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CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
Liz took one last tour around the house to make sure everything was perfect. She’d set out an array of appetizer trays on her parents’ old dining room table. Nothing fancy. Just some cheese and crackers, ranch dip with carrots and celery slices, and basil and mozzarella crostini. The tomatoes and basil were straight from the garden. She’d spent hours there weeding, pulling up dead plants, and trimming. It was almost fall, so she’d harvested the last of the vegetables.
She’d made a watermelon mint punch, which sat in her mother’s old crystal punch bowl on the kitchen table.
She’d even found some vintage paper plates and napkins with a party theme in the dining room hutch and had set them out.
It was a small party, but it felt like the first time entertaining in her new home. Except this wasn’t her new home… not yet. Because her siblings had successfully avoided her calls. And now she would have to force them to talk to her before it went on the market.
Claire and Maxi were the first to arrive. Claire was carrying a large bakery box, and Maxi held a tray of brownies.
“You guys didn’t need to bring anything. It’s only a small gathering,” Liz said as she ushered them in.
“Oh, these are just brownies from a mix, but Claire brought one of her masterpieces.” Maxi pointed at the box. “Wait until you see it.”
They unboxed it in the dining room. Liz couldn’t believe the sight of the tall cake shaped like a sandcastle complete with turrets and ramparts. The cake even had sugar-encrusted frosting that made it look just like it was made of sand. “It’s too pretty to cut into.”
“Trust me, you’ll want to cut it because it tastes just as delicious as it looks,” Maxi said as Claire beamed with pride.
Jane and Andie arrived next with a tray of cookies. Bunny rushed over from her house to join them at the door with seven-layer dip and tortilla chips.
“You all didn’t have to bring food. I have plenty. I’ll have enough to feed the whole town!”
Jane had Cooper on a leash. “I wasn’t sure if it was okay to bring him, but I know you pay a lot of attention to him at Tides.”
“Of course it’s okay. We had a dog growing up, actually.” Liz pointed at the family picture on the mantel. She was delighted to have a dog in the house again. And if she was lucky enough to live here, maybe she could get her own… but she was getting ahead of herself. She saw no sense in getting her hopes up.
Sally, Emma, and Sheila arrived, and Liz gave everyone a tour of the small house.
“It looks fantastic,” Bunny said. “You did a great job painting as usual, Sal.”
“Thanks.”
“And the house looks great without the clutter. You’re pretty good at putting together the accents and moving things around.” Maxi fluffed a pillow.
“So how come you don’t want to stay here?” Sheila dipped a tortilla chip into the seven-layer dip and shoved it into her mouth.
Liz sighed. “I actually do want to stay. But it’s complicated because I’m not the only one inheriting.”
“Seems like there should be a way if you really want it.” Bunny balanced a small plate with several appetizers in one hand and a glass of punch in the other.
“Yeah, you can’t let your siblings rule. You have some say in this too. Have you talked to them?” Sally asked in her usual blunt manner.
“I tried to, but they’ve been putting me off.”
“You shouldn’t let them. You just tell them what you want. You might be surprised at their answer,” Bunny said.
The doorbell rang, which was odd because everyone Liz had invited was already there. She hoped a neighbor wasn’t coming to complain.
Liz opened the door, and her mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Lizzy!” Peter and Shelly stood in the doorway. They were both smiling ear to ear and wearing old clothes, as if they were ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
“Hi.” Liz was at a loss for words. “I wasn’t expecting you guys.”
“We know. We wanted to surprise you,” Shelly said.
“So you weren’t brushing me off?”
