.
Adam ended up regretting accepting the invitation to join them for breakfast, which proved awkward. It was clear the brother and sister wanted to sell the uncle’s house, but Camilla refused to budge. Adam did not know the terms of Homer’s will, but it seemed Camilla called the shots. He finally diverted the conversation by telling Camilla of his recent marriage.
When they all finished breakfast, Adam told them he needed to get back to work. Marie decided not to follow him back to his office, but stayed to eavesdrop, curious about what the three might say about selling the property once Adam was gone. But Camilla and Lucy left right after Adam, leaving Ted alone at the table with Marie.
Marie was about to leave when Ted’s cellphone rang. He answered the call by saying, “I could kill my sister.”