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That sounded like a nightmare.
“You really are a Jill-of-all-trades, aren’t you? They really need to come up with a gender-neutral term for that.”
“Jack can be gender-neutral,” she said.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Anyway, you just do everything, don’t you?”
Her cheeks got just a little red at the compliment.
“Shall we?” she asked, and we started walking toward the entrance to the park.
The lighthouse was built in the early 1800s, but had been taken out of commission years and years ago. Now it served as a park and educational facility, including a museum, in what used to be the keeper’s house. It was a chubby little white cylinder with a black metal roof sitting on it like a little hat. The house was attached, and white as well, with a lovely porch that gave views of ocean waves crashing against the rocky shore. Living in Castleton really was like stepping inside a postcard.
The parking lot was full of tables and small tents and people milling about. One end had the food vendors and the smell of fried everything made my mouth water.
“Let’s go see if we can find Em and Natalie,” I suggested, and Alivia followed me as I started at one end of the booths.
Em’s was in the first row, and I was so impressed. She’d hung shells from the roof of her tent, and had a beautiful lace tablecloth on the table, as well as sea glass scattered around with a carved sign that said LOW TIDE CREATIONS on it. Her designs were beautifully displayed, and I had the feeling she was going to clean up. She even had a small white Christmas tree hung with some of her ornaments.
“Seriously, it looks amazing,” I said, admiring the ornaments. She’d painted simple beach scenes in them.
“These are so good,” I said.
“Thanks, I’m not totally responsible for them. Apparently, Natalie is a genius painter,” Em said, looking at her girlfriend.
Natalie’s face went scarlet. “They’re not that great.”
“They are,” Em said, kissing her. “They’re amazing.”
“Thanks, Em,” Natalie said.
Pretty soon Alivia and I were pushed aside by actual customers, and we left Em and Natalie to do their thing. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she ended up selling out. Her pieces were already being shipped to a boutique in Boston, and she was barely able to keep up with the demand. She could only find so many shells, so that made her pieces rarer, so she could charge enough for them to make up for her labor.
“Let’s stop by before we leave,” Alivia said. “I’d like to have a few lamps for the inn. They’d fit in perfectly. I know exactly where to put them. I might even get some more stuff for the rooms. We like to keep the theme pretty consistent, but I’m always looking for little touches to add or upgrade.”
I could practically see the wheels in her head turning as we browsed the rest of the booths. I got some homemade soap made from goat’s milk, and Alivia wouldn’t stop admiring a silver ring in one booth.
“You should get it,” I said.
“I’ll think about it,” she told the vendor.
“Why don’t you get the ring if you want it?” I asked. I couldn’t understand depriving yourself like that, if you could afford it.
“I don’t know,” she said, and tried to brush me off.
“You deserve nice things, Alivia.” I wanted to shake her and make her believe that she was worth it. She deserved so much. She deserved everything.
“I know. Old habits die hard.” She went back and bought the ring, sliding it onto her pointer finger and then admiring it.
“Looks great,” I said.
“I didn’t deprive myself that night with you, Pinky,” she said out of the blue.
“Yeah, neither of us did,” I said as we walked by a booth selling crocheted potholders. The nickname made me all giddy inside.
“That was out of character for me,” she said. “Just so you know.”
“Yeah, I’ve gathered that now that I’ve spent time with you. I think you should definitely give in to what you want more often. Life is more fun that way.”
