Chapter 8

Hannah pushed open the door of The Outlet, smiling eagerly. Over her arm was a tote bag in which was tucked a bottle of rosé. It was after regular working hours, and she was there to meet up with Alissa and peruse some old Blueberry Bay articles.

"Hey!" she called as she stepped inside.

Alissa stood as soon as she saw her friend and hurried toward her. "Glad you're here!" They hugged, and Alissa noticed the tote bag around Hannah's shoulder. "What's in there?"

"I brought us something to keep us company," Hannah announced, grinning. She pulled the bottle out of the tote bag and handed it to her friend.

"Oh, perfect." Alissa's eyes lit up. "I've had this kind before, it's incredible. We'll have to drink it out of mugs. But we can pair it with some Girl Scout cookies that I have hidden inside my desk."

"Ooh, yes!"

A few minutes later, they had set up a kind of miniature party at a table by one of the windows. They had mugs of wine and a box of Thin Mints cookies in front of them, along with a stack of old newspapers that Alissa had pulled out of the archives.

"This is cozy." Hannah laughed. "Thanks for setting this up. I can't wait to read these."

"For sure! Honestly, it will be a much-needed distraction for me."

"Wait, really? Is everything okay?"

Alissa groaned and leaned her head back. "Yes and no." She laughed and took a sip of her wine. "I mean, it's nothing serious. It's just that Dane and I have been having some house troubles."

"Oh no!"

"It's okay. It's just frustrating because we really didn't see any of it coming."

"Well, what's been going wrong?"

"Um, water? We have a leaky roof in the kitchen, and then a pipe burst in the basement and flooded it."

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. That's so stressful." Hannah winced, feeling sorry for her friend.

"Yeah, it has been. Luckily we've found some great people to do the repairs for us, but it's not something I would have chosen to happen, that's for sure."

The two women talked about Alissa's house troubles for a few more minutes, and Hannah commiserated sincerely with her friend, giving her a sympathetic ear.

"I'm so glad I don't have to deal with home ownership yet," she said, clapping a hand to her forehead. "Yikes."

"Well, it's not usually so complicated," Alissa assured her. "I'm just starting to think that Dane and I have the worst luck as homeowners."

"Oh, don't say that. Hopefully that's the end of your troubles and it's all smooth sailing from here."

"Yeah, I sure hope so too."

After chatting for a few more minutes, they turned their attention to the articles. They jumped right into it and read eagerly for a while, getting lost in the details of Blueberry Bay's days past.

"Listen to this," Hannah said, laughing. "‘Blueberry Bay never expected to be represented as thoughtfully and courageously as it was when Herbert Stanford won the costume contest dressed as a giant blueberry in honor of our hometown."

Alissa laughed, leaning over her friend's shoulder to look at the article. "That's incredible! I can't wait to see what costumes people come up with this year."

"Me either! I love the theme." Hannah talked quickly, almost as excited as a kid. "It'll be so fun to see who wins the contest for best representing a cherished memory of Blueberry Bay." She spread her hands through the air as she said the words, as if there were a grand title hanging on the wall.

Her friend laughed. "I agree. I think it's one of the more unique themes the Summer Smash has ever had. One year they—well, hey! I just remembered." Excitedly, Alissa started rummaging through the rest of the newspapers. "Here it is! Look at this. Recognize this guy?"

Hannah peered down at the printed photograph that Alissa was showing her. It was of a young man and a young woman, and—

"That's my dad!" Hannah squealed. She read the caption under the photograph out loud. "‘Willis Jenkins and his sweetheart Marsha Dunlap win the costume contest as the Beatles.'"

"Isn't that fun? That year the theme was music icons, and the town decided that your dad and Marsha Dunlap had the most convincing costumes." Alissa's eyes twinkled. "So—sweetheart, huh? Who's this Marsha Dunlap?"

"I don't know." Hannah gazed at the picture of her father, captivated by how happy he looked. She checked the year of the newspaper and calculated that he must have been twenty when the photograph was taken. Her eyes turned to the woman, a beautiful girl with long black hair and adorable dimples. "He's never mentioned her before." The two of them were dressed outlandishly as the Beatles in a way that was both comical and impressive.

Look at how happy he is,she thought, feeling her heart ache with love for her father. I wish he was still that happy. Who is this Marsha Dunlap? They must have been really good friends as well as "sweethearts" if they threw something together like that.

"So you don't know anything about her?" Alissa asked, her eyes full of curiosity as she adjusted her glasses on her face.

"No." Hannah shook her head. She gazed at the picture of the smiling woman. "Dad doesn't really talk much about his feelings, you know?"

She glanced at her friend, and saw that Alissa was staring into space. "That name sounds familiar," she said, tapping her fingers on the table. "Marsha Dunlap… Yes! I remember why I know that name. Marsha Dunlap makes handmade goods and sells them. She's got a thriving crafting business in Whale Harbor."

"Whale Harbor? She lives there?"

"Yes, as far as I know!"

"Huh." Hannah started to read the article eagerly.

I wonder if they were just friends or something, and the newspaper was just trying to romanticize the situation, she thought. I know Dad doesn't talk much about the past, but I feel like it's weird I've never even heard of her. I mean, look at the way he's got his arm around her like that.

It was impossible to say for sure, because it was just a black and white newspaper photograph, but she felt confident that both of the young people in it had shining eyes.

Her eyes scanned the words of the article, reading about how Willis and Marsha were dating at the time that the photograph was taken. The article said that they had been dating for several months, and it seemed to be hinting at a potential engagement.

It might just be sensationalized,she thought, but—

"Hey, Alissa, could I make a copy of this article?"

"Yeah, for sure!" Her friend smiled. "The copy machine is over in the corner there."

"Great." Hannah stood up and hurried over to it. Her fingers seemed to tingle as she laid the newspaper down on the glass of the machine.

I wonder if Dad ever thinks about this Marsha Dunlap?she wondered as she pressed the start button of the machine. I wonder if she ever thinks about him?