Page 27 of An Island Summer
As she worked, Meghan couldn’t help but feel that, while she wasn’t sure exactly where she was going, being there felt like the right start. Maybe it was time to begin laying down roots.
By the time they got home from work early that evening, Meghan was beat. She and Tess took their sore feet out of their shoes and socks and strolled along the beach, the soft sand between their toes. The shoreline was rocky that evening, the receding tide causing bits of shells to turn over in the waves, the water depositing them on the powdery sand.
“We’re making triple what we made at Vinnie’s in tips,” Tess said.
“I need the money so bad,” Meghan said, tightening her ponytail.
“I feel like I’m actually starting something here, and I’m only staying for the summer.” Tess paced along beside her, the two of them leaving footprints in the sand.
“I think you’re right,” Meghan told her, reaching down and picking up the remnants of a conch shell that had washed up on the beach, turning it over in her hand before looking up toward the cottage. “I’m wondering if it’s time to stop treading water.” She tossed the shell into the surf, Charlie chasing after it.
Tess stopped and stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“I think I’m ready to make a few changes to Pappy’s house to make it my own,” Meghan told her. “It’s what he would’ve wanted me to do.” She turned to Tess. “With more workdays like this one ahead, I feel okay using my savings to fix it up.”
Tess’s eyes rounded. “Are we talking a full re-do?”
Meghan allowed a smile at her friend’s enthusiasm. “There is a comforter set I’d love to get… But for right now, let’s focus on just paint. We could start tomorrow, since we’ve got the day off.”
“I’d love to,” Tess said enthusiastically.
“Want to go paint shopping?” Meghan asked.
“Definitely.”
“We could paint a palm tree mural,” Tess said, widening her arms in the air. “A big sun on one wall…”
Meghan chewed on a smile. “Or a nice white…”
“Bor-ing,” Tess teased. “Okay, okay. We’ll work you up to palm trees.” She hooked her arm in Meghan’s. “Whatever you decide, I know it will be amazing.”
Meghan smiled at her best friend, so thankful for her.
The little Honda loaded down with gallon cans of paint, Meghan and Tess walked into Lost Love Coffee. The place was busy despite the evening hour, as all the restaurants seemed to be in the summer in the Outer Banks. Tess spotted a table and ran over to it, dropping her handbag in one of the chairs.
“You relax. I’ll grab us a coffee,” Tess offered. “What do you want?”
“Surprise me.” Meghan settled in at the table to relax and decide her plans for Pappy’s cottage. She pulled a pad of paper and a pen from her handbag, just the motion filling her with a little thrill. This was the moment everything would begin, she decided. Good things were in the works—she had to believe that. While she waited, Meghan began a list of the things she could do right now that didn’t require a ton of money.
Tess returned with their orders. “I got you decaf. I know how you are in the evenings.” Tess set her mug down in front of her with a curtsy and sat down.
“Thank you,” she said, adding a packet of sugar and stirring the liquid with her spoon.
“So, whatcha got there?”
“I’ve made a list of everything I can think of so far. I want to keep as much of Pappy’s furniture as we can,” Meghan said, wrestling with the urge to cry at the thought of haulingallof Pappy’s things away. She swallowed, pushing it back down. “This is harder than I thought,” she said, her emotions bubbling up.
“You have quite an attachment to your pappy, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” She focused on her coffee, her gaze moving to the boardwalk full of beachgoers out the window. The shop was clearing out as they all headed back to the beach for crabbing and bonfires. She took in a deep breath, trying to ignore the ache in her chest.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Tess said, reaching over and rubbing Meghan’s forearm in support.
Meghan looked back down at her pad of paper. “I was thinking we could paint the dining table and chairs a light tan and the bed frames in both rooms could be kept and refinished.”
“White walls and kitchen cabinets with a sand-colored table would be pretty for the kitchen,” Tess said with an encouraging expression. “We could distress the paint on the table to make it look like driftwood.”
“Yes,” Meghan agreed, the hope returning. “With a bowl of seashells in the center of the table…”
