Cottage by the Sea Page 2

  These were the poignant topics they shared the first time they sipped coffee at Café Kate. They left feeling energized and made plans to meet again the next week. The fourth time they gathered Sharlene asked the question that changed the future for both of them. “Have you ever thought about starting your own business? Something in the bridal industry?”

  “Yes,” Erin replied without hesitation. “Have you?”

  Sharlene’s dark eyes glowed like polished obsidian. She started her next sentence with “As a matter of fact,” and right then and there the vision for The Happiest Day was born.

  Two and half years later, here they were, sitting in Erin’s home office, sipping vanilla lattes on the morning of their grand opening. The dream had become a reality, and the friendship remained strong.

  “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you,” Erin said. “We had our first call right before you got here.”

  “Really? And?”

  “The woman thought we were Patio Galaxy. She was looking for an umbrella.”

  “Why did she think we were Patio Galaxy?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Sharlene frowned. “That’s a bad sign. My grandmother would have said it’s a bad omen, and then she would have spit at something.”

  “Please don’t spit in our new office.”

  “Okay. Fine. I’ll wait until I go outside for the rest of the brochure boxes in my car. Check to see if our new business phone number is close to the number for Patio Galaxy.”

  Erin did a quick search online and pointed to the computer screen. “Yup. Their number ends with an eight, and we’re a nine.”

  Sharlene hopped up to view the computer screen. “Are you kidding me?”

  “It’s too late to change it. We just had our number printed on our cards and all the brochures.”

  “I can’t believe this.”

  Erin rounded her shoulders back. “It could be worse. We could be one number off from the IRS or traffic court and have people screaming at us when we answer with ‘The Happiest Day.’”

  Sharlene laughed. “You are ever the sunshine girl, aren’t you, Erin? Nothing ever gets you down.”

  Erin knew that wasn’t true. She had had plenty of dark seasons. This just didn’t happen to be one of them. This was a springtime season in her life, and she intended to enjoy every buttercup moment.

  With an overly cheerful lilt in her voice, Erin playfully said, “Maybe we could find a way to cross-promote to future callers from Patio Galaxy. What do you think? If they call asking about ropes for hammocks, we could ask if they’re thinking about tying the knot.”

  Sharlene groaned.

  “Or how about if someone calls about wind chimes? We’ll ask if they’re hearing wedding bells.”

  “You can stop any time now.” Sharlene stood and headed for the door. “I’m going to bring in the rest of the brochures.”

  “Ooo! Wait!” Erin called out. “I have an idea. A good idea.”

  “I’m sure you do.” Sharlene didn’t wait to hear what Erin had to say.

  Picking up the phone, Erin called Patio Galaxy and asked to speak to the senior manager. After explaining who she was and how their company connected brides with all the services necessary to create “the happiest day,” she asked, “I’m wondering if you rent patio furniture. You see, we have a number of outdoor wedding locations that are ideal for a staged seating area at the reception.”

  “Are you referring to our open-air living room furniture? We have a line of luxury padded couches and chairs.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m interested in. We would send couples to you to rent whatever groupings you offer. And I think we also would have couples interested in renting outdoor lighting such as tiki torches or hanging lanterns.”

  The manager paused on the other end of the phone before saying, “We’ve not done this before. We’re not a rental service. But, you know, it’s not a bad idea. Let me talk to the powers-that-be and get back to you.”

  Erin gave him her contact information and was wearing a satisfied grin when Sharlene returned.

  “What did I miss?”

  “A possible new agreement in the works with . . .” Erin leisurely rolled out the rest of the sentence. “Patio Galaxy.”

  “Are you kidding me? Just now? You called them?”

  Erin started to give Sharlene the update, but the phone rang before she finished. The two friends paused and both stared at the phone as it played its “Here Comes the Bride” ring tone.

  “You get it this time,” Erin said.

  “No, you. It might be Patio Galaxy calling you back.”

  “Or it could be someone else looking for Patio Galaxy.”

  “Just answer it! Put it on speaker.”

  Erin cleared her throat and pushed the button. “Good morning. The Happiest Day, this is Erin.”

  A woman’s voice said, “Hi. I wanted to see if you have any openings.”

  Erin and Sharlene exchanged apprehensive glances. Sharlene whispered, “Openings for a job?”

  “For what sort of openings were you looking?” Erin asked.

  “I wanted to see if you had openings for new clients.”

  Sharlene made a victory clench with her fist and mouthed the word “Yes!”

  “Absolutely. We have openings for new clients. When is your wedding date?”

  “I’m getting married in May. I saw on your website that you recommend a lead time of nine months, but my fiancé is in the military, and he’s being deployed the first of June. We want to get married before he leaves.”

  Erin placed her hand over her heart, touched by the tenderness in the young woman’s voice. “We would be honored to help you to make arrangements for your happiest day.”

  Sharlene sat in the chair and leaned in closer.

  “I understand the way this works is I meet with you and tell you what we have in mind for our wedding, and then you put together a list of the best location and florist and all that.”

  “Exactly. Think of us as your personal shopper,” Erin said.

  “My fiancé said you’re like a broker.”

  Sharlene made an exaggerated frown.

  “I suppose that’s another way of viewing what we do. However, you don’t pay us anything. Our commission comes from the businesses you decide to use as a result of our recommendation. The best part for you is that many of our partner merchants have offered exclusive discounts to our clients.”

  Sharlene gave Erin another affirming nod. Those selling points were the ones they had rehearsed at a recent small business workshop. After practicing client phone calls with each other, they were now actually talking to a “live one.”

  “I saw that on your website, too. I know you’re going to save me hundreds of hours because I’m not good at organizing things. Is there any chance you’re available to meet this morning?”

  Erin looked at Sharlene, who was nodding vigorously. “Sure. This morning would be fine. Did you see the list of suggested meeting locations on the website?”

  “Yes. Could we meet at Café Kate? It’s only a few miles from my apartment. And are you available to meet there around ten? I know this is last minute.”

  “Ten o’clock would be fine.” Erin was trying to keep sounding professional. It was challenging because Sharlene had jumped up and now had her hands on Erin’s shoulders and was shaking her back and forth with glee over their first official appointment.

  “I’m easy to spot,” Erin said. “My picture is on the website. I’m the tall one with the red hair.”

  “I have blond hair, and I’ll be wearing a jeans jacket.”

  “Okay, ten o’clock at Café Kate. See you then.” Erin pressed the End button on the phone and turned to Sharlene with an exultant smile and both arms victoriously lifted in the air. “We are in business!”

  “Yes, we are! Come on! Happy dance.”

  Erin stood, and together they did a wiggly, gleeful jig that ended in a hug. Erin always felt awkward hugging Shar
lene because of their height difference. She didn’t feel too tall around Sharlene in everyday interactions. When they sat together, they always seemed to be eye to eye. But at moments like this Erin realized how much she towered over her demure business partner. Sharlene commented on her stature often, saying, “It’s my Sicilian genes. I may be short but watch out! I have just enough Gypsy blood in me to be dangerous.”

  “Where’s your new briefcase?” Sharlene headed over to the assembly table that ran the length of the wall. Everything needed to put together a personalized presentation portfolio was neatly organized in boxes under the table and in the closet.

  Erin went to the closet and pulled out her “briefcase,” a fabulous, designer shoulder bag crafted of soft, buttery caramel leather with a front kangaroo pouch and shiny gold buckles. Sharlene had come across the beautiful bag months ago on a clearance table at an outlet mall. She declared it to be their official briefcase since it would make them look classy when they showed up at meetings.

  This was the little stunner’s maiden voyage.

  “Make sure you have extra business cards with you. And here—extra brochures. You have the Getting to Know You forms in there along with the contract. Can you think of anything else you’ll need?”

  “No, that should do it.”

  “Okay, then. Off you go. Time to make history with our first client.” Sharlene paused. “What’s her name?”

  Erin froze. Her eyes widened. “I don’t know.”

  “Are you kidding me? How did we miss that? Here.” Sharlene pulled one of the sticky notes from the dispenser on the desk’s corner. “I’m putting this note by the phone. ALWAYS ASK THEIR NAME.”

  “Good idea. And hand me the phone, will you? I want to copy down her phone number.”

  “Right. Good. Phone numbers. We should know this stuff. These are basics. Basics!”

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry. We’ll work out all the glitches, Shar.”

  “I’m not worried.” Her expression said otherwise.

  Erin glanced at her watch. If she left now, she would be early. But early was good. She was too excited to stay in the office. Just as she was about to exit the door to the garage, her home phone rang.

  “Do you want me to get that?” Sharlene called out.

  “Yes, could you? Thanks! Take a message for me, or if it’s one of my sons, tell him to call my cell.” Erin pushed the garage door button on the wall, opened her car door, and tossed the new briefcase onto the passenger’s seat.

  Erin was just about to slip into the driver’s seat when Sharlene yanked open the kitchen door and came toward Erin with the phone next to her ear and an unpleasant expression on her face. She still was speaking to whoever was on the line. “Yes, can you hold on just a minute? I’m sorry. Just one second.”

  “Who is it?” Erin asked.

  Covering the mouthpiece Sharlene whispered, “It’s Delores. She thought I was you. Erin, I’m so, so sorry.”

  Erin felt her skin bristle. Her father’s new wife was the last person she wanted to speak to right now. She wished she hadn’t told Sharlene to pick up the call; it could have rolled over into voice mail.

  Erin reached for the phone and took note of Sharlene’s shaken expression. It seemed strange for Sharlene to wear such a scowl since she had never met Delores or even spoken with her. But the abrasive woman did have that sort of souring-in-the-stomach effect on people.

  “Delores?”

  “Erin? Where did you go? I thought the signal dropped. Did you hear what I said?”

  “No, I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “Your father has had a stroke.”

  Every molecule in Erin’s being seemed to come to a screeching halt.

  2

  May God grant you many years to live,

  For sure he must be knowing.

  The earth has angels all too few,

  And heaven is overflowing.

  Erin caught her breath. “What happened, Delores? Is he okay?”

  “Here. He wants to talk to you. Jack? It’s Erin. She wants to talk to you.”

  “Hello?”

  The familiar voice filled Erin’s ear, sounding the same as always—a little gruff, a little sad. Erin released the air in her tightened chest. “Hey, Dad. Hi. How are you? Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Fine, fine. How are you?” His words came out abrupt but with a slight slur.

  “I’m good. But what about you? Delores said you had a stroke. Are you feeling better?”

  “Yes!” He yelled into the phone so loud that Erin jumped.

  “Okay. Well, that’s good. Can you tell me what happened?”

  “It . . . I’m . . . it . . . the . . . aaa . . .”

  “Dad?”

  No reply.

  “Dad?”

  “What?” He shouted his response, and that frightened her even more.

  “Dad, are you sure you’re okay? You’re not making sense.”

  “Fine. Fine.”

  “Dad, let me talk to Delores.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to ask her a few things.”

  “You hate her!”

  Erin blinked and tried to form a sentence. She knew in her gut that something was really wrong. Her father had always been direct, but in the year and a half since he had married Delores, none of them had spoken the raw truth about how Erin and Delores viewed each other.

  Erin tried to control her tone, but her voice wobbled. “No, Dad, I don’t hate Delores. I just need to talk to her for a minute.”

  Sharlene stepped closer and placed her hand on Erin’s arm in a gesture of concern. Sharlene was the only friend to whom Erin had confided her feelings about her seventy-year-old father marrying a fifty-three-year-old woman he had known for only two months. To everyone other than Sharlene and Mike, Erin had defended her father’s decision, saying that perhaps Delores was just the person to bring back the sparkle that had faded from his baby blues since Erin’s mother had died.

  Erin didn’t have the chance to watch for that returning sparkle because only a few days after her father surprised them all with the announcement that he had gotten married, he made a second stunning announcement. He and Delores were moving to a seaside cottage in a small coastal town in Oregon. Erin hadn’t seen her father since his abrupt move eighteen months ago and had talked to him only a handful of times.

  “Erin? You wanted to talk to me?” Delores’s voice sounded as gruff as her father’s had.

  “What are the doctors telling you? Is he okay? He doesn’t sound coherent.”

  “He hasn’t seen a doctor yet. They’re backed up at the clinic. I told the admitting nurse that I think he’s had a stroke.”

  “You’re at a clinic?”

  “Jack wanted to come here. It’s a twenty-four-hour emergency clinic.”

  Erin rubbed the back of her neck and paced the small space between the door into the kitchen and her car. “Delores, don’t you think he should be looked at by a doctor at a hospital and not just at a clinic?”

  “That’s not what your father wants.” Delores’s words were firm. “He told me to bring him here.”

  “But, Delores, he doesn’t seem to be communicating clearly. It sounds like he needs to be seen by a doctor at an emergency room.”

  “I wasn’t calling to get your advice, Erin. I called because your father wanted to talk to you.”

  Erin reeled at Delores’s snappy response. It took Erin only a moment to reply with equal verve. “He needs to get to a hospital. You need to take him to the hospital now.”

  “He doesn’t want to go to a hospital, do you, Jack?”

  Erin couldn’t hear any reply from her father in the background. Her heart was pounding wildly. “Delores?” Erin paused. What she was about to say made her feel sick to her stomach. “I’m coming up there.”

  “Why would you do that? There’s no need for you to come.”

  “I think there is a need. I’ll come as soon as I can. Please tell my dad th
at I’m coming to see him.”

  Delores didn’t reply.

  “Delores?”

  “You don’t need to come, Erin. Are you trying to pressure me to take him to the hospital? Is that it? Is that why you think you need to come? Because I’m telling you right now the doctor at the hospital will say the same thing the doctor here is going to say. Your father has had a stroke, and he needs to go home and rest.”

  Erin wanted to scream. She switched the phone to her other ear and with firm, authoritative words she said, “Delores, please take my father to the hospital. Now.”

  Delores paused. “All right. Fine. I’m telling you now, it’s not going to make any difference. There’s nothing they can do for him.”

  “Please call me as soon as you have any news from the hospital. You have my cell phone number, don’t you?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Erin gave Delores her cell number as well as Mike’s cell and asked her again to please call as soon as they had any further information.

  When Erin hung up, her hands were shaking. Sharlene stood close by and asked, “You okay?”

  “How can that woman be so uncaring? I don’t understand. My father sounded completely off balance, Shar. He is not okay.” Erin felt tears pool in her eyes. “I told her I was going up there. I don’t know what to do.”

  Sharlene stretched her arm around Erin’s middle and gave her a comforting hug. “Why don’t you call Mike and let him know what’s going on? I’ll go to meet with our client. If you need to be with your dad, then that’s what you should do. I can take care of everything here. Don’t worry about any of the business details. Your dad is your priority right now.”

  A surge of anger replaced the stunned concern Erin had felt during the call. She narrowed her eyes and felt her jaw clench. “I just don’t understand why she didn’t take him to the hospital right away. He never should have left Irvine. This is his home. If this had happened while he was here, he would be in much better shape right now.”

  “Your father is a strong man,” Sharlene said. “If anyone can pull through this, he can.”