She pulled out a booklet and flicked through the pages, showing off her work.
“That’s great! Well done,” Charmaine told her. Then the girl disappeared into the back room.
“She loves it in there. It’s her own little hideaway,” Betsy said with a smile.
Sam emerged again with a hairbrush and hair bands, then knelt in front of Betsy.
“I meant to tell you, Betsy. I ran into someone named Penny St James at the café on the corner. Do you know her?”
“Yes, I know Penny.” Betsy combed Sam’s hair and began plaiting it in two long braids.
“I offered to help plan her wedding. She’s going to pay me to do it. Do you mind?”
“That’s fine. As long as you do it on your own time.”
“Thanks, I will definitely do that. And she’s going to order flowers from us as well.”
“That’s wonderful — it’ll be a lovely wedding, I’m sure. We have to get to school now. Thank you, Chaz. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Betsy led the girl out the front door. Sam’s uniform was neatly ironed, and her hair hung in two long, brown plaits on either side of her head. Her backpack was enormous, and she was so small carrying it through the door as the bell dinged overhead.
Charmaine watched them go, wondering what the shouting had been about. Adrenaline still coursed through her veins from the anxiety the man’s voice and demeanour had produced in her. Charmaine didn’t like conflict. She particularly hated yelling.
Betsy was so well dressed and had wonderful manners, and she was always perfectly groomed and wore expensive silk kaftans every day. The man she’d said was her son wore old, soiled work clothes and had an unkempt beard and wild brown hair streaked with grey. His stomach protruded over the waistband of his shorts, and he’d appeared completely out of control. He was so unlike Betsy in every possible way, it was hard for Charmaine to believe he was her son. Why would he be shouting at his own mother? And what were the lies she’d told?
She tucked her camera away behind the register and got to work. Painting would have to wait until after her shift was over. Already she was running through the colours, brushes and mediums she’d use for each piece in her head. It helped her process her feelings, to tune out the noise of the world and to calm her nerves. When she was painting, or sculpting, sketching or colouring, she could forget her troubles and focus on the act of creation.
Until then, she had orders to fill and flowers to arrange. She’d already learned so much from Betsy and it’d become another form of meditative creation for her. Pulling flowers from each of the pots and bringing them together to make a beautiful work of art, the day would pass by quickly. She only wondered if the conflict with Betsy’s son would be an ongoing issue.
Four
POINT PROSPECT WASsunny when they arrived for the engagement party. Penny drove there in her car while Rowan rode with Brad in his yacht. He’d agreed to bring it to the point for the day so they could all swim and picnic and enjoy the view from the vantage of the ocean.
It was a beautiful day, as long as the rain clouds stayed on the horizon and didn’t drift too close. Penny was excited and a little nervous about all their loved ones coming together to celebrate. She hadn’t seen her parents in person in six months and wasn’t sure how they’d go sharing space with Rowan’s family.
Since June Clements last saw Penny’s parents, her ex-husband, Buck, had gone to prison for murdering Penny’s grandmother. Now he was behind bars, awaiting trial as the police built their case against him. She wasn’t sure how much evidence they had, but she hoped it would put him away for the rest of his life. The fact that she’d recently discovered he was her biological father only further complicated the matter.
Her mother had been sixteen when she fell pregnant with Penny. Buck had been an adult and had taken advantage of his friends’ daughter. How on earth would the two families manage to co-exist peacefully, given their history? Even thinking about it made her heart hurt and her gut churn.
There were so many connections crisscrossing between the guests coming to their party that she wasn’t sure she could keep them all straight. The plan was to stop any conflict before it might happen by separating the guests who had a grievance against one another. But at this point, that seemed impossible.
“Are you okay?” Beatrice asked as she opened a folding table on the grass and pegged a tablecloth in place so it wouldn’t be blown away by an unexpected gust of wind.
“I don’t know.” Penny chewed a fingernail. “Mum and Dad should stay away from June … but then Betsy’s coming too. Should I keep them apart? Because Buck is Betsy’s brother, and she was his alibi. Then there’s my brother Rob, who’s angry with Mum for not telling me Buck is my father. They haven’t spoken in weeks. I’m not sure how to keep the peace. Honestly, my head is pounding and I want to throw up, and no one’s even arrived yet.”
Beatrice shook her head and reached out a hand to pat Penny’s arm. “Sounds to me like you’re just going to have to buckle up for the ride. You can’t keep them all apart. If it goes badly, it goes badly. Fretting over it will only ruin the entire day for you. Let them shout at each other if they want to. Heck, they can even throw potato salad.” She set a bowl of potato salad on the table with a flourish. “But you and Rowan shouldn’t let it get to you. Today is all about the two of you and your love for one another. A love that crosses the barriers and defies the odds. You’re getting married! After all this time! That’s worth celebrating. If there’s a food fight—well, maybe you should simply join in and have fun with it.”
Penny laughed, the tension along her shoulders easing slightly. “You’re right. This is silly. I can’t control them any more than I can control that storm headed our way.”
Beatrice set a bowl of coleslaw beside the potatoes with a shrug. “It’s hard to let go when we care so much.”
“I haven’t had enough time to think it through, either, since I’ve been so busy with work. But Rowan has been great—when he’s at home. He’s really taken a lot of the load around the house. He even fixed my car the other day.”
“That’s great,” Bea said. “I had no idea he was so handy.”
“Me either. The problem is, he’s hardly ever home. When he has an assignment, he’s gone for weeks at a time.”
“Do you think you can keep going like that?”
“Not long term. But I don’t want him to give up his career for me.”
