Ready to Wed, page 12
“Now it’s feeling as if we went straight from winter to summer,” said Jane. “That’s not going to be too good for my flowers. All that cold and wet and now hot sun. I hope they don’t get sunburned faces today.”
“Maybe you can make them little sunbonnets,” teased Sylvia as they approached the inn.
“Maybe put up a sun umbrella,” said Jane in all seriousness.
“Looks like guests on the front porch,” observed Sylvia.
“Yes, it’s a full house all weekend.” Jane glanced to the porch to see a couple of men and Belle. “Looks like Belle is entertaining the twins.”
“Twins?”
“Yes.” Jane nudged Sylvia toward the back entrance. “Let’s not disturb them. According to Belle, they are two available bachelors who just happen to be passing through town.”
“How does anyone happen to pass through this town?” asked Sylvia.
“Well, I did hear Louise mention that a previous guest had referred the Johnsons to us.”
“Maybe Belle will find her man right here at the inn,” said Sylvia as they paused by the back door. Then she glanced at her watch. “Oh, I better head back to town. It’s about time to close shop, and I promised Justine I’d be back in time to go to the bank.”
“Thanks for the outing,” said Jane. “And for listening.”
“Don’t you worry about Justin,” said Sylvia softly. “Before you know it, he’ll have come and gone, and life will be back to normal.”
Jane nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right.” But as she went into the house, she wasn’t sure that she was really so sure. Jane pushed thoughts of Justin away as she began getting out things for dinner. She’d decided that she and her sisters might enjoy a spring quiche tonight. And she’d make a couple of spares while she was at it, to use for breakfast tomorrow morning.
“Jane,” said Alice, coming into the kitchen, “anything I can help you with?”
“That’d be great,” said Jane. “I was about to start dinner.” She handed Alice an apron, and soon Alice was grating Swiss cheese, and Jane was rolling out pie crusts. They worked together in a congenial quiet, Jane giving out instructions and Alice following them perfectly. Jane always felt that if she ever wanted to open a restaurant on her own, which she had absolutely no intention of doing anytime soon, she would have to kidnap Alice and employ her as a prep cook.
“Belle and the twins seem to have hit it off,” said Alice as she set a bowl of finely chopped onions within Jane’s reach.
“Really? Have you met these twins yet?”
Alice chuckled as she began washing the mushrooms. “They’re real characters, Jane. Ron and Don Johnson from Bronson.”
“Ron and Don Johnson from Bronson,” repeated Jane. “It sounds like something you made up. Where is Bronson?”
“A small town in Maine.”
“And are they really twins?”
“Yes. And they look and act alike. Apparently they were redheads, but now their hair color is sort of faded red touched with gray. I honestly can’t tell them apart.”
“How old are Ron and Don Johnson from Bronson?”
“They’re turning forty next week. This is their big birthday trip.”
“Where are they going?”
“To Florida.”
“Acorn Hill isn’t exactly on the direct route to Florida.”
“Oh, I think they mentioned that they visited an old college friend and that excursion put them in our area. Ron is a widower, about five years. And Don recently divorced. You’ll never guess why.”
“Why?”
“His wife was jealous of Ron. The boys were spending too much time together.”
“She left him for that?”
“Well, Don said she also found a man she liked better.”
“You certainly have learned a lot about Ron and Don.”
“Belle lured me out to the porch with her for lemonade, and the next thing I knew Ron and Don joined us. Belle and the twins hit it off right away.”
“It’s nice they get along so well,” Jane said as she crimped a crust.
“Well, the twins are big car buffs. They’d seen Belle’s car, and began talking about horsepower and torque and all sorts of things that are meaningless to me.”
Jane laughed. “You and me both. Do you think one of the twins might be Belle’s intended?”
Alice frowned. “Both Ron and Don seem perfectly happy in Maine. They hunt and fish and know everybody in their town. And, as you know, Belle’s dream is for her and her husband to live here in Acorn Hill. Plus, I can’t imagine splitting those boys up.”
“I see what you mean.”
“Need any help?” offered Louise as she joined them.
“Perhaps you can make a green salad,” suggested Jane.
“Certainly.”
“Oh yes,” said Jane as she remembered her conversation with Clara. “I hope the inn isn’t full up for next weekend.”
“One room left,” pronounced Louise. Then Jane told her and Alice about Clara’s grandnephew coming home from the Middle East.
“How nice that he wants to visit here in Acorn Hill,” said Alice. “You know, I actually do remember Clara’s niece Janet. She’s about your age, Jane. And I do recall a summer when Janet and her son—what is his name?”
“Calvin.”
“That’s right. Calvin. He was about ten at the time. And they spent the whole summer at Clara’s.”
“Well, now that he’s a grown man, and Clara’s house is so small, she thought he might appreciate more privacy at the inn.”
“I will pencil him in and give Clara a call tomorrow.”
“I think I hear the bell at the reception desk, Louise,” said Jane.
“Yes, I think you’re right. I better go see.”
“I met some of the other guests too,” said Alice.
“Not more eligible men for Belle, I don’t suppose.”
“No. But they are a nice retired couple from Michigan. The Blankenships. They are both retired tax accountants. They told me how May was always their vacation month, you know, because of finishing up taxes in April. And although they’ve been retired for more than ten years, they still vacation in May.”
Before long, Louise returned. “Well, that was the last of the guests for the weekend. A nice young woman named Shelby. I’m guessing she’s about Belle’s age. She’s a kindergarten teacher in Pittsburgh and she told me that, although school will be out in less than a month, she just needed a little getaway. Poor thing, she said it had been a rough year and if we thought foul weather was hard on running an inn, we should try keeping twenty-some-odd five-year-olds indoors all day for day after day after day.”
“Mercy!” said Alice.
“That does sound like torture,” agreed Jane.
“So I promised her some peace and quiet,” said Louise.
“She’s come to the right place,” said Alice.
“I hope she’ll get it.” Louise frowned. “Although I’m not too sure. I was just showing her to her room when Belle popped out and, after I introduced them, Belle immediately tried to talk poor Shelby into checking out the nightlife in Potterston with her and the twins.”
“Oh dear,” said Jane. “That sounds almost as bad as being stuck inside with a bunch of kindergarten kids.”
“Oh, Jane,” scolded Alice in a teasing tone.
“I don’t know,” said Jane. “If it were me, I might be inclined to stick with the five-year-olds.”
“I hope Shelby knows how to say no if she’s not interested,” said Louise as she peeled a cucumber.
“Belle can be awfully persuasive,” said Jane. “Goodness, she’s got half the town involved in the preparations for her wedding.”
“What?” asked Louise. “You must be joking.”
“I’m serious.” Then Jane told her about her latest conversations with both Sylvia and Clarissa. “And you know she’s already booked the church and the inn.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m taking the booking of the inn too seriously,” said Louise. “I will reserve the room for her parents. But as far as that reception goes, well, I’m not holding my breath.”
“You never know,” said Jane. “It might be that by tomorrow morning, Belle will not only have gotten herself engaged to one of the Johnson brothers, but she may very well convince Shelby and the other Johnson brother to make it a double wedding. And then all four of them can move permanently to Acorn Hill.”
“Oh, Jane,” said Louise. “You do get carried away with that imagination of yours.” Still, the three of them had a good laugh over Jane’s vision.
“How’s Auntie doing?” asked Jane as she held a small ball of dough in her hand.
“Better,” said Alice. “She thinks she’ll venture out tomorrow.”
“Oh good. I think I’ll use this last bit of dough to make a miniquiche for her. Alice, could you toss two more eggs and a quarter cup of milk into that batter to stretch it a little further?”
“Ethel is on pins and needles in regard to Belle,” said Louise. “Goodness knows how those two managed to bond in such a short amount of time, but you’d think Belle was some long-lost relative.”
“Well, she’s just the sort of fun that Auntie loves,” pointed out Alice.
“Much better than her nieces,” said Jane dourly.
“Aunt Ethel loves us like daughters,” said Louise.
“Yes, but she can be a rather bossy mother. She always wants me to dress more femininely or to do something stylish with my hair.”
Alice chuckled. “You’re not the only one. Before you two moved back home, I had my go-arounds with Auntie. She was always after me to wear makeup and to try something new with my hair. Fortunately, I had Father to stand up for me.”
“I still miss him so,” said Jane suddenly. She tried not to think about his passing too much, but she regretted that, of the three sisters, she had probably spent the least amount of adult time with their father.
“Yes, I do too,” said Alice. “Especially on days like today. Father really loved the coming of a new season. He would always notice even the tiniest detail, whether it was a new bird’s nest in the tree or the first jonquil. A lot like you, Jane. But I like to think that parts of Father are still right here with us.” She wiped her damp hands on the front of her apron as she looked from Jane to Louise. “And do you know, more and more, I notice those bits and pieces of Father whenever I spend time with my sisters.”
Chapter Thirteen
Y’all are not going to believe what we did last night,” said Belle at breakfast Saturday. She was wearing a hot-pink sweater set and sitting between the twins.
“You went to Potterston, right?” said Jane, noticing that Shelby hadn’t made an appearance at breakfast yet. “That narrows it down a bit.”
“We went bowling.”
“Bowling,” said Alice. “Was it fun?”
“I’ll say.” Belle nodded and poked each of the brothers playfully with her elbows. “And these two cleaned our clocks. We played boys against girls, and the twins just kept getting strike after strike. They neglected to tell Shelby and me that they were the champs of the Bronson bowling league until after the damage was done. But it was such a hoot.”
“We got to ride in Belle’s car too,” said one of the twins. Jane still wasn’t sure which twin was which.
“It’s a real hot rod,” said the other. “I thought for sure Belle was going to get a speeding ticket.”
“Oh, I wasn’t going that fast,” she said. “I barely hit seventy.”
“Seventy?” Louise looked shocked. “Goodness, Belle. You are lucky you didn’t get a ticket.”
“Or in a wreck,” said Alice.
“Our son-in-law had a bad wreck this winter,” said Mr. Blankenship. “He’s still having back problems because of it.”
“Oh, now,” said Mrs. Blankenship, “let’s talk about something more cheerful. No sense in scaring these kids.”
“Kids,” said one of the twins to the other, his green eyes twinkling. “Here we are almost forty, Ron, and someone just called us kids. You gotta love that.”
“Speaking of kids,” said Jane. “Does either of you have any?”
“We both do,” said Ron. “I have a daughter who just started college last fall.” “Me too,” said Don.
“You too?” Alice peered curiously at both of them. “You mean you both have daughters the same age?”
“Born just a week apart,” said Ron.
“Both have red hair,” added Don.
“Could pass for sisters,” said Ron.
“Almost like twins?” ventured Louise.
“Like the Patty Duke show back in the sixties,” said Alice. “Remember the look-alike cousins?”
“Both played by Patty Duke,” said Louise.
“I read an interesting article about twins,” began Alice. “It said they often lead parallel lives. They did a study that included twins separated at birth, and they discovered that twins made similar decisions. Often they chose similar careers, even selected similar mates, frequently marrying persons with the same name.”
“Our wives were both brunettes,” said Ron. “Linda and Brenda.”
“Well, that’s close, isn’t it?” continued Alice as she refilled Mrs. Blankenship’s coffee cup. “Also the twins in the study had children about the same time, not unlike you two gentlemen. Rather mysteriously interesting, I thought.”
“Too bad you didn’t have twins yourselves,” said Louise. “To carry on the twin tradition.”
“Our girls act like they’re twins,” said Don. “They’re at the same university and both want to go into medicine.”
“More twins in the family would’ve been fun,” said Ron sadly.
“Yes,” agreed Don. “I remember when Linda was pregnant and we were hoping it was twins.”
“Well, you’re both young enough to have more children,” said Belle. “If you were to marry again, that is.”
“Not me,” said Ron quickly.
“Not me,” echoed his brother.
“Do you mean no to marriage or to more children?” questioned Jane.
“Children,” they both said together.
“We’re done with that,” said Ron. “We both think we started our families too early in life. We got tied down in our early twenties, working hard to care for our families and make ends meet. Consequently, we felt we missed out on some fun.”
Don chuckled. “I suppose folks back home think we’re having a kind of midlife crisis, taking this trip down to Miami.”
“But we just wanted to have a ball,” said Ron.
“Thought it was about time,” added Don.
“Good for you,” said Mr. Blankenship. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“That’s right,” said his wife, patting her husband’s hand as she addressed the brothers. “You must take time to regenerate your spirits.”
“That’s what we intend to do down in Miami,” said Ron.
“Speaking of regenerating,” said Louise, “poor Shelby came to the inn for some rest and recuperation. I’m sure you heard that she teaches kindergarten and that it’s been quite stressful these past few months.”
“Goodness, I hope we didn’t wear her out last night,” said Belle. “She did mention being tired and that she might sleep in. I made sure to be real quiet when I came out of my room this morning. I didn’t even put on my shoes until I got all the way downstairs.”
“That was very thoughtful,” said Louise.
“I hope Herb’s snoring didn’t disturb her,” said Mrs. Blankenship.
“I doubt she could hear it all the way from your room,” said Louise.
Soon the guests were finishing up breakfast and discussing plans for the day. The Blankenships planned to take a drive through the countryside, and Ron and Don wanted to go antiquing. To Jane’s surprise and relief, it sounded as if Belle and Ethel intended to spend the day together. Apparently Ethel set it up. But as everyone began heading out in their various different directions, Shelby still hadn’t shown up.
“I think I’ll set aside some breakfast for her,” said Jane as they were cleaning up in the kitchen.
“Yes,” said Alice. “That would be nice. I’m glad she felt free to sleep in.”
By ten o’clock, the house was quiet. Louise went to town to do some errands. Alice was finishing up in the kitchen, and Jane was just straightening the dining room.
“Coast clear?” asked a quiet voice behind her.
Jane turned to see a young dark-haired woman tiptoeing toward her. “You must be Shelby.” Jane smiled and introduced herself. “I’m glad you slept in. Sounds like you had a wild night on the town last night.”
“I didn’t actually sleep in the whole time,” she admitted. “I just hoped to avoid Belle and Ron and Don today. I’m in serious need of a day of rest.”
“I think the twins were heading out to look for antiques,” said Jane as she brushed crumbs from the tablecloth. “And Belle will probably be occupied with my aunt today. I saved you some breakfast, if you’re interested.”
“You’re a saint.”
“Go ahead and sit down and I’ll get it for you. Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee,” she said eagerly. “Black, please.”
“You got it.”
Jane made the silver tray look pretty, setting a vase with a rosebud in it, before she took it out to Shelby. “I think you should have the inn mostly to yourself,” she said as she filled the coffee cup and left the carafe for her guest. “At least for the morning.”
“Wonderful.” Shelby sighed. “I have a big, fat novel to read, and I thought I might stroll around later on, maybe get some lunch.”
Jane made some recommendations for eating in town, then told Shelby to have a peaceful and relaxing day. “And just leave your breakfast things right here when you’re done, we’ll take care of them.”
“Thank you.”
Jane joined Alice in the kitchen. “So, what are your plans today?” she asked.
“Vera and I are going to take a long walk. We’ve decided to do the walkathon this summer, and we need to get into better shape.”
