Find Wonder in All Things

chapter 12

“So what do you think about the place?” Virginia Elliot Pendleton twirled around the living room of the house she and Stuart would call home for the next few months.

“I thought you said you rented a cabin,” Laurel replied. “This is like a palace.”

“A palace is not made out of logs. With the wood floors and stone fireplaces, it’s positively rustic, don’t you think?”

Laurel wandered to the wall of glass that opened out to a second-floor deck and an incredible view of the lake. “It’s lovely, Ginny.”

“Thanks.” Her sister seemed pleased with Laurel’s praise, yet she was nonchalant about the relative opulence in which she lived compared to the rest of her family.

“Oh,” she went on, “I meant to tell you earlier, but it slipped my mind — pregnancy brain, you know.”

“Yes?”

“Stu heard from James Marshall, and he invited him down here to stay a couple weeks this summer.”

Laurel felt her stomach sink to her sandals. “James?” she whispered.

“Yeah, you and he had that fling a while back, I remember, and I told Stuart it might be a little awkward for you, but he was so thrilled to hear from him again, and he’d already asked him, so . . . ”

“How did Stuart find him?”

“James found us if you can believe that. It was weird the way it happened. Crosby was looking for a place for us at the same time he was helping James’s sister Susan and her husband find a vacation home around here.”

“Oh?” Laurel said weakly, trying to mask her expression and fiddling with some papers on the counter.

“James told them how much he loved the lake when he was growing up, so when Susan’s husband was discharged from the Navy, they started looking here for a place. We met them while we were house hunting and struck up a conversation. We made the connection, and she told James, and the rest is history. James called Stuart that weekend to catch up.”

“I see.”

“You can handle this can’t you? I can’t imagine it would be awkward for you now. That was so many years ago, and you were just kids. It might be kind of fun to get to know him again since he’s a big millionaire now.”

Laurel said nothing.

“With Carrie and Heather, and now James too, we’re going to have a full house for the month of June,” Virginia went on, wiping off windows with a Windex-soaked paper towel.

Laurel mentally rolled her eyes at the mention of Stuart’s younger sisters. They were nice enough and fun to be around, although they could be a little silly at times. Heather was just graduated from college — tall, slender, and very beautiful. And boy, did she know it. Carrie was her faithful sidekick, one year younger and slightly more animated in personality.

“The whole month, huh?” Laurel picked up the window cleaner bottle and read the label. “Hey, are you sure you should be breathing this stuff? Is it good for little Junior?”

“I’m not breathing it, sister dear, I’m cleaning with it — and it’s fine.” She smiled. “Don’t call him or her little Junior; I’ll get in the habit of it, and I’ll never be able to think of a name. Mrs. Pendleton’s already trying to get me to commit to traditional family names like Opal and Harvey.”

“Junior’s better than those,” Laurel quipped.

“So, the girls are arriving in a couple days.” She led Laurel through the hallway to one of the bedrooms. “I’m going to put them in here. They’ll have to share because James will be in the other guest room here.” She walked further down the hall. “This is the master bedroom, and it has a bath off to the side. Isn’t it great?” Virginia’s voice was full of excitement.

Laurel nodded, smiling at her sister. She put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Virginia returned the one-armed hug. “You know, I worry about you up in that cabin all by yourself, especially given Mom’s problems. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me.” Laurel waved her hand in dismissal. “I’ve been told that as long as I’m growing and changing, it’s not the same as hiding away.”

Virginia flopped down on the bed. “But are you growing and changing? Or is it just more comfortable to stay here?”

“Mom and Dad need me, and I hate to spend too much time away from home until Spring is out on her own. She’s going to need help with college applications and all that. We both know Mom is no good with those things; she’s already crying about her baby leaving home. And Dad doesn’t do details; you know how he is. He’s got so much on his plate with the marina . . . ” she trailed off.

“It’s that bad?”

“Well, I mean, he’s scraping by, but the marina is old and things need repairing. The restaurant needs a menu update and new décor. There are only so many times I can re-paint the walls to freshen up the look a little bit. It’s just all starting to look shabby, especially compared to the new place they’re building across the lake.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a lot to keep you busy then. If I were a good daughter, I’d help more. But now I’ve got the move to deal with, and the practice to keep track of, and the dental office to re-do . . . ”

“And the baby in the oven,” Laurel reminded her.

“Well, there’s that,” Virginia agreed.

With a shrug, Laurel went on. “It’s fine. You gotta do what you gotta do.” Besides, it’s not like I have anything better to do. She tried not to let bitterness creep into the back of her mind.

Virginia rolled over onto her back. “It’s a risk, you know, moving back here. Not a financial risk — I think the dental practice combined with the orthodontics Stuart wants to develop will be a great success, but I don’t want to get embroiled in all that Mom and Dad mess like you have.

“I don’t mean to criticize you; honest I don’t. It’s just . . . it’s just not for me. I can’t deal with them.”

Laurel shrugged. She’d like to get out of that mess too, but somebody had to help out, and somehow it had fallen to her. She supposed it was just her lot in life.