Maybe he’d marry a much-younger woman and have another child. The thought of a geriatric Jim trying to keep up with the schedule of a middle schooler brought a smile to her face but no pang to her heart. And that was when she knew for certain, one hundred percent, no doubt in her mind, their years together were definitely in the rearview mirror.
Early on Thanksgiving morning, Liddy picked Emma up, and they drove to Ground Me, where they purchased three large coffees and three croissants. From there, they drove to the beach at the end of Cottage Street, where they found Maggie wrapped in a blanket and huddled against the rocks.
“What are you doing all the way over there?” Liddy held her own blanket over one arm, the coffees in their carrier in both hands.
“The rocks are blocking the wind. Tell me again why we’re out here in the cold on a holiday morning.” Maggie reached for her coffee and wrapped her hands around the container.
“Because we’re starting a new tradition. Coffee on the beach at sunrise before we go back to my place and start cooking.”
“Why can’t we start this new tradition on, say, Memorial Day? Or the Fourth of July?” Maggie took the croissant Emma offered her.
“Because Thanksgiving is in November, and it’s the day we gather together with all those we love and be thankful they’re with us,” Liddy explained as if she were speaking to a five-year-old.
“That sounded like a Hallmark card.” Emma selected a croissant for herself, then handed the bag to Liddy.
“We can gather and be thankful when it’s warm again,” Maggie grumbled.
“Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.” Emma nodded in Maggie’s direction.
Liddy and Emma wrapped up in their blankets and sat with Maggie on the cold, damp sand. The breeze blew up around them, chilling them even more and pushing the whitecaps onto the shore.
“So what do you hear from your shark?” Maggie asked through chattering teeth.
“Rosalita? She’s long gone. Right about now, she’s enjoying those warm waters of the south.”
“Shark’s got more sense than some people I know,” Emma muttered.
Hunched in her blanket, Liddy laughed. “Hey, we went south last November. Emma and I had Thanksgiving with you and the girls, and then on Friday, we went to Charlotte to see Chris and his band in concert.”
“We got our tattoos at that little shop a few blocks from the hotel. We called to make an appointment, and the girl who owned the place said she was booked solid, so sorry. No tattoos for you,” Emma recalled.
“Until Chris called and promised her backstage passes and tickets for his Saturday night show.” Maggie smiled. “And the poor girl almost passed out when he walked into her shop to deliver the bribe.”
“That was a really fun weekend. I can’t believe it’s been a year,” Liddy said. “And oh, hasn’t it been one hell of a year?”
“You’re telling me! It’s been a year of miracles for me. All these things I never believed would happen. Brett and I have grandchildren together. Fancy that!” She took a sip of coffee. “And Natalie—oh, Emma, remember when she and Chris were little, and he’d take her around the block in his wagon? And we dreamed about how we’d get them together when they grew up.”
“It’s so much better that they found each other on their own.” Emma grinned. “Just think, I’m going to have a daughter-in-law who’s always been like a daughter to me. Which would give me an automatic granddaughter.” She turned to Maggie. “Will you mind sharing Daisy with me?”
“Of course not!”
“Have they made it official, then?” Liddy asked.
“No,” Emma admitted, “but they’re so much in love, I can’t imagine him with anyone else.”
“And Gracie really seems to have found herself.” Maggie turned to Liddy. “Thanks to you, she has a job she loves and a house that’s going to be totally Grace when she’s finished. And she’s found herself a new guy, and everything about Linc just feels right.”
“I remember him from Chris’s high school days, when the band would rehearse in our garage if Harry wasn’t home. He was a shy kid, but always so well mannered. Chris tells me he and Linc are collaborating on some music again.”
“How’d it go, having Linc’s nieces with you while he was in California with Chris?” Emma asked. “You haven’t said much about it.”
“Grace was nervous because Bliss didn’t like her, but it turned out fine. I kept her busy. Chopping fruit, loading the dishwasher, setting the table. Simple things like that. Giving her responsibility and letting her feel useful has made all the difference in her behavior. She even gets along better with Gracie now, so she’s coming around.”
“Well, speaking of big years—Liddy, what a year you’ve had!” Emma exclaimed.
“Oh my God, where to even begin? I bought a business! My shop has given me life. I never saw myself as a businessperson, but I enjoy all the work that comes with owning a business. I love books and I love the shop—it’s anchored me. I feel like for the first time ever, I’m in control of my life. No one’s expectations to meet except my own. If I succeed, it’s my victory. If I fail, it’s my failure. But either way, it’s on me.” Liddy smiled. “It’s a nice change.”
“Jess would have been so proud, Lids,” Maggie said.
Liddy nodded. “And Jim and I have made our peace, such as it is. And the questions about Jessie’s death have been resolved. I can never thank Gracie enough for putting all the pieces together. With Bowers’s inevitable conviction, he’ll be sentenced to more years than he has left. A small consolation, but at least justice will be done. Sort of. So that’s a good thing, and more than I thought I’d ever see.”
Emma said, “And look at you with a boyfriend.”
Liddy smiled. “Yeah. Who’d have thunk it?” She finished off her almost-cold coffee.
“Not to mention a new look,” Emma continued. “I love the shoulder-length hair, Liddy. It makes your eyes look bigger and brighter.”
“Thanks, but that could be mascara.”
“And Emma, you’ve gotten some funding for the center, so you can have that artists’ colony you wanted,” Maggie said.
“I’m still working out the details, but we’ll get there.” She brightened. “But my dream of Chris settling down here and raising a family has more of a chance to come true than it did a year ago, so there’s that. Chris is happier than I have ever seen him, and that makes me happy.”
Liddy glanced at her watch. “Hey, we should start back to the house. We’re going to have to get that turkey ready to go in the oven. He’s huge, so it’s going to take forever to roast him.”
“Remind me why you bought a twenty-eight-pound turkey?” Maggie stood and emptied the cold contents of her cup into the sand.
“When I went to pick it up at the farm, it was this one or a twelve pounder, which never would have been enough.” Liddy folded her blanket. “I asked the farmer how it got so big, and he said, ‘Well, it just kept eating.’”