Page 8 of A Bright Winter Season

“Redecorate?” Julia answered dubiously. “But The Lighthouse Grill has always looked the same way. I don’t think people would like it if we changed it.”

“Well, it hasn’t really always looked the same,” Alexis said. “I’ve seen the pictures of when Mom and Dad first opened the place, and that wallpaper was definitely a different shade of red back then. More of a burgundy, and now it’s faded to a kind of mauve.”

“I think it’s a beautiful color,” Hazel said.

“Well, sure, but wouldn’t it look even better if we painted the walls to be the original shade Mom and Dad chose?” Alexis’s eyes were sparkling with excitement as she talked about her ideas. “And we could add some potted plants and rearrange the way the pictures are hung, adding some more modern frames into the mix. That will make everything look chic instead of—well, outdated.”

She said the word with a wince, and her siblings pretended to “boo” her for it. Vivian, however, heard it and felt her heart sink. Had Judd been right? Was the pub sloppy and unprofessional? Should she have tried to redecorate it a long time ago?

“Or we could go a totally different route and redecorate the whole place into something completely new,” Alexis continued. “Like, make the color theme blue or green.”

Julia shook her head. “It should be a warm color for a restaurant. Warm colors help people feel hungrier.”

“Okay, then we could do a burnt orange theme, maybe with sage accents? Honestly, there are so many cool ideas we could try.”

Julia laughed. “Grayson, you opened up Pandora’s box when you encouraged Alexis to reconnect with her creative side by starting her jewelry business. Now she wants to splash her artistry on everything.”

“Hey, I think her ideas sound great.” Grayson grinned. “It’s good business practice to rebrand every now and again. Stay on top of the times.”

Dean shook his head, chuckling. “Your ideas sound expensive, Alexis. I think we’re going to have to create some kind of grand event in order to pay for a remodeling. Or we’re going to need to up the price of our Christmas pies. Actually, maybe raising the price of the Christmas pies would be a good business move anyhow. People tend to associate lower prices with poorer quality. Our pies are some of the best in the state.”

Listening to her children talk about all of the ways in which the pub was outdated made Vivian feel overwhelmed. She took a deep breath, holding back tears. She’d hoped that she would be able to continue to hide her emotions from her children, but they all seemed to notice at once that she was close to tears.

“Mom, what’s the matter?” Hazel asked, looking alarmed.

Vivian pressed her lips together, wishing that they hadn’t noticed how upset she was. So far, everyone had been having a wonderful meal together, and she didn’t want to bring down the energy of their gathering. Even more than that, she didn’t want to talk about what was upsetting her. She felt that saying Judd’s ugly words out loud might make her feel even worse about them.

“Did we say something to upset you?” Alexis asked, looking concerned. “I didn’t mean to say anything bad about the pub, Mom. Everyone loves it and so do I. I was just thinking it might be nice to change things a little.”

Vivian nodded, feeing a sudden lump in her throat. She found herself thinking about the early years of The Lighthouse Grill, when she and Frank had first started their restaurant together. They’d felt so full of hope and excitement, and she found herself missing her husband terribly. He would have known how to handle Judd’s words. He would have made some joke and given her a hug and made everything seem all right again. She found herself wishing that she didn’t have to continue on through her life without a partner at her side.

“Is it Dad?” Julia asked gently. “Do you miss Dad?”

Vivian smiled, impressed with how perceptive her daughter was. She blinked back her tears and took a steadying breath. “I do. I miss your father very much. But that isn’t why I’m feeling emotional. And you haven’t said anything wrong. I think it’s wonderful that you want to redecorate the pub.”

“Then what is it, Mom?” Dean asked, reaching across the table to squeeze his mother’s hand.

“It’s—oh, I’ll just go get it. You can read it for yourselves.” Vivian stood up and hurried out of the dining room. She could hear her children murmuring in confusion as she left, and she soon returned holding the magazine open to the article about Judd McCormick’s brewery.

“Here.” She set it down on a corner of the dining room table. “Read this.”

Her children stood and crowded around the article. Vivian watched as they began to frown and utter murmurs of protest.

“Who does he think he is?” Dean exclaimed, looking up and making eye contact with his mother. “No wonder this upset you, Mom. What an unfair thing to say.”

“And he’s clearly pointing fingers at us because he’s sore about not being able to buy The Lighthouse Grill.” Hazel’s eyes were bright with indignation.

“He’s accused us of not being business-savvy in our management of the pub,” Vivian said. “And I worry that maybe he’s right. That’s why Alexis’s ideas about redecorating upset me. Is it true? Are we sloppy and outdated?”

“Not at all.” Julia hurried over to her mother and gave her a hug. “We’re classic, popular, and we give the people of Rosewood Beach what they want. Judd McCormick knows that. It’s like what Hazel said. He’s just bitter that he wasn’t able to buy the pub from us, so he’s saying mean things. It’s as simple as that.”

Vivian smiled, feeling mollified by her daughter’s words. “I suppose you’re right.”

“He’s definitely sore.” Dean nodded. “And so are his sons. Well, the two sons that work at the brewery with him, Brady and Seth. I saw them at the bowling alley a couple of weeks ago, and I overheard them talking about how Judd expected their profits to be so much better than they are now, because he’d been banking on having our property as a second location. Then I noticed them giving me a couple of dirty looks, like I did something bad to them.”

“Just ridiculous.” Hazel gestured emphatically. “I’d like to give all of those clowns a piece of my mind.”

Dean chuckled. “Down, tiger.”

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