Page 80 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“What I didn’t understand then, which I do now, is that I should’ve trusted you to follow your passions and make them a success.”
“Thank you,” Brody said.
“Sitting in Boston alone, I realized what I’d lost, and I, too, felt as if I didn’t deserve to have it back.”
“You deserve it,” Melinda said, coming up behind them.
Chuck stood and turned to face Melinda, uncertainty in his stare.
“And I did want you to pick us over work,” she said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t,” he said. “But I will, if you’ll let me show you.”
Melinda’s eyes glassed over, a smile forming on her lips. “I’d love for you to show me.”
“Sorry to butt in,” Dave said, slicing through the moment. “The sun is setting perfectly for the cameras right now. Think we can push the cake-cutting forward a few minutes?”
Lauren stood up. “Sure.” As she left them, a new feeling washed over her: hope. With the glowing sun on the horizon and laughter lifting into the air, there was nothing but hope around her. And she had a very real feeling once more that Mason had something to do with it all.
* * *
Lauren sat in a chair that Brody had brought down to the beach and dipped her sore feet into the cool sand. The wedding had been an amazing success, and afterward the crowd all headed for their homes and their rooms at the inn. The bridal party was inside, and Dave and his crew had rushed off to catch the last flight out of town, planning to return in a couple weeks after editing their rough cut to shoot narration footage with Lauren. And Chuck had decided to go back home with Melinda. The only ones left on the beach were Stephanie and Mitchell, Mary, Joe, and Brody.
Stephanie hiked up her wedding gown and plopped down into one of the beach chairs, holding a glass of wine. “I’m exhausted,” she said, her cheeks rosy with happiness. “Who knew that getting married was so tiring.”
“It’s on purpose,” Joe said from across the bonfire in the center of the circle of chairs. “That way, married life will seem like a walk in the park.”
They all laughed.
But then Joe sobered. “It’s actually better than a walk in the park. It’s… heaven.”
Brody offered Lauren a thoughtful grin, the little group falling into a quiet, happy silence.
“What was your wife, Penelope, like?” Stephanie finally asked from behind her wineglass while Mary puttered over with a glass of water and took a seat between her and Lauren. “You’ve never really spoken about her.”
They all looked around at each other, excited for this moment. A hush hung in the air and all eyes were on Joe, ready for what he was about to tell Stephanie.
The corners of his eyes creased as his weathered face broke into an enormous smile. “She was radiant. Penny was a spitfire of a woman. She was small but feisty and playful.” He leaned forward in his chair. “And there’s something that I think you should know.”
As Joe told her the story, Stephanie’s face became brighter with every word. She put her manicured fingers to her lips in awe, her gaze moving from Joe to her husband to Lauren, in utter disbelief.
“I have a family again?” she asked, her eyes wide.
Lauren pulled out her phone and showed her a picture of her mother. “This is my mom.”
Stephanie sucked in an excited breath, staring down at the photograph. “Oh my gosh,” she said in a whisper, her body still with the shock of it. Then suddenly knocking her wineglass into the sand, she stood up and draped her arms around Lauren. Mary threw her head back in delighted laughter.
“You said Brody’s grandfather drove all the way from Alabama that day he showed up. How did he end up living in the Outer Banks?” Lauren asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Ever since she’d shown Joe the bracelet, he hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “He stayed with me for a couple of weeks and then promised he’d come back, before he went home and got married. A little less than a year later, he brought Alicia and they moved into a big ol’ beach house down the road. He never really told me what it was that made them come. Did your grandmother ever tell you, Brody?”
Brody shook his head.
* * *
Spring, 1961
Fairhope, Alabama
