After lunch, Misty dropped them off at the professor’s home. With her car idling at the curb, she said, “I’ve got great seats for you. Check in with the box office when you arrive.”
“Will do. Thanks, my darling,” Ivy said. “Awfully proud of you.”
Waving, Misty rushed off to the theatre to get into makeup and costume for the dress rehearsal.
Ivy walked around the back of the professor’s house. Shelly trailed her in silence.
“Won’t take long to pack what I have,” Ivy said, slipping her key into the side entry door. Two or three hours—at the most—to pack what she had here in boxes to ship, and tomorrow afternoon at her storage facility to ship her art, along with photographs that she’d saved.
“Do you still have much in storage?” Shelly asked.
“I sold most of the furniture from the flat. Storage in Boston is expensive, and my furniture was too large to fit into a small condo anyway.” She would leave Sunny’s belongings in a smaller unit as she’d promised.
Shelly twisted her hair into a messy bun and sat on the bed. “What am I going to do with all my winter clothing?”
“I plan to keep a few pieces, but also to donate a lot to the homeless shelter.” Ivy had little need for a full wardrobe of sweaters, snow boots, and coats at Summer Beach. “Making a clean break.”
“Since I’ve never had much, I don’t have much to go through,” Shelly said. “I’ll give away some of my books, send a few boxes by UPS, and be on my way. It still feels weird to be leaving New York for good. I have to see a couple of friends, too.”
Ivy sat next to her. “Does that include Ezzra?” She knew how persuasive he could be, and Shelly seemed fragile right now.
Shelly hesitated. “Just to say good-bye.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Ivy asked as gently as she could.
“I have to.” Shelly gave her a lopsided grin. “I need closure, but I promise I’ll resist. When your flight stops in New York, I’ll be there.”
Bumping her shoulder, Ivy said, “You’d better be. I need my partner at the Seabreeze Inn.”
The next evening, after Ivy and Shelly had spent the day sorting through the last boxes of Ivy’s life with Jeremy and dropped off bundles of winter clothing at the shelter, they changed and took a taxi to the theater for Misty’s big debut performance.
When the curtain parted and the stage lights went up, Ivy clutched Shelly’s hand. “I know Misty is talented, but I’m so scared for my baby.”
Shelly squeezed her hand and whispered, “This is what she loves to do. She’ll be great.”
And Misty was. By the time the production was over, and the cast took their bows, Ivy was beaming with pride. When Misty skipped out to take her bow, the applause intensified, and the audience rose to their feet. A few fans tossed flowers onto the stage, and she picked them up and waved.
“Bravo!” Ivy and Shelly called out. They blew kisses to Misty and snapped photos.
Ivy was so proud of her daughter. She had always encouraged her daughters to follow their dreams. Now Misty was on her way.
“Bravo!” Ivy raised her hands toward the stage, clapping for Misty. It was time for Ivy to follow her dreams, too. And Sunny just needed to find hers.
Just then, her phone flashed a message from iBnB across the screen. Ivy turned to Shelly and let out a scream. “We just rented a room!”
“When?” Shelly asked.
“The day after we return!”
“Woo-hoo!”
Waving at Misty, Ivy and Shelly jumped up and down. The next chapter of their lives was just beginning. Maybe they didn’t have the partners in life they’d thought they would, but even so, Ivy couldn’t be more excited.
As Ivy and Shelly waited in the theater lobby with a bouquet of red roses for Misty, Ivy glanced at the booking request on her phone. With a satisfied smile, she tapped an acceptance.
“It’s official,” Ivy said. “The Seabreeze Inn will be open for business when we return.”
“We shouldn’t call it that just yet.” Shelly frowned. “Remember what Bennett said?”
“Who?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” Ivy brushed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m filing the papers at the zoning office when we return. We’ll have an open house and invite all the neighbors and the reporter for the Summer Beach Breeze. When they hear our plan for the community, they’ll support us.”
Ivy had read that some cities were banning iBnB rentals within city limits to maintain exclusivity, so it was essential to have the proper zoning to operate as an inn, even though they would be subject to more regulations. Her heart quickened as she thought of the lengthy process.
After the charges Bennett had made against Shelly, Ivy wondered if he would try to block their request for a zoning change. Darla, their neighbor, was another challenge to convince. Were there others who would feel the same?
Chapter 29
IN THE SIDE garden that Shelly had brought back from the wild, Ivy snipped stalks of Hawaiian red ginger, orange birds of paradise, and lacy green ferns in anticipation of their first guests. She admired the colors against the yellow linen sundress she wore and thought what a vivid still life the armload she carried would make, especially framed by the brilliant blue sky above. It seemed unseasonably warm today as if summer couldn’t wait to arrive. Turning her face toward the sun, she thought it was a perfect day for new beginnings.
Ivy glanced toward the ocean, where a few solitary souls strolled the water’s edge. Some people had leashed dogs nipping at the waves, while others stopped to contemplate the swell of the sea. If the heat kept up, the summer crowds would come early.
She paused, fixing the image of a young couple with a yellow Labrador trotting beside them in her mind. He carried a little girl on his shoulders.
She would sketch that later today, she decided.
Carrying her bundle of flowers, Ivy
