Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

MOLLY

I cannot believe my eyes. Running across the lobby, I call out, "Ellen?"

She looks up and spots me. "Molly," she says sternly like she's mad at me.

"What are you doing here?" I demand.

"I'm here to get my money back," she replies heatedly.

I feel like I've landed back in the middle of one of my crazy dreams from last night. "What money? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about my Christmas gift to you. It turns out it's a dud."

"What Christmas gift?" I'm so confused right now.

"I bought you a spot at Trina's singles' event."

My head starts to spin. "No, they had a cancellation, and I was asked to fill in as a replacement."

"That's the excuse Trina and I concocted because I knew you'd never come here otherwise," Ellen announces.

"But I've been hired to do a job here. "

"The job is for real," she says. "Trina just scheduled you for it at the same time as her singles' event to get you here."

"So, what?" I ask skeptically. "This was some kind of pity present or something?" I don't know whether to be mad or happy. I mean, things have turned out spectacularly well for me, so I should be feeling a world of gratitude. But at the same time, I really hate that my sister has been feeling sorry for me. Or worse yet, convinced that I could never find someone on my own and rooked someone else into her matchmaking shenanigans.

"I wouldn't call it a pity present," Ellen says. "It's more like some outside help to get you back into the land of the living. Unfortunately, it didn't work."

"But it did," I tell her. "As much as I can't believe you did this, I met a really nice man."

"A barista …" she hisses like he's a freeloader or a bum.

"Oh, my god, Ellen. You are such a snob."

"I just want to make sure that whoever you wind up with is your equal," she says. "Now, are you going to show me to our room or are we going to stand here all day?"

"You're staying with me?"

"You told me I could." She reminds me, "On the day you left, you invited me to join you."

"Yeah, but you were going to be with Henry …" Shoot, I temporarily forgot about Henry.

I take her suitcase from her and start to roll it in the direction of the elevator. We walk side by side in a cloud of frustration and anger. I'm frustrated with Ellen and she's so angry at me.

Once we get to the second floor, I lead the way to my room. Opening the door, I walk in and declare, "We'll have to call down and see if they can send up a cot."

"If you want to sleep on a cot, then call them," she says challengingly. "But I'm sleeping in the bed."

I watch as my sister moves her suitcase next to mine before kicking off her shoes and climbing onto my bed. "I'll share with you if you want," she hesitantly offers before patting the mattress next to herself.

I join her and surprise myself by saying, "Thank you."

"For what?" she goads.

"For your gift," I tell her. "Don't get me wrong, I'm offended to the core by it, but I'm grateful. If I wasn't here, I would have never met Blake."

"Which is why I want my money back!" Ick. Actual spittle hits my cheek when she yells this.

Shaking my head, I ask, "Are you really this prejudiced against hard working people?"

"I'm not at all prejudiced," she says. "I don't care what people do as long as they're gainfully employed and not making moves on my sister."

"So, my happiness doesn't enter into this at all?" I ask.

"Of course it does, but being that I'm the one paying, my happiness matters too."

"Then go back home and tell Henry you love him. Take care of your own stupid life and stop meddling in mine." I have never talked to my sister like this before and I'm feeling mighty powerful right now.

"My stupid life?"

"Yes, Ellen. You have your own life to mess up; quit interfering in mine."

"Well!" she huffs. "How's that for gratitude?"

I take one of the pillows off the bed and throw it across the room like I'm having a tantrum. "I'd be grateful if you'd leave well enough alone and let me enjoy my gift."

"I want to meet this coffee man," Ellen declares. She says the word coffee like it's a slang term for heroin.

"No."

"What do you mean, no? You can't tell me no. I'll meet him if I want to."

I know she can make that happen. Especially if she confronts Trina to get a refund. I suddenly have an idea. "I'll introduce you to Blake, but first you have to do something for me."

"What?"

"You have to come into town with me. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Are you high?"

"Don't be insulting, Ellen," I tell her. "Come into town with me, and when we get back, I'll introduce you to Blake."

My sister exhales like she's trying to hurl a wad of gum across the room. Then she gets up from the bed and grabs her shoes. "Fine, let's go."

I slide into my loafers and take my coat off the hanger. On the way downstairs, I tell Ellen, "Elk Lake is adorable. You'll love it." She simply grumbles and huffs alongside me.

When we get to the lobby, I discover that the shuttle is waiting out front. We get in and it's Paul from my first couple of rides. "Hey, Paul," I tell him. "My sister and I are going to Bride's Paradise on Main Street."

He smiles kindly. "Sounds good. Will you need more than an hour?"

"Probably not," I tell him. "But I'll call the lodge if we do."

Ellen doesn't say a word to me as we drive into town, so I jabber on like I'm her personal tour guide. "Elk Lake decorates like it's the North Pole. They seriously outdo themselves. Dad would love it!"

Ellen doesn't deign to speak until Paul pulls over in front of the store. "So, you've decided to marry this coffee maker?"

"What? No!" She is truly acting ridiculous.

As we walk into the shop, Melissa calls out, "Molly! I'm glad you came in!"

"Thank you," I tell her before asking, "Is Sammy here today?"

"She is. Would you like me to get her?"

I nod my head so Melissa waddles across the room. Moments later, she comes back out with her stepdaughter in tow .

Sammy's smile is radiant. "Molly! How's it going up at the lodge?"

"I met a very nice man," I tell her.

"I knew you would."

Sammy looks toward my sister, so I say, "Melissa, Sammy, this is my sister, Ellen. She's just come up from Chicago."

Melissa stretches out her hand first. "I'm happy to meet you, Ellen."

"Why?" my sister asks grumpily before saying, "I mean, hi. I guess I'm happy to meet you too."

I roll my eyes, so Melissa knows that I'm aware my sister is being horribly rude. Then I tell Ellen, "Melissa is Sammy's stepmother. Melissa is married to Sammy's dad."

"So?" Ellen growls. "Why should I care?" If Emily Post were still alive, she'd hit my sister over the head with her etiquette book.

Ignoring her question, I ask Sammy, "Would you please tell my sister what you told me about Melissa the other day?"

The red-headed teenager looks confused before asking, "You mean about my loving Melissa as much as my birth mom?"

"Yes, that." Then I turn to Ellen. "Did you hear that, Ellen? Sammy, who is Melissa's stepdaughter , loves Melissa as much as her real mom." Ellen remains quiet, so I tell Melissa and Sammy, "Ellen's boyfriend just proposed to her, and she said no because she doesn't want to be second to his kids."

Ellen hisses, "I didn't say no."

But at the same time, Sammy asks, "Didn't you know he had kids?"

Ellen is clearly not pleased that I outed her, so I answer for her. "Oh, she knew. But my sister is so self-centered that she thinks she should always come first."

Melissa interjects, "I don't think it's about coming first or second. It's more about becoming a family and making your family the priority."

I fling my hand out toward Ellen with such vigor I nearly hit her. "See? This is how it's done. You're so wrapped up in yourself that you've completely missed it."

"I have not," Ellen declares with a fraction of her previous heat. "I love Henry's kids."

"Then why are you competing with them?" I want to know.

"I'm not competing …" But then reality hits her like a blow to the side of the head. "I don't want to compete with them."

"Then don't," I tell her. "Marry their dad and become part of their family. Then you'll both put family first.

I can't quite decipher what Ellen is feeling, but she no longer seems to be angry with me. Instead, she asks Melissa, "How long have you been married?"

"Just over a year," she answers. "I met Sammy and her dad when they moved up here two years ago."

Sammy moves closer to Melissa before touching her stepmom's stomach. "And now I get to be a big sister. How cool is that?"

Ellen's head moves up and down almost imperceptibly. "That is cool."

Turning to my sister, I tell her, "You and Henry and his kids can be a happy family, too. And if you decide to have children of your own, then you can be a big , happy family."

Her nostrils flare like they do when she's trying to suppress an emotion. "Are you done?" she asks me.

"That depends entirely on whether or not you've taken my point," I tell her.

"I have."

"Then I assume you'll want to leave right away so you can go make things right with Henry. Maybe accept his proposal with a little more grace?"

My sister side-eyes me like she's considering it, but then she says, "I'll go home when I'm good and ready."

Ellen has always been stubborn, but this is taking things too far. "Why wouldn't you go now and put Henry out of his misery? I'm sure he's dying to make up with you. "

"Because I have something to do here first," she says.

"You mean, interfere in my life."

Ellen turns to me with a look of great concern. "You're my sister, Molly. I care what happens to you. It's my job to look out after you."

"No, it's not," I tell her. "And it's time you transfer some of this motherly concern onto real children. Henry's children."

"Maybe," she says. "But first I'm going to meet this coffee boy."

Hurray.