Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Michael tapped a pencil against his bottom lip, staring down at the small notebook that lay open on the counter in front of him. He was at Tidal Wave Coffee, surrounded by the familiar, rich aroma of coffee and the sound of people laughing and chatting as they drank their beverages. There was a lull in customers, as there usually was in the early afternoon, and he’d decided to use his downtime to work on his wedding vows.

“No, that’s not right,” he muttered, scratching out the sentences he’d just finished writing. He exhaled in frustration. That had been his seventh attempt at writing out his vows, and he was becoming increasingly frustrated that he couldn’t put his feelings into words. He kept making an attempt and then not liking what he had written.

Sighing, he tucked the pencil back behind his ear and started to stare into space. His mind tried to piece together what it was he wanted to say in his wedding vows to Caitlin, but he felt like he was grasping at straws. He knew what his feelings were—but however he tried to phrase those feelings, the words either came out sounding too cheesy or not expressive enough.

At that moment, the front door to Tidal Wave Coffee opened, and Willis Jenkins stepped inside. Michael smiled as soon as he saw the older man—Willis owned The Crab, one of Blueberry Bay’s most popular restaurants, and he was a good friend despite his quiet, somewhat gruff demeanor.

“Welcome in,” Michael said to the other man with a smile. “You here for some coffee?”

Willis rubbed his hands together. “What else?”

“I seem to recall you buying some bakery here now and again,” Michael teased, turning a thumb toward the glass display case, which featured a pleasant array of baked treats.

“That was when Paige was baking for you,” Willis joked back. “Come to think of it, though, a muffin might be nice. One of those blueberry almond ones.”

“You got it. And a cup of coffee?”

“Black, please.”

“Perfect.” Michael smiled and got to work putting together Willis’s order. “You on a break at The Crab?”

“I am—got to take a break at some point in the day. I’ve got one of those kids cooking right now. Makes me nervous, but she is good at it.”

Michael chuckled, knowing that “kid” could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-five. “I’m sure it’ll work out great. And hopefully this coffee helps perk you up.”

“I’m sure it will.” Willis smiled, and then he glanced down at Michael’s notebook, which was still lying open on the counter. “What are you up to?”

Michael grimaced good-naturedly. “More like what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to compose my wedding vows for my and Caitlin’s wedding.”

“You are, huh?” The older man’s face lit up in a huge grin. “That’s so exciting, Michael.”

“I wish I could just enjoy the process. I’m really struggling. I know how I feel about her, and how much I love her, and how much I want to make sure I’m a good husband to her—but I’m having trouble putting all of that into words. I don’t know how much to say, or how to say it.”

“Wedding vows are tricky—you’re not just talking to her. Ultimately, you’re also talking to everyone at the wedding. You’re making a promise to her and they’re your witnesses. So whatever you say to her needs to be personal to the two of you and your relationship, but it also can’t be so personal that the people watching misunderstand what you’re saying.”

“Exactly.” Michael grinned at him. “I’m getting stuck between sounding too cheesy and feeling like I’m not doing what I have to say to her justice. You got any advice for me?”

Willis smiled. His eyes took on a faraway, sentimental look, and Michael felt sure he was thinking about his girlfriend, Marsha Dunlap, who he’d rekindled a relationship with recently after spending many years apart from her. “You have to reach out and grab love—you have to be brave enough to reach for it and grab it. Making a marriage vow is like that reaching out and grabbing—you’re telling everyone else and each other that you’re determined to make your relationship last. I almost lost out on love, and it was difficult to find that courage to reach out and take hold of love. You both have already made it to this important point—you’re ready to make vows to each other. That’s the most important step. Now the trick is keeping that flame alive—fighting for it, so to speak. Lasting love is both grand and simple.” He smiled as he talked, and Michael couldn’t help smiling too. It was a long time since he’d heard Willis say this many words at once, so it was clear that what he was saying meant a great deal to him. “Marsha makes me feel like I’m the luckiest man in the whole world, and sometimes the way I love her fills me up so much it’s like I’m going to burst. Sometimes it’s grand like that. Other times, it’s simple. It’s just normal days, made of hours strung together, and all those hours are filled with little details. Sometimes love has its big, grand moments like getting married, but a lot of it is just the day-to-day stuff. Little things that don’t feel important, but ultimately, they are.”

“Choosing someone every day, over and over again,” Michael said, smiling and feeling a kind of sweet ache in his chest. He knew the feeling Willis was talking about, of feeling like there was so much love in him he was going to burst.

“Exactly.” The older man nodded. “Remembering that even through the bad days, they make your life so much better than it would be without them. We’re all human, and sometimes marriage is hard. But what you want to say to Caitlin and all your family and friends through your marriage vows is that you’re going to keep choosing her every day, to keep that flame alive—not only because of how much you love her in the grand moments, but because of how much you love her in the little moments too.”

As Michael listened to his friend, he felt as if the spark of inspiration had been lit in him. His mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of how much Caitlin had made his life better. He felt that he couldn’t wait to start writing down all of the sentences that were suddenly in his mind.

“Wow, thank you, Willis,” Michael said, hurrying to fill Willis’s coffee cup. He didn’t mean to nudge the older man out the door, but he felt eager to get back to writing. “That helps me a lot.”

“I saw how fast you made that coffee. Trying to get rid of me now, huh?”

Michael laughed, and Willis laughed with him.

“Stay as long as you like,” Michael said, handing the owner of The Crab a muffin wrapped in wax paper and a cup of steaming coffee. “But I’m going to start writing now. You can help me edit as I go, if you want.” He grinned.

“I’m sure you’ve got it covered,” Willis said, chuckling. “Besides, I should get back to The Crab. I like to take my breaks there just in case something starts on fire—literally or figuratively speaking.”

“I hear that.” Michael smiled and waved as Willis started toward the front door.

“Let me know how it goes,” Willis urged him. “Call me if you get stuck again.”

“I will,” Michael said warmly, touched by his friend’s thoughtfulness.

Willis nodded a goodbye, since his hands were full, and stepped out of Tidal Wave Coffee. With a grin, Michael took his pencil out from behind his ear and began to scribble down sentences in a hurry. He planned on running what he wrote down by Willis when it was done—but he knew he wasn’t going to need any help composing it anymore. The words were spilling out of him now, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

Isaiah grinned to himself as he stepped back and looked over the work that he’d accomplished on the playset at Little Clams. His cut hand still hurt a little, but he was able to use it, although he was favoring his other hand more. He’d been working hard all day, continuing to set up the playground with all of the fun new equipment he was building.

The students had left about half an hour earlier, but he still felt like pressing on. It was a perfect day outside—balmy, sunny, with a fresh wind off the ocean that smelled vaguely of flowers. He’d been enjoying being outside all day, and despite the way his hand ached a little, he was eager to get a little more work done.

“No more shortcuts though,” he muttered, chuckling to himself. “From now on, I’m making sure I sand everything before I try to set it up.”

He continued to work for a while longer, whistling under his breath and feeling the wind ruffle his hair. He was just standing up after securing a blue-painted pole into the ground, when he heard someone call his name. He turned toward the school and saw Olivia and his aunt Marsha walking toward him.

He hurried over to them, grinning. “Well, this is a nice surprise,” he said, folding his aunt into a hug. “Are you here to visit Olivia?”

“I’m here to visit both of you,” his aunt replied cheerfully. “Olivia’s been so excited about the work you’re doing here, and I wanted to come see it for myself.”

“And in addition to that, we’re here to kidnap you,” Olivia said, playfully punching his shoulder. “It’s time for you to stop and come get dinner with us at The Crab.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said, grinning. He’d wanted to keep working a little longer, but he knew that it was always more important to spend time with loved ones if work could get done another time. His stomach grumbled, and they laughed. “My body agrees with me,” he said. “It’s time for some food.”

“First I want to see this playset,” Marsha said, looking at the work that Isaiah had done with a spark of pride in her eyes. “Tell me all about what it’s going to look like when it’s completed.”

“But it is completed,” he teased, pretending to be hurt. Olivia punched his shoulder again and he laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But it is getting there. Let me give you the tour, Aunt Marsha.”

He walked with both of them through the center of the play area, explaining what he needed to finish and what structures really were complete. Olivia’s eyes were shining as she looked at everything—he knew how excited she was for the kids to have their new playground. He felt just as excited as she did—it really was going to be a nice play area, much better than what the kids had had before.

“Well done, Isaiah,” Marsha said warmly. “The kids are going to be thrilled.”

“Yeah, I think so,” he agreed as they started to walk away from the school. “They talk about it all the time.”

The three of them strolled along the sidewalks of Blueberry Bay, catching up on everything. Isaiah wanted to know all about how his aunt was doing, and how her relationship with Willis was going. He thought it was cute how she blushed like a teenager when she talked about Willis.

The Crab wasn’t too far of a walk from Little Clams, and they reached it in a few minutes. They were soon seated at a table by the window, and Isaiah took a deep breath of the incredible savory smells that filled the restaurant. Around them were the sounds of people laughing and talking, and the clinking of glasses and silverware.

“Oh, there goes my stomach again,” he said, laughing as his stomach growled loudly. “I’m ready for some fish and chips. With clam chowder to start.”

“That sounds delicious,” Marsha said, smiling. “I think I’m going to go with the crab cakes. Willis makes the best crab cakes I’ve ever had.”

Olivia grinned. “I think I’ll just ask for a surprise meal. Everything here is good, and I’m not allergic to anything, thankfully.”

“And you’re not a picky eater anymore,” Isaiah teased. She threw her napkin at him.

Their waitress stopped by to take their order and she grinned when she heard that Olivia wanted a surprise. “Sounds good. We’ll get your food back out here in a jiffy.”

She started back toward the kitchen, and Isaiah took a long drink of water. It had been a rewarding but tiring day, and he was excited to rest and eat some amazing food.

“How’s your hand?” Olivia asked him, looking in concern at his bandage. “Any better than it was this morning?” Before her classes had started, she’d stopped by where he was working to say hi and check on him.

“About the same,” he said, shrugging. “But at least it’s not worse. The pain isn’t too bad, and I’m glad that I can still use it, you know?”

“Just be careful, okay?” Olivia said, looking worried. “I know you like to do the thing where you’re so optimistic you stop being careful.”

He laughed. “Guilty. But the doctor did tell me I could use it as long as the pain doesn’t get worse. All I have to do is change the bandage regularly, and soon I’ll need to go back there to get the stitches out.” He pretended to shudder.

“Speaking of the doctor,” Olivia said, drawing the words out. “Were you able to warm Gwen up a little?”

“Maybe a little bit,” he said. “She made a joke or two. She still seems pretty reserved though.”

“Was she all business, or did you get a chance to talk to her a little?”

“I did, while she was putting these stitches in.” He remembered sitting in Gwen’s office, and the careful, dexterous way in which she’d worked on his cut. For a moment, it was as if he could feel her hand on his again. “I found out a bit more about what brought her to Blueberry Bay.”

There was a short pause, and then Marsha prompted, “What was it?”

“She’s looking for a fresh start after a relationship ended.” Isaiah hesitated, wondering how much he should share. “Sounds like the guy was a total fool—he broke up with her.”

“Oh?” Olivia asked, raising her eyebrows. “That makes him a total fool, huh?”

Isaiah threw his napkin at her, and she caught it.

“But honestly, I’m sorry to hear that,” Olivia said, handing him back his napkin calmly. “It must have been a rough breakup if she felt the need to move somewhere new.”

“That’s hard,” Marsha said sympathetically. “I hope she finds healing here. Blueberry Bay is a great place to get a fresh start.”

“True,” Olivia said. Her eyes danced with something mischievous as she pointedly added, “Hopefully she can forget all about her ex here.”

“I think her ex must have been an idiot,” Isaiah said. “She seems to be kind of insecure about herself because of what he said to her when he was breaking up with her.”

He thought about what he’d told her during their conversation at the clinic—that her ex was a fool for breaking up with her. He’d meant it. She might be a bit rigid sometimes—even coming off as prickly now and again—but even though he didn’t know her well yet, he could tell that she was also smart and funny, and that she had an innate empathy and kindness. He got the sense that she was a great person, and she tried hard to do things a certain way because she cared about them being done well, not because she was self-centered.

“Knowing that she came here because she’s trying to get over heartbreak makes me more determined to help her loosen up and enjoy the town,” he said, feeling excited about the prospect.

“I love that idea,” Marsha said. “You can help her find healing by showing her all the things Blueberry Bay has to offer. And who knows? Maybe she has a new romance in her future. Maybe you do too.”

He felt himself blushing a little, and he shook his head, laughing. “I know what you’re getting at. Olivia has already been teasing me about that. I think Gwen is a great person, and I hope she has a great time here, but I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not going to find it,” Marsha said gently, smiling at him affectionately. “I found love when I was least expecting it. I wasn’t looking for it at all. And yet here I am, and I couldn’t be happier.”

“I wasn’t looking for love either,” Olivia said. “But then Corey appeared in my life, and I knew there could be something really special between us. I think you might be experiencing that same thing right now.”

“Or it could just be that my darling aunt and sister want me to find romantic love, so they’re trying to turn a nonromantic situation into a romance,” he said, shaking his head at them and smiling.

Their food arrived, and soon their conversation turned toward other topics. Their meals were delicious, and Isaiah savored the rich flavor of his food. He listened to his aunt and sister talk as he ate, thinking to himself that it was the best clam chowder that he’d ever tasted.

As he sat there eating, his mind wandered back to Gwen, and what Olivia and his aunt Marsha had said about finding unexpected love. He kept telling himself that nothing of that sort was going to happen, but he couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to find love like that. A surprising kind of love—the kind you weren’t looking for. He had a feeling it would be a very exciting experience.