“This is the neatest place I didn’t know I wanted to see,” Amanda said.
“Thank you,” Maeve said. “It’s even better than I dreamed.”
“Would you like to see the plantation?” Amanda asked. “They have a butterfly garden and all kinds of historical things here.”
“No, I really don’t.” Maeve shook her head thoughtfully. “This is the one thing I wanted to see, and I don’t want anything else to land on top of this memory.”
“Fair enough.” She looked at Maeve. “Do you want to say it?”
Maeve looked questioningly at her, then started to laugh. “Oh, I do! Home, James!”
James announced a couple of other landmarks as they headed back, such as a tree that was estimated to be more than four hundred years old, and he also offered a colorful history lesson as they cruised down Rainbow Row on their way back to the hotel.
“The houses here on Rainbow Row were built in the seventeen hundreds. Originally, all of them were painted pink, but there are many rumors about how the rainbow of pastel houses came to be. One story—my personal favorite—is that the different colors helped drunken sailors identify which house they were to bunk in,” James explained. “It’s the longest cluster of Georgian row houses in the country and said to be the most photographed spot in the fair city of Charleston.”
“My goodness. And people think the beach houses on Whelk’s Island are colorful. We have nothing on these folks!” Maeve exclaimed.
“It’s cheerful. I kind of like it.” Amanda snapped a picture to share with Hailey. This would be right up her alley.
James pulled in front of the inn and got a cart so Amanda and Maeve could take the coolers and their overnight cases upstairs. He had the room across the hall, and the plan was to be ready at eight in the morning to head to Macon. “I’ll take this up for you rather than calling the bellhop.”
“Thank you, James.”
Amanda was grateful she didn’t have to navigate the luggage cart, as James himself seemed to be having trouble with it, and he was a big guy. She opened the door to their room and let Maeve go in first. She couldn’t wait to hear her reaction. “Amanda!”
She stepped in behind Maeve.
“I’ve never stayed anywhere so opulent. This was not necessary. We could have spent the night at a little beach inn and I’d have been fine.”
“No way. This is a girls’ road trip. We have to do girlie, fun things. We deserve some pampering.”
Maeve walked over to the huge oak armoire against the wall and opened one of the doors. “Look at these robes.” She squeezed the fabric between her hands. “They’re so soft.”
“Those are for us.”
“If it’s okay with you, I’d rather eat whatever Tug sent along for us, put on our nightgowns, and call it an early night.”
“Works for me.” Amanda went to the bathroom to wash her face. When she finished, Maeve already had dinner set out for them. The aroma of home cooking filled the room. “That smells good.”
“It’s still warm too.” Maeve picked up a fork and knife. “He even sent us real silverware.”
“Nice touch.” She sat in the chair across from Maeve.
“Fried pork tenderloin, one of his specialties. My absolute favorite. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Green beans—the good fat ones.” Maeve unwrapped a square pan covered in foil.
“What is it? Rolls?”
“Nope. Corn bread.”
They ate, nibbling on everything and not saying much. Amanda got up and looked outside. “It’s starting to get dark. There’s another reason I picked this hotel, besides the fact that it looked really pretty online.” She pulled back the curtain. “In about thirty minutes, all of these beautiful trees out here are going to light up.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. We can sit out on the balcony and watch it all come to light.”
“You’ve really thought of everything. I definitely don’t want to miss that.” Maeve grabbed her overnighter and headed into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, they stood out on the balcony in their nightgowns and fluffy white robes. They weren’t the only ones doing that. To the left and right, Amanda noticed couples in their robes too. They stood waiting for something to happen. People meandered along the road below, anticipating the event. A nervous energy filled the air.
“Even if they didn’t light them up, the trees are lovely here,” Maeve said. “Almost as beautiful as those at the plantation.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’m loving it.”
Suddenly everything lit up and the town went silent. Seconds ticked by, peacefulness cloaking them. White twinkle lights lit every single tree for as far as they could see. The moss blurred the lights, making it appear like a misty haze.
And just as quickly as the lights came on, voices rose and chatter started filling the air. The perfect moment had passed.
Maeve went back inside. “This has been a perfect day.” She sat down on the bed. “I’m going to have amazing dreams tonight.”
Amanda had followed her inside, locking the french doors behind her and pulling the curtains. “Me too. I’m going to sleep like a baby.” Amanda picked up a small box from the nightstand and peeked inside. Thank goodness the hotel had been able to do this for her.
“This is for you.” She handed the small box to Maeve.
“What is it?”
“Open and see.”
Maeve opened the box, then put the top back on it. “You did this?” She lifted the lid again. “Spanish moss of my very own.”
“Yes. I had them freeze it to be sure we weren’t delivering you to Judy with a bunch of bugs, but I wanted you to have something to help you remember this trip every day.”
“Oh my. Judy would’ve gone crazy at the thought of bugs. Almost worth the look on her face, but I wouldn’t dare do that to her.”
“Not exactly the way you want to be remembered.”
Maeve shook her head. “Could shorten the grieving process. She wouldn’t miss me as much
