Page 22 of A Room By the Sea

CHAPTER TWELVE

Audrey heard the front doorbell ring and she jumped up from her chair at the kitchen table. She set down her mug of coffee and hurried out into the front hallway. She passed by a box of antique décor that she’d purchased from Seagull’s Nest Antiques as she made her way to the front door.

“Hi!” Harper said brightly as soon as Audrey opened the door. She stepped forward and gave Audrey a hug. “Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” Audrey said, feeling nervousness flutter in her chest. Was she imagining it, or was Harper acting slightly less enthusiastic to see her than usual?

She’d invited her friend over to help her arrange the antique décor that she’d purchased for the hotel rooms. She’d wanted to ask Harper’s help for two reasons—first, because her friend truly did have a creative eye, and also because she’d started to feel worried about both her friendships with Penelope and Harper.

Ever since her conversation with Penelope outside the grocery store, Audrey hadn’t heard from either of her friends. She understood that Penelope was feeling upset about her marriage falling apart, and she hadn’t expected her to reach out. Harper, on the other hand, usually checked in with Audrey regularly, and she hadn’t in a while.

Audrey had kept trying to convince herself not to worry about it, but she’d been unable to stop herself from speculating that Penelope had said something to Harper about Audrey that had upset the animal shelter owner.

Maybe Penelope told her that I’d been surprised she was so cynical about men and made it sound like I’d been more critical than I actually was, she thought. I hope Harper doesn’t think that I think badly of her.

The two women made their way upstairs, carrying various antiques from the box. Harper chatted amiably about how things were going at the animal shelter, and Audrey felt relieved that she seemed to be acting as friendly as ever.

They started in the first room on the second floor, deciding where to hang a few black and white photographs and where to put some blue glass vases.

“It’s really lovely in here,” Harper said, looking around with shining eyes. “Maybe I’ll book a room here sometimes just so I can stay in one of these beautiful bedrooms. I’m sure the hotel is going to do amazing.”

Audrey gave her friend’s shoulder a squeeze. She felt grateful that Harper was acting as sweet as she always did.

I guess our friendship is still okay, she thought, feeling tears spring into her eyes as she arranged one of the blue glass vases on the windowsill. Thank goodness. After all the heartbreak I went through in losing my marriage, the thought of losing any of my friendships here in Coral Sands makes me emotional.

She bit her lip, reminding herself that she wasn’t in danger of losing her friendships. She had been scared, however, that the strength of her connections with Harper and Penelope might weaken, and that the strong friendships they’d shared might change, until they all became more like acquaintances.

She wiped away a tear, inhaling a bit shakily. Although her back was turned to Harper, and she assumed her friend wouldn’t be able to see that she was crying, a moment later Audrey felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” Harper said gently. “Are you okay?”

“Oh gosh.” Audrey laughed breathlessly. “Yeah, I’m all good.” She smiled. “I think the dust is just getting to me, my eyes are going crazy in here. Look, I know we basically just started but it is lunchtime. How about we head downstairs for a while and eat some lunch? I bought sandwich fixings this morning, and there’s a jug of pink lemonade in the refrigerator.”

“Sure.” Harper laughed. “I’m always hungry.” Her eyes flickered over Audrey’s face as if she wanted to make sure that her friend was okay.

Audrey smiled back at her brightly, determined to appear as though nothing was the matter. “Great,” she said. “Let’s head on downstairs. I’ve got chicken and ham, and all kinds of yummy cheese, and lettuce, and tomatoes.”

The two friends made their way down to the kitchen and made a couple of sandwiches using the fresh produce she had just laid out. Audrey poured them both tall glasses of pink lemonade, and they piled their food onto a tray and carried it out onto the front porch, which was sunny and fragrant with the aroma of flowers.

“Thanks for feeding me, this sandwich looks super yummy,” Harper said, picking up her plate from the tray and setting it on her lap. “And it’s such a beautiful day! Thanks for suggesting we come out here. Your garden smells incredible.”

“Thank you.” Audrey smiled. “We had a lot of rose bushes planted because there used to be a lot of rose bushes in the garden back in the day here. We want The Birchwood House to be as historically accurate as possible.”

“Love it,” Harper said. “I can’t wait until this place opens. I just know it’s going to be insanely popular.”

“Thank you for your support.” Audrey picked up her glass of pink lemonade and took a sip. She wanted to talk about Penelope and the conversation they’d shared outside the grocery store, but she wasn’t sure how to bring it up. “I really appreciate friends being supportive,” she said slowly, looking for a segue. “I was trying to be supportive to Penelope the other day when I ran into her at the supermarket. It didn’t go so well, though. The conversation, I mean. Did Penelope mention anything to you about that conversation?”

Harper’s brow furrowed, making it clear that she had no idea what Audrey was talking about.

“I was worried about Penelope ever since she left our dinner night looking so upset,” Audrey said. “And I ran into her when I was getting some groceries so I asked her what was going on with her. We ended up talking about her situation with her marriage on a bench outside the grocery store, but then she got really upset and she just rushed off all of a sudden.”

“Yikes.” Harper shook her head. “That poor girl. I think she just didn’t know what to do.”

Audrey nodded. “I wanted to bring it up with you, because, well—she’d told me that you said that no man would ever change for the better. I was really surprised you’d said something so cynical, and I was worried that she was going to tell you that I was criticizing you behind your back. I never meant to do anything of the kind, I was just so surprised that you’d say anything like that.”

“Oh, hon.” Harper leaned to the side and gave Audrey a hug. “Don’t you worry about things like that. Penelope can get pretty blunt sometimes, but she’s not mean. She wouldn’t tell me something like that, and even if she did, I know you well enough by now to figure out that she’d just misunderstood what you meant.”

“I’m so glad.” Audrey laughed breathlessly. “In the city, I had so many friendships that turned catty behind people’s backs. I don’t want to have to deal with that kind of drama out here. Coral Sands is my safe space, and I want my friendships here to be safe spaces too—not just for me, but for you and Penelope too.”