Of all the restaurants in town, Ruth thought Olivia would most enjoy The Red Inn for dinner. Situated right on the harbor in the West End, it had water views but also a fine-dining atmosphere that would give Olivia a nice soft landing for her first night in Provincetown. Oh, she so wanted Olivia to love the town as much as she did. As soon as she’d set eyes on her daughter, Ruth had known that the weekend would not be enough. It was unrealistic to think that Olivia might extend her stay, but Ruth would not give up hope that by the end of the weekend, she would agree to return later in the summer.
Ruth had so many questions as they sat down at the table in the restaurant. Did Olivia have a boyfriend? How was work going? Had she seen her father lately? But she held back from asking any of them, still stuck in apology mode for the bumpy start to the weekend.
“I just don’t get it,” Olivia said. “How could you let those people move back in when you’ve paid for the house?”
It did sound crazy, now that she’d been forced to articulate it. “I don’t know. Maybe part of the reason is that this is such a close-knit town, and I want to feel like I belong. I don’t want to displace locals.”
Olivia shook her head. “Well, that brings up the question of why you chose this place to begin with.”
From her seat, Ruth could see across the water to the Long Point Lighthouse. The sight of it still gave her a deep pang. “Grandpa Lew brought us out here one summer when he was working on a big housing development nearby. I fell in love with it.” And fell in love.
Olivia scanned the menu. “I mean, there are a lot of closer beach towns.”
“This place has a very rich history,” Ruth said, as if that had anything to do with her decision to move.
“Yeah?” Olivia didn’t look up from the page.
“President Roosevelt and his wife stayed here when they visited to lay the cornerstone of the Pilgrim Monument—you know, that tower you can see from everywhere in town?”
The waitress appeared, and Ruth ordered a bottle of the Kongsgaard. Olivia had closed her menu but was now hunched over her phone.
“Did you know this was the place where the Pilgrims first landed in America? Here, not Plymouth.”
Olivia looked up. “Mother, no offense, but I didn’t come here for a history lesson. What’s going on? Why are you out here?”
She had been dreading this moment of truth, considering she had drawn Olivia out here with an ever-so-slightly misleading comment. She would delay the discussion as long as possible. At least until the wine arrived. “Let’s talk about you first. How are things going at work? You must be running that place by now.”
At this, Olivia cracked her first smile of the day.
“Well, not quite. Actually, I’ve been thinking it might be time for me to go out on my own.”
“Really?” Ruth said, smiling broadly now herself. “That’s exciting.” A woman after her own heart.
“How did you know when it was the right time to start your own company?” Olivia said.
The question nearly brought tears to her eyes. Her daughter, asking for advice! “I don’t think there’s ever an exact right time,” Ruth said. “At least, not one that is ever safe or easy. It’s just a matter of feeling you need to take the leap.”
The waitress arrived with the bottle of wine, and the uncorking and pouring of a tasting glass took far more time than Ruth would have liked. She didn’t want anything to break the moment between herself and Olivia. But then there was the ordering and the arrival of bread. And by the time they were left alone again, Olivia said, “Mother, just tell me the truth. Are you sick? What’s going on?”
Ruth reached for her wineglass and fortified herself with a large gulp. “Selling the company was a big adjustment for me,” she said slowly. “I’m still not sure I did the right thing.”
“Okay,” Olivia said. “But what does that have to do with—”
“I came out here for the next stage of my life. And at my age, realistically, there aren’t that many stages left.”
“You are sick.” Olivia blinked rapidly, and Ruth saw the fear in her eyes. She was touched by the show of emotion, but she wanted to reassure her quickly. “No, I’m fine. I just—”
“You’re fine?” Olivia said, her eyes expressing an altogether different emotion. One much less gratifying for Ruth to witness. “Then what the hell am I doing out here?”
“Visiting your mother,” Ruth said. “Isn’t that enough?”
“You said you were, quote, getting your affairs in order. You always do this! You lie to me all the time.”
“Lie to you? When have I ever lied to you? And I am getting my affairs in order. I’m looking to buy a permanent home out here. And a burial plot.”
“A burial plot?”
“Yes. I want my final resting place to be by the sea.” She had thought of this just a few days ago.
“By the sea? What about by Grandma Joan?”
“Oh, Olivia. I can’t spend all of eternity in New Jersey.”
Olivia put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this. Although I should. Why not? Why expect anything different from you?”
The waitress arrived with their salads. This time, the interruption was more than welcome. Ruth needed a moment to find her conversational footing. Okay, so the worst was over. Olivia knew Ruth had misrepresented the truth slightly, but Ruth felt she had made a solid point. Why not visit your mother? Was that so much to ask? And, really, what had Ruth ever done that was so horrible that it required a fatal illness before she got face time with her only child? “I want to spend more time together,” Ruth said.
Olivia picked up her fork and stabbed at a lettuce leaf. “Oh, so now that you don’t have your company, now that you’re bored, you want to spend time with me?”
Ruth sat back in her seat. “That’s unfair.”
“I’m sorry,” Olivia said. “But it’s unfair that you were never around for me when I needed a mother, it’s unfair that you outsourced all of your parenting to Dad, and it’s unfair that you lured me out here under false pretenses.”
Ruth, shocked at the anger, could only shake her head. When she was able to speak, she said, “I never meant to let you down, Olivia. I did my best. And there was nothing false about my reasons for asking you here. I want to spend time with you, not because I’m bored or lonely, but because I miss you. Give me a chance to make up for lost time.”
Olivia shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mother. I just…can’t. I don’t want to get my hopes up that somehow it will be different this time.”
She once again checked her phone.
It was early evening when Elise finally heard from Fern.
“How’s it going? Are you holding down the fort?” Fern asked, the call breaking up as she spoke. Elise walked to the front door in an attempt to get a clearer connection.
“Great,” Elise said, hoping her voice didn’t falter. “Jaci’s been a big help at the shop.” At least, she’d been a big help there until Ruth showed up with Mira. Without explanation, with only a frantic plea and a rushed burst of instructions, Elise converted Jaci from tea barista to babysitter. Good sport that she was, Jaci went along with it.
Elise decided not to share that little detail with Fern. Or the other major detail of the day—the visit from the police. That would have to be discussed in person. “The shop was so busy. It was a massive day. If every summer weekend is like this, I think we’ll be in solid shape. We might even consider seeing if that woman from Chatham still wants a job. We’re that busy.”
“Listen, things went really well here too. So well, in fact, I should stay and work the market again tomorrow,” she said.
“Oh? Do you have a place to sleep?” It was a reprieve from having to tell Fern about Brian. And yet Elise felt a tremor of discomfort, an internal warning bell.
“I’m just going to get a cheap hotel room by the seaport. I have to set up so early in the morning, it doesn’t make sense to come all the way back.”
Elise couldn’t remember the last time she and Fern had spent the night apart. Of course, it made sense if the farmers’ market sales were substantial, if she was building another customer base. And yet a part of her couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a way for Fern to escape what was going on at home.
She kept these feelings to herself. At least, until hours later, when Jaci was helping her close up the shop, Mira asleep in the stroller pushed into a quiet corner. There were no more customers, no more distractions. And Elise could no longer avoid Jaci’s questioning glances. It was all too much! The truth was, she wanted someone to talk to.
“So I guess you’re wondering about why our tenant dropped off a baby for me to take care of today,” Elise said carefully.
“The thought did cross my mind.”
Elise walked out from behind the counter, made sure the front door was locked, and asked Jaci to join her at the armchairs by the window.
“First of all, I really appreciate your help today—at the store, and with Mira. You were a lifesaver. And I obviously owe you an explanation. But I cannot express strongly enough the need for this to stay confidential. I love your family, but your aunt Bianca is a bit of a gossip.”
“She makes us all insane.”
“She means well.”
“Does she?” Jaci said, an eyebrow raised.
Elise felt a surge of affection for her. “Well, okay, then. Between you, me, and these four walls, a crazy thing happened last week.” She hesitated only a second before unloading the whole story of the mysterious baby on the doorstep and the agonizing decision about what to do.
Jaci’s eyes widened. “Who else knows about this?”
“Um, Amelia and Rachel. They’ve been helping out. And Ruth, our tenant. But other than that, we’re trying to keep it quiet.”
Jaci sighed. “Hmm. Well, you can’t hope to keep the baby a secret. I mean, a baby is pretty visible around here.”
“I know. The thing is…” Elise hesitated.
Jaci leaned forward, looking her in the eye. “Elise, I’m not a kid anymore. I spent the whole year away, and believe me, I’ve grown up a lot. Whatever it is, if you need someone to talk to, I’m totally here for you. You guys were always there for me when my parents were driving me crazy. Which, by the way, they still are.”
Elise knew she’d said enough. “It’s fine,” she said. “It will work out.”
“Can I ask you a crazy question?” Jaci said.
“Sure.”
“Are you going to keep her?”
“That’s not a crazy question. That’s the question.” Elise stood, walked over to the stroller, and peered down at Mira’s tranquil face. Her mouth was making a sucking motion, signaling she would soon be awake and hungry. “I want to. More than anything. I just need to figure out the best way to make that happen.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, tell me. Seriously.”
Elise looked back at her with a smile. “You really will do anything to get out of working on that oyster farm.” She reflexively looked around to share the quip with Fern and missed her with a sudden wave of sadness. She picked up her phone and dialed, aching to hear her voice.
The call went straight to voice mail.