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Please accept my invitation to attend the Harvest Ball next Saturday.
More letters from Alfonso, from apologies for his aggressive behavior, to begging her to accept his hand in marriage.
Then the coup de grace, she found one more with the APO address, another letter from Val. This one was a Dear Jane letter.
I can’t lie to you, Betty. I met someone over here.
When his tour of duty in Vietnam ended, he planned on bringing a bride home, breaking Elizabeth’s heart. But Maggie didn’t know this. She picked up the phone again and dialed.
“Aunt, I’m so sad.”
“You read Val’s letters.”
“I did. I can’t believe it.”
“I know,” she said, sighing. “I never got over that. I had fallen in love with Val, and when he returned, he brought that Vietnamese lady back to the cove. It was torture for me. But then they moved further north and opened a restaurant, and I was spared. I wonder why he was in Cypress Cove?”
“I’m not sure,” Maggie said, deciding she’d do a little investigating. Her phone beeped. It was Justin again. “Justin isn’t giving up. I might have to get tough.”
“Oh, honey, I wish you’d rethink it.”
“I can’t, Aunt Elizabeth. After what I went through with Russ, I have to be careful. He was giving me a sign that he’s not to be trusted. It could have been so much worse.”
“But it wasn’t,” Elizabeth said.
“But it could have been. I’m still reeling from Russ and Claudia. It was too soon for me to get involved anyway, and I blame myself for that.”
“We have so many parallels. You ran to Cypress Cove, and I ran away from it,” Elizabeth said sadly.
They talked awhile longer. After they said goodbye, Elizabeth Bonnet knew that she might have to bite the bullet and go to Cypress Cove to see her niece. Of course, she’d have no idea how much more it would accomplish.
Chapter 7
The train reached the end of the line in Cypress Cove before making its horseshoe turn north after letting Elizabeth Bonnet off. She had two suitcases with her, more than she’d probably need. Dreading the trip at first, once she was on the train, the time was restorative. Long past retirement age, she still worked full-time as a researcher for a speechwriter, and in the politically charged climate lately, she had to be on her toes. Removing herself from the stress wasn’t going to be easy, but when Maggie called, she knew right away that she had to do it.
So she told her niece, Maggie’s mother Rose, that she was leaving for a visit to Cypress Cove.
“Oh god, no AC? How will you survive?”
“I’ll get Alfonso to install a window conditioner. The power up there isn’t as intermittent as it used to be. We should be fine.”
“I hope you don’t mind that I’m not going?” Rose asked, feeling a little guilty.
“I don’t mind at all. As a matter of fact, I’m looking forward to having some peace at the cottage. It’s a long overdue visit.”
Floyd was waiting for her with a big smile. She was still beautiful. Tall and curvy, Elizabeth Bonnet wore a skirt, which was rare these days, showing a good amount of shapely leg. And her feet with pink toenails were in a pair of backless sandals with a little heel. Her salt-and-pepper hair was in a long braid that fell over her right shoulder. In spite of a few little wrinkles around her eyes and that gray in her hair, she still looked like the young woman he’d known intimately more than fifty-five years ago. But she treated him like he was her driver, and he was okay with that.
“Miss Bonnet, welcome home,” he said. “The years have been kind to you.”
“And to you, Floyd,” she said. “So this might be the shortest fare you’ll have today. I’m just going to the dock.”
“Ah, boating in, is that right?”
“I’m surprising my niece’s daughter,” she said.
He wondered if Gus the dockmaster expected her, but didn’t ask. Knowing Floyd, the entire community would know she was in town. He loaded her bags up, and when he held the front passenger door for her, he saw a glimpse of Betty’s thighs. If the missus found out Elizabeth Bonnet was in his car, she’d throw a fit.
“What brings you back?”
