But right then, Taylor punctuated the announcement of Annie and John’s spring wedding with a grand stroke of her bow, and laughter filled the room, along with many toasts to the current bridal couple.
“And Francine and Jonas are going to have their own place, after all,” Kevin announced. “As soon as I finish converting the workshop into a house for them.”
“I’ll help,” chimed in Bill, Francine’s uncle, who, it turned out, was a plumber.
“Count me in,” Linc said. Annie had forgotten that in his “spare” time, Linc was a licensed electrician.
“Me, too!” Jonas said. After all, he’d spent a lot of time helping to build the Inn.
Then another voice bellowed from the crowd. “But do you have the proper permits?” It was Richard Sullivan, a town selectman.
A hush fell over the group until Earl spoke up.
“Hell yes, Richard,” he said. “It’s not exactly our first time on the island.”
Laughter broke out then, because almost everyone knew that the Lyons family had been on Chappaquiddick for more generations than any islander would be able to dispute.
As the party continued, Annie walked past the newlyweds and around Lucy, who was feeding Kyle one of Claire’s fabulous appetizers, and Claire, who was sharing the recipes on her iPad with friends, and meandered over to the two unexpected, yet very welcome guests: Trish and Louisa. Standing with their backs to the windows, surveying the crowd, the ladies were tastefully dressed in New York City black, which Trish had enhanced with a netted fascinator, and Louisa with an embroidered shawl. They were grinning.
“I’m surprised you came,” Annie said, returning a smile.
“Not as surprised as we were to see that the parts of bride and groom were being played by different actors,” Trish said.
“When you hear the whole story, you’ll understand why it’s been so much fun,” Annie said.
Then Trish reached over and took Annie’s hand. “I’m sorry about our last conversation. I stepped over the line. I’m accustomed to having to do that with our vendors, but never with an author. Especially you.”
Annie smiled. “Apology accepted. And I’m sorry I was so defensive.”
“Please stop, ladies,” Louisa interjected. “Next, you’ll be hugging one another, which will be embarrassing.”
They laughed, then Annie said, “I’m so glad you’re both here. Where are you staying?”
“A place called the Kelley House,” Trish answered. “The internet said it’s the closest hotel to the Chappaquiddick Ferry. Which, in itself, presented a memorable experience.”
By then Annie knew that while not everyone would ever understand the inner workings of the Vineyard, most people agreed it had a special charm.
“Well, thanks for coming to my wedding, even though Francine was the bride. And, by the way, I intended to leave you a message later, Trish.”
“To apologize for walking away from fame and fortune?” She waved it off. “Don’t bother. It’s not always what it’s cracked up to be.”
Louisa let out a howl and said to Annie, “I can’t believe she just said that.”
“Will it help if I tell you I’ve changed my mind? That I don’t want to ‘walk away?’ ”
The women fell silent, their expressions now vacant.
“What?” Trish finally asked.
“It’s probably too late,” Annie said. “But I spent the past week thinking about it and talking to John. I showed the contract to an attorney. I was going to e-mail you earlier today, but we were a little tied up here.”
Louisa spoke up. “We didn’t come to your wedding that turned out not to be your wedding to try and convince you to change your mind.”
Annie smiled. “You didn’t. I convinced myself. So is it too late for our Museum Girls Mysteries to go to Hollywood?”
A moment passed, then another. Then Louisa jabbed Trish with her elbow. “Tell her,” she said. “Or I will.”
Trish let out a big sigh. “I figured that once you were married you wouldn’t want to be bothered with having to make a decision. So I lied about the deadline.”
