Christmas at Saltwater Cove: a Westcott Bay novella Read online

  Sandy burst out laughing. “Please, make it stop.”

  “All this time I’ve led you to believe that Margie convinced me to come here, when really, I’ve tricked all of you to come to my insurance seminar.”

  “Stop!” She waved a hand through her laughter.

  He smiled. “I’m just kidding. But yes – that’s what I did. All those years, though, I dreamt of opening my own restaurant. And one day, I looked around. No one was home. I was going to the same job, day in and day out. Our daughter Helen moved away and moved on with her life. I realized that she didn’t need me, not like that, anymore. And I just decided to start trying my hand at cooking.”

  “And what made you make that decision?”

  He sat back. “It was…a long time coming. My wife thought that it was a midlife crisis. And at times, it seemed like that. I still went to my day job, but on weekends and evenings, I worked and trained under a famous chef – a guy I knew from college.”

  “Ah I see. And then you started the restaurant.”

  He nodded. “Yes. And shockingly, though most restaurants fail in their first years, mine was a success. That’s where I saw Margie, actually. It was my last week there – I just sold the place. As much as I love it, I don’t love being so far away from my daughter.”

  “Helen?”

  “Yes. She’s married with a baby on the way. And I don’t want to miss out on any time with her, so I’m moving out close to her. She lives in Framingham, it’s just outside – ”

  Sandy smiled. “Of Boston?”

  “Yes! You know of it?”

  “Yes. I’ve lived in Boston for years. What about your wife?”

  He cleared his throat. “My ex-wife. The restaurant was sort of the nail in the coffin. We divorced two years ago.”

  “I see.”

  He settled back into his seat. “Do you have any kids?”

  There it was. The question that she detested most – but she had her answer ready. “No. But I went on to specialize in pediatric surgery after residency. So sometimes I feel like I have hundreds of kids.”

  He laughed. “Yes, you’ve given hundreds of lives.”

  She always used that line with people – it shut them up pretty quickly.

  But Jack wasn’t pressing for more information.

  After a moment, he added, “I always wanted to have more kids, but we weren’t able to.”

  Did he remember how much she loved children? She finished her last sip of her coffee. “Life never seems to go the way we imagined. But we can’t let our expectations hold us back.”

  “Tell me about it. And we’re going to need some eggnog before delving into any more history.” He put a hand up to call the waitress over.

  She laughed – she wasn’t sure that she should discuss more of her history with him, but he seemed more than willing to share his own.

  The waitress came over, the bells on her outfit jingling with each step. “How is everything?”

  “Everything is wonderful,” he said. “Except we’re running at a complete deficit of eggnog. And before you ask, here is my ID.”

  Sandy covered her laughter with her hand before adding, “I’ll take an eggnog as well, please.”

  “Coming right up!” the waitress said, spinning on her heel.

  “That should help,” he said, leaning in. “When Margie tried to entice me to come to the island, she told me you were divorced. So she’s already given away a lot of your history.”

  “And that enticed you?” Sandy sat back and crossed her arms.

  He shrugged. “Of course. I thought it’d be nice to see you. And so far, I’m having a much better time with you than I would have had sitting back in my apartment by myself.”

  “Well I’m glad I don’t disappoint.”

  “Not at all. Though I am waiting to hear the story of how you ended up on San Juan Island this Christmas.”

  Sandy narrowed her eyes. “What have you heard?”

  “Jade provided some information.”

  “It’s not what you think.” Sandy crossed her arms. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  The waitress stopped by and dropped off two glasses of eggnog. Jack took a sip and immediately said, “When you have a chance, can you please bring two more glasses? This is phenomenal.”

  She nodded and set off.

  “It can’t be that good,” said Sandy.

  “Go ahead. Try it.”

  “I don’t usually drink alcohol,” she said. “I need to stay sharp.”

  “Just try it,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll be doing any surgeries tonight.”

  “True.” She took a sip. “Wow. That is delicious. It’s so creamy and fluffy – what’s in there? This is a dumb question, but are there really eggs?”

  “I have no idea. I just want to keep them coming.”

  Sandy laughed and took another taste. “So is this your plan to get me talking? To get me drunk on eggnog?”

  “I think you mean drunk on holiday cheer.” He paused. “Is it working?”

  “Sort of.” She set down her glass. That drink was too good. “All right, so here’s the full story. Last month I was called in for an emergency surgery. It was a school bus accident – we had six kids brought to our emergency room. I had just walked into clinic when I got the call.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Clinic?”

  She nodded. “Yeah – my post-surgery clinic. So after I do a procedure, I see the kid and the parents for a follow up.”

  “Oh, of course. Sorry, I’m stupid, move on.”

  “You’re not stupid. Well anyways – I get to the hospital, and they’d already initiated the disaster protocol. Everything was running smoothly, and I was just one part of the machine. I got into the operating room, worked on two of the kids, and thankfully, all of them pulled through.”

  “That’s amazing!”

  “Yeah, it was. One of the kids barely had a pulse when they rolled him in, he’d lost so much blood. I was terrified we would lose him.”

  Jack cleared his throat. “Okay, starting to get me choked up again. I can’t imagine what it was like for those kids. Or their parents.”

  “It’s hard. It’s always hard. But there’s nothing better than a successful surgery.” She paused. She didn’t want to sound overly grand, so she left it at that. “Anyways, all of the patients I had scheduled in clinic that afternoon had to be rescheduled. The next week, I saw one of the patients – a kid whose appendix I took out. Her mom started screaming at me – how dare I cancel their appointment on short notice, and that she was going to report me to the medical board.”

  “Sounds reasonable,” Jack said with a smile, finishing his first eggnog.

  “And I’m not proud of this,” Sandy said, taking another sip of her own drink. It was making her feel rather warm. “But after explaining to her that we had an emergency, and apologizing and going on and on…I might have yelled at her, just a little bit. I kind of…lost my temper and told her to sit down and be quiet.”

  He stared at her. “So?”

  “What do you mean ‘so?’ I’ve never done that in the entire course of my career!”

  “What, you can’t yell at people every once in a while?”

  Sandy laughed. “There’s a reputation for some surgeons that they like to yell at everyone. But I’ve always thought surgery needed nice people, too, and I try my best to be kind.”

  “And it sounds like you tried to be nice first, but that didn’t work.”

  “Like I said, I’m not proud of it. And then…” she groaned. “I had to have a meeting with the head of surgery and the CEO of the hospital, and it was decided that I was overdue for a vacation…”

  He chuckled. “So you’re in timeout? Because you yelled at a rude mom?”

  “That makes it sound so…silly. But it wasn’t silly. What I did was wrong, and I feel awful. I don’t know what got into me.”

  “It sounds like no one got hurt – except maybe
that mom’s ego. And maybe you needed a vacation after all.”

  She frowned. It’d been a while since she took a break, but that was no excuse. Maybe she had been too focused on work. They were always talking about burnout, and sure, sometimes she could see needing a break. But she loved her job. She didn’t want to be someone who had to take a break.

  Yet here she was.

  “You need to keep up here doc, or I’m going to drink all of these.” He pushed the second glass of eggnog toward her. “And I, for one, am glad that you gave her the business like that and ended up here with me.”

  For the first time since “the incident,” she was able to laugh about it. Maybe he was right. No one was hurt, at least. And she’d certainly learned her lesson.

  And somehow, it was all a little bit less terrible after sharing it with Jack at this ridiculous restaurant between these ridiculously cozy drinks.

  Chapter 4

  On Saturday morning, Margie was already working on breakfast when Jade wandered into the kitchen.

  “Morning Mom.”

  “Good morning sweetheart!”

  “Where’s Aunt Sandy? Is she still sleeping?”

  Margie shook her head, pulling a quiche out of the oven. “No, she doesn’t sleep in. I think she woke up around five o’clock – she left a note that she didn’t want to wake us, so she went out for a walk.”

  Jade looked around. “And she’s still not back?”

  “Not yet. But I’m betting that she can’t be much longer. At least I hope not – I don’t want her to miss breakfast.”

  “So…are you sure that she’s not mad at us?”

  Margie stopped what she was doing. “Of course she’s not mad! Why would she be?”

  “Because,” Jade said, “we kind of surprised her with her ex-boyfriend.”

  “No, it wasn’t like that.” Margie frowned. “Why, did she say something to you?”

  “No, but it didn’t seem like she was happy to see him.”

  “Aha!” Margie said, putting up a finger. “But then she had dinner with him and didn’t get home until really late! So she must’ve had a nice time.”

  Jade crossed her arms. “I don’t know, what if she was just mad at us and that’s why she didn’t come home until late? And another thing – is that the only reason that you wanted to go to that restaurant with me? After I showed you the article? I just thought that the restaurant looked cool! Aunt Sandy is going to think I was in on this!”

  Margie turned around to wash some dishes. “Don’t worry honey, you’re the innocent party here. I didn’t have it all planned out or anything. I mean – I recognized him when you showed me that article. And I thought it would be nice to see him again, and go to the restaurant with you. It was a fun girls day.”

  “It was…” Jade said slowly. She looked unconvinced.

  Margie continued. “But no, I didn’t know that he was divorced or anything. Or that he would be spending Christmas alone. I’m not a mastermind, but it all just…worked out!”

  Jade laughed. “Kind of. Aunt Sandy has never really struck me as someone who would…I don’t know.”

  “Someone who would what?”

  Jade shrugged. “I guess – someone who would pine after their high school sweetheart? Or pine after anyone at all. She doesn’t seem like she needs anything, she’s so…independent. Strong. And smart.”

  “While she is all of those things,” Margie said, rinsing off the last plate, “she’s also much more complicated than that.”

  “Oh great. All the more reason that she might be mad at us!”

  Margie waved a hand. “Don’t worry honey. She’s not going to be mad at you. She’s not going to be mad at all! Your Aunt Sandy – you’re right about some of those things, and she’s a very…intense person. When she sets her mind to something, nothing can stop her. And that’s the same way she is in her relationships – she gives a hundred percent to people. Even when they don’t deserve it.”

  “I thought she had a boyfriend?”

  “No,” Margie said with a sigh. “They broke up years ago. And he was – well excuse me, but he was a dud. He didn’t deserve her. She’s a great surgeon because she gives a hundred percent of herself to her patients, and she doesn’t expect anything back from them. It’s a good relationship, it works for her. That’s how she is with everyone. It’s the same with the residents that she trains. You know that she won the preceptor of the year award, right?”

  “Oh yeah! I remember you telling me about that.”

  “She’s an incredible woman. And it’s hard to find a man who deserves her, or who will give a hundred percent effort into a relationship like she does.”

  Margie took a peek at her phone – maybe Sandy had sent a text message?

  But no – there was nothing. What if she really was mad at her? That would make the visit a bit awkward.

  Jade poured herself a cup of coffee. “And we just happened to find the right guy in the culinary section of the paper?”

  Margie laughed. “I never said that. But he really loved her. And she really loved him. They were so young, though…I never understood why she broke up with him. She just made up her mind and that was the end of it.”

  “Maybe she had her reasons, Mom!” Jade rubbed her forehead. “What if she left the island because she was so upset?”

  Margie settled in next to her with a coffee mug. “No, your aunt is not a hot head. And besides, we’re sisters, she’d at least come and yell at me first if she was really angry.”

  Jade grunted but said nothing else.

  “Don’t get so worked up. It’s okay. And I had to do something! Do you know what she said to me? After she found out that she had to take time off from work?”

  “What?”

  “Well, she sounded so down on herself and I was trying to convince her to come here and visit. I told her how wonderful moving here has been, and how I’ve gotten to spend so much time with you, and how I’ve fallen in love again.”

  “Aw, Mom!”

  “And she said she’s happy for me, but not everyone is lucky enough to find love. And she said that she’s accepted that she’s just not cut out for it, and she’s okay with that.”

  “Oh…” Jade sat, staring into her coffee.

  Margie frowned. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. Jade didn’t talk much about her own recent divorce, and she didn’t need to get those kinds of ideas in her head – that some people were simply not cut out for love.

  “She’s wrong, of course,” Margie added. “She’s just given up – and she’s gotten away with that for a long time. But not anymore – not if I have anything to do with it.”

  Just then, the front door opened and Margie and Jade both froze. Margie felt panicked for a moment, trying to think of something to say – anything so that it wouldn’t look like they had just been talking about Sandy.

  Luckily Jade was a bit more quick thinking and called out, “Aunt Sandy, is that you?”

  “It is!” She strolled into the kitchen, cheeks flushed and rosy. There was even a bit of sweat on her forehead despite it being quite chilly outside.

  “We were starting to get worried about you,” said Jade. “How far did you walk?”

  “I have no idea!” replied Sandy. “But it was wonderful. So peaceful, so quiet. I found a spot for myself at the edge of the water and just sat for a while. What a view!”

  “Good!” Margie clasped her hands together. “Can I get you some water? Orange juice? Oh – I made coffee too. And breakfast, when you’re ready for it.”

  Sandy laughed. “That is some remarkable service, thank you. I hope I didn’t wake you up this morning?”

  Margie shook her head. “Absolutely not. I didn’t even hear you sneak out. I wish you would’ve taken the car. Just so you know, I keep the keys in my purse and you can take them whenever you like.”

  “That’s all right – and I didn’t mean to hold up your breakfast.”

  “You came just in time,” Ja
de said. She cleared her throat before adding, “Did you have a nice evening?”

  Sandy accepted the glass of water that Margie handed her. “Oh yes, it was lovely. I went to that restaurant where they’d turned the entire menu into a Christmas theme.”

  “Did you see Santa?” Jade asked.

  “Eventually.” Sandy took a big swig of water. “But then it got so crowded that we had to leave.”

  Margie smiled. “Oh, where did you and Jack go then?”

  “I was tired, so Jack offered to drop me off back here. Sorry that I missed you both. And Margie?”

  Margie flashed a smile. “Yes?”

  “That was a nice try with him, but it’s not going to work. Though I do admire your effort.”

  “See Jade?” Margie said, handing Sandy a mug of coffee. “Your aunt didn’t get so angry at me that she left the island.”

  Sandy threw her head back and laughed. “What?!”

  “I didn’t say that I thought you left,” said Jade. “I was just, you know…concerned. And I want you to know that I had nothing to do with it, Aunt Sandy.”

  Sandy patted her on the shoulder. “Believe me, I never suspected you. I know what my sister is like. In fact, I’ve known her for her whole life.”

  “It’s very good that you’re not mad, and now we can move on to breakfast.” Margie made a few cuts in the quiche.

  “No, I’m not mad. But how do I put this? It’s like – well, almost like I got a Christmas gift that I didn’t want. And I don’t mean to be rude and try to return it, but I never asked for it, you know?”

  “Hm, can’t say that’s ever happened to me,” Margie replied. “What would you say if there was an old-fashioned Christmas market in town and that present that you didn’t like happened to be there, too?”

  Sandy gave her a puzzled look. “What? Did you invite him without telling me?”

  “It’s the main event this weekend, Sandy! I can’t tell the man not to attend all of the best Christmas activities. And yes, maybe I told him that he might get some ideas for party appetizers there. And that we were going to be there.”

  Sandy set her coffee down. “Of course. Hard to avoid someone on such a small island, isn’t it?”