Find Wonder in All Things

chapter 17

The next weekend, Laurel went out on Dylan’s boat with Ginny, Stuart, and her brothers. As Dylan steered past a couple of jet skis and a pontoon, a sudden shout from Stu startled her out of the pleasant lethargy brought on by the sun, the drone of the motor boat, and the wind in her face.

“Hey, Dylan, turn the boat around! It’s James.”

Laurel’s eyes popped open and she squinted in the direction Stu pointed. Another boat bobbed in the wake and Laurel’s eyes were immediately drawn toward one of the boaters, shirtless and leaning over the stern, pulling in a ski rope. He turned in response to the shout and held up his hand in greeting, a toothy smile gleaming in his tanned face. James had developed quite an outdoorsy look to him since he’d arrived, and Laurel thought it suited him. She turned her attention to the rest of the group and saw two men and a woman she didn’t recognize scattered about the boat, but it was difficult to discern their features given the distance. Laurel surmised they could only be the famous EMP think tank and found herself very curious about the people who knew more about the man James had become than she did. She was interested — but undeniably apprehensive — when Dylan indicated a small beach where they could all meet up.

They tied up at a little dock floating just a few feet from an area of dirty sand, flat enough to hold a few chairs and maybe a little hibachi grill.

“Hey, Stu, imagine meeting you here!” James came up and the two shook hands, James reaching up to clap him on the shoulder. “Hi, Virginia,” he nodded. He looked at the rest of the party. “You guys need to come over and meet the California crew.”

He led them over, and Stu whistled. “Nice boat, James.”

“Oh, it isn’t mine. I rented it for a couple of weeks. Not much use for it when it’s just me, but I thought it might come in handy while I had guests. Had to show them the best of the area, and a boat’s the best way to do it.” He turned to his friends.

“Stuart, this is Eric Harville and his wife Millie, and this is John Benwick. Guys, meet my old buddy Stuart Pendleton. This is his wife, Virginia, and her brothers, Dylan and Crosby Elliot, and her sister Laurel.”

Eric gave a small start of recognition at Laurel’s name, and cast a quick surreptitious look between her and James. Then he stepped forward and held out his hand to her. He was an average-looking guy with a pleasant aura about him. “It’s nice to meet you.” He turned to the others and shook hands with them as well. “This is quite a big crowd for just one family,” he remarked.

“We have another sister too,” Laurel replied with a serene smile, “but she’s seventeen and too cool to come out with us old folks. She went to the movies with some friends.”

“Wow, lucky you,” Eric grinned. “I have no sisters or brothers at all — except for these two bucket-heads. Millie and I think of them as the brothers we never had. She’s only got one sister.”

Millie Harville stepped forward then. “Hi, it’s so good to meet you. Any friends of James, you know, and all that. I’ll be glad to have a couple of women to talk to finally! I can only stand computer and sports talk for so long before I just wig out!” She was the classic California girl: blonde hair, perfectly straight teeth, bubbly personality, and a cute figure.

“Are you the ones with the baby?” Virginia asked, suddenly interested. “Is he with you?”

“Oh no, we got a babysitter for today.” Millie shook her head. “We couldn’t bring him out here. All this hot sun and deep water — that life jacket would have just made him miserable. And you know if he’s miserable, we’re all miserable!” She giggled. “I heard you’re expecting your first.”

“Yes.” Virginia beamed.

Millie took her arm, already forming the alliance of two women sharing the experience of new motherhood. “Have you been feeling well? Oh my gosh, I was so sick at first, but then it got better later on . . . ”

Laurel, having nothing to contribute to that conversation, turned to the last member of the party.

Of the three men, John Benwick was the most stereotypically ‘nerdy.’ Thin and pale, he wore retro-looking, horn-rimmed glasses and stood at the edge of the crowd. His hairline was starting to recede slightly, but he was far from unattractive. He was very pleasant-looking in that gentle, beta-male sort of way. He gave Laurel a cautious smile. “So you’re Laurel Elliot. James hoped we’d get to meet you while we were here.”

“He did?” Laurel was genuinely surprised. She thought James would have done his best to avoid her and make sure his friends did the same.

“He said you were an artist — a potter.”

Laurel nodded. “Guilty as charged.”

“My fiancée was an artist too. She worked in graphic design, but she painted china as a hobby.”

“Yes, I read that she passed away recently. I’m so sorry.”

A sad smile crossed his face. “Thank you. It’s not been an easy time. Fiona was a wonderful woman. The world lost an incredible person when she left it. She was Eric’s cousin; did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, I guess it’s one of the reasons the three of us have stayed close, even after the buyout.”

“I can imagine. It’s good to have friends to lean on in times like that.”

“I have a book that Fiona published: a coffee table book of her work. Would you like to see it sometime?”

“Yes, of course I would. Did she have a certain style that she preferred?”

“Her favorites were Asian designs. There’s so much Asian influence in the art on the West Coast.”

Laurel felt a prickle on her neck and turned around, only to see James eyeing her and John as they talked. When he caught her looking, he quirked his lips in a little smile and turned back to his conversation with Crosby.

“James has a lot of fond memories of this area from when he was a kid. He’s talked about it a lot over the years. That’s why Eric and I couldn’t say no when he invited us to join him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to settle down here someday.”

Laurel groaned inwardly. Watching James settle down with a wife and kids in her back pocket sounded like hell on earth to her. Unable to think of a fitting reply, she was relieved when Virginia called to her.

“Laurel, hey — come here a sec.”

“Excuse me.” Laurel smiled apologetically at John, and then went to join her sister and Millie, who had been chatting with their heads together for several minutes.

“Millie has invited all of us for supper tonight. Isn’t that nice?”

“That’s all right with you, isn’t it James?” Millie called over her shoulder.

“Is what all right with me?” he called back.

“If we all descend on your place for supper,” Virginia answered.

“I don’t know what you’ll find there to eat, but it’s fine with me otherwise,” he replied.

Millie rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. “We’ll stop and get something on the way home — maybe spaghetti and salad? Oh, can you do spaghetti, Virginia? Will your stomach take it?”

“It sounds great. What time?”

“About 7:30 or so?”

“We’ll be there. Laurel, can you stop at Dad’s and pick up a couple bottles of Chianti?”

“You can get wine here? I thought it was dry.”

“Oh . . . um . . . our dad . . . ” Virginia began.

Laurel chimed in. “Dad keeps wine on hand for company. He won’t mind a bit.”

“I mean . . . I know I can’t have any,” Virginia went on, her equilibrium returning. Even after all those years, the mention of her dad’s contraband still unsettled her. “But I thought everyone else might enjoy some.”

“Sounds wonderful. I think I’ll splurge on one glass tonight, even though I’m still nursing.” She giggled again. “Speaking of Trevor, we’d better be getting back soon. You know, time to feed the little prince. If I don’t get there in time, I’ll be pretty miserable, and so will his babysitter.”

“I imagine so,” Virginia replied. “Thanks for the supper invite. We’ll get some wine and dessert together and see you around 7:30.”

“See you then.” Millie beamed. “Good to meet you, Laurel!”

The rest of the party said their good-byes and parted ways.

Laurel climbed in the boat and sank down onto the rear seat.

“I can’t believe we ran into James,” Stuart said. “What luck.”

“His friends seem okay,” Dylan ventured as he untied his boat and shoved off the dock.

“You’d never know they were all obscenely rich just by talking with them,” Crosby put in.

“Well, they haven’t always been wealthy,” Virginia said, smiling and shaking her head. “They’re people just like the rest of us.”

“It’s a shame Heather and Carrie didn’t get to meet them,” Stuart went on. “But James wanted me to be sure and bring them tonight. When we get back, I’ll tell them. They’ll be thrilled, I’m sure.”

Laurel kept her thoughts to herself because she couldn’t help feeling a little melancholy. The Harvilles and John Benwick seemed like very nice people. She wasn’t surprised that James Marshall had picked good friends for himself. It occurred to her that they might have been her friends, too, if she and James had stayed together, but then she pushed that thought out of her mind. It was entirely possible that James never would have met them if he’d stayed with her, and it was entirely possible that even if they had met, she and James might not have stayed together. Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve thinking was not going to serve her well. She had to force herself to remember that.