Whisper Beach (34 page)
Authors: Shelley Noble
“You should talk to him. Openly. All out. What you feel, what he wants, the whole nine yards.”
Van smiled at her friend. “Like you say, we only have a few more days. But enough about me. What about you and Jerry? I didn't even hear you come in last night.”
“Not to worry. I came in. I've never laughed so much since the last faculty meeting. The faculty meeting was absurd; Jerry was just really funny. Who knew?”
“Are you going to see him again?”
Suze shrugged. “If I'm not too busy.”
Van smacked her on the arm. “You seem pretty confident for someone who just got her grant application off hours before the deadline.”
“I know, but I just have a feeling that something, if not the grant, will turn up. For both of us.”
T
HE
C
RAB OPENED
as always on Friday night. They'd spent two more days spiffing up the restaurant. New menus had been printed, a rush order that Van had paid for as a reopening-night present. She had managed to get a tan, and although Suze was still waiting to hear from the grant committee, she had decided to stay on with Dorie regardless.
Occasionally Van caught Dana looking out at Whisper Beach, and she wondered if she was missing Bud. Van hoped not. Dana was not so bad, if given the right environment. And she deserved that. They all did.
Van had seen Joe three times that week and they'd begun to talk, but not about the subject that concerned each of them the most.
Dinner with her father and Ruth had gone as well as could be expected. It helped Van to see that someone could love her fatherâsomeone who wasn't needy or demanding, but who seemed to enjoy being with him. It was a different experience and sometimes a little hard to watch, but she was learning to listen to the present rather than to keep rerunning the past. Would she and her father ever be close? She couldn't see it now, but down the road, in
that
present, who knew?
She was willing to find out.
Van, Suze, Joe, and Jerry dressed up for the opening. Dana had redone Suze's hair and nails though she groused that they were hardly long enough to get color on. Suze donned her new black
dress, and Van wore one of the dresses she'd brought on vacation but had never worn.
The place was packed, and Van felt proud. Dorie was in her element. And there wasn't one near miss that Van could see.
“It's just like that television show,” Suze said. “The one where people come in and say âoh this looks so much better.' You know the one?”
None of them knew it.
“In my defense,” Van said. “I don't have too much time for television.” Or anything much more than work, she realized.
“I don't watch the Cooking Channel,” Jerry said. “I'm a cop.”
“Big tuffy,” Suze said, then gave him a Suze grin.
Joe shrugged. “I actually do watch the Food Channel, which reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you what you think about putting a . . .”
He had to draw his ideas for a dining terrace with a fork, since for the evening at least, the paper placemats had been replaced by tablecloths rented for the occasion. Joe's plans were good, but it would be a long time before they were ready to implement them.
They? Had she really just thought that?
Maybe there would be a “they”; it didn't have to be settled this week.
A
FTER THE RESTAURANT
closed, everyone gathered in the kitchen.
“You did a fabulous job,” Dorie told Van. “Thank you. I think there's some life in the old dog yet. And I'm not talking about me.”
“You're not an old dog,” Cubby said. “You're one hot mama.”
Dorie laughed. “Well, maybe lukewarm. Seriously though, thank you, Van, for taking time out of your vacation to revitalize the Crab.”
“Hardly a vacation,” Suze said.
“Yeah, but better than the movies,” Dana added.
“And,” Dorie continued, “thanks to all of you and the extra hours you put in. And to Dana, our new assistant front-of-house manager. Andâ Aw, heck, I'm getting all choked up. Hold that thought. I'll be right back. Nobody go anywhere.” She hurried out of the room.
Van looked at Suze. “Please tell me she's not going to drag Harold out from the deep freeze.”
“I think something better.”
Dorie came back a minute later, a bottle of champagne in each hand. “And thank you to Suze for furnishing us with a little bubbly for the occasion.”
Cubby took a bottle, popped the cork, and filled the glasses that had magically appeared.
Everyone took a glass and raised it to Dorie.
“Told you we'd find something to celebrate,” Suze said.
“And you were right,” Van said and clinked her glass with Suze's.
“So, Van,” Jerry said, “Suze said you're thinking about expanding.”
“Yes, I've been thinking about it for a while.”
“Really?” Jerry glanced at Joe. “Where to?”
“I was considering Boston or Philly.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. But lately I've been thinking about something a little closer to Manhattan.”
“Would that some place be as close as Whisper Beach?”
“Maybe. It's not a bad commute.”
“Commute? Really?” asked Joe.
Van shrugged. “I'm thinking about it. I have friends and family here, and a room at Dorie's.”
“That would be great,” Joe said.
“I think it's worth looking into, don't you?”
“Me? Absolutely.”
“And so do I,” called Dorie from across the room. “So do I.”
There was a lot still to consider, to think through, to talk through, and plan, but this time Van wouldn't let her fears drive her away. If things didn't work out, well, at least she would have tried. And if they did, well, that would be even better.
1. Van left Whisper Beach twelve years ago and hasn't been back or communicated with anyone. Why do you think she chose a funeral for her return?
2. What is it about coming “home” to Whisper Beach that Van is most afraid of? Is it one major reason or many reasons that add up to overwhelm her? Is her fear valid or has she built the fear out of proportion?
3. Van isn't very sympathetic to Dana at first, if ever. Do you think in her heart Van thinks Dana deserves unhappiness because of what she did years before? What, if anything, changes her mind?
4. Can Van and Dana ever really be friends?
5. Why is Suze so adamant about not taking her family's money? What kinds of “strings” are attached if she does accept help? How important is it to make it on your own?
6. Gigi says that she always did what was right, and look where it got her; widowed, unemployed with two small children to support. Do you feel sympathetic towards her? Or do you think she allowed people to take care of her and expects them to continue to do so? Why do you think Gigi always tried to do what was right? Or did she?
7. Van and Joe get off to a rocky start because of Van's preconceptions. Do you think seeing Joe surrounded by wine bottles triggered her memory of childhood and colored her expectations of how Joe had turned out? What does her reaction say about Van?
8. Suze spends most of the book waiting for her grant application. What was the motivation for the theft of the application? Was it to hurt Suze or Van or something else entirely, like jealousy?
9. Van has been thinking about expanding her business. When Joe suggests the possibility of opening a branch in Whisper Beach, she is skeptical. What factors changed her mind? Do you think it is a viable choice? Will it be possible for her to run a successful, fulfilling business in her childhood home?
10. What do you think about Dorie and the way she has chosen to live her life? Why does she stay married to Harold? Is she destined to failure or can she make a success of the restaurant?
11. There are successes and failures among this once close-knit group. Were there victims in this story? Gigi? Van's father? Van? Joe? Dana? Suze? Dorie? Bud? How did each of them cope with their situations? Who were the sympathetic characters?
12. Do Van and her father have a chance of developing a positive relationship? What are some of the challenges that they face?
13. Van has buried her desire for children by nurturing her career. Knowing how much Joe wants to have a family, will this be a deterrent for any future together? Do you think either of them will be happy with adoption, or will there always be hidden accusations and insecurities?
14. Much is made about one little episode when they were all teenagers. All their lives seemed to be affected by it in one way or another. Do people get over the humiliation or hurt they experienced as children or teenagers? Or will it always be a part of them that they can't overcome?
15. It is hard enough to get over something inside yourself, how hard is it to change other peoples' perceptions of you as a person? Will people always look at Van and remember her as the girl who ran away, or will they see the successful businesswoman that she has become?
16. Do you think the lingering and erupting emotions in Whisper Beach were more than the teenage episode should have provoked? Or was that incident merely a catalyst for some underlying reasons that existed then and now?
Photo by Gary Brown
SHELLEY NOBLE
is a former professional dancer and choreographer and has worked on a number of films. She lives at the Jersey shore where she loves to visit lighthouses and vintage carousels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America.
www.shelleynoble.com
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