Chapter
Three
Holly
and Steve
Some people thought the Mackenzies and Burkes were the
founders of Camden Corners. The families had lived in the small town
for decades, but they weren't the first to call Camden Corners home.
Duncan Mackenzie was barely twenty years old when he
left Scotland for America. The day after his twenty first birthday,
Alexander Burke boarded the boat leaving Ireland. He watched with
sadness as his family waved goodbye from the shore. Duncan and
Alexander met in New York City and became roommates in Mrs. Geraldine
O'Sullivan's boarding house.
Mrs. O'Sullivan told them of a small village she'd
visited with her family when she was a young girl. “Ah, yes, I
have wonderful memories of Camden Corners. The hills are lush with
green, the lake is as clear as can be, the only sound you hear from
morning til night are the birds chirping in the trees.”
Although the friends were grateful to be living and
working in America, they longed for the lush green hills of their
childhood. With the money they saved while working at whatever jobs
they could find, they bid farewell to Mrs. O'Sullivan and rode the
train as far west as they were able, buying horses to take them into
the hills and their new home in Camden Corners.
The town had already begun to grow. The railroad was in
the process of being expanded through the heart of town. The two
young men felt at home immediately. They eventually married local
young women and opened a pub they called O'Sullivan's after their
friend and landlady who shared memories of her childhood.
The two families grew as did the town. It seemed as
though half the people in town were named Burke while the other half
were Mackenzies.
Holly Mackenzie and Steve Burke had been inseparable
since the day they were born just minutes apart in Shane Howard
Memorial Hospital. Their mothers, who were best friends themselves,
shared a room in the hospital while their babies slept side by side
in bassinets.
Holly was standing staring at the ice cream case in the
grocery store trying to decide between butter crunch and rocky road.
She shrugged and picked one of each placing them in her shopping cart
along with the chocolate chips she'd grabbed from the shelf in the
baking aisle. As she was checking out, she spotted candy bars and
two of them ended up on the conveyor belt.
“Hi Holly, are you doing alright?” said Mitzi Clark
as she checked out Holly's order. “I see you are making cookies
and eating ice cream and candy this evening. You don't usually do
that unless you have something on your mind.”
“I'm just fine, Mitzi, must be my sweet tooth and
hormones acting up,” replied Holly. She wondered what it would be
like to live in a place where nobody knew you or cared what was in
your shopping cart. Holly loved her town and her life in Camden
Corners though. If she didn't love it so much, the offer today
wouldn't be weighing on her shoulders. She instinctively knew her
friend and business partner was suffering through the same thing.
She imagined Tracy was in her favorite spot right now overlooking the
lake. Soon she would be sipping a martini. Holly laughed as she
thought of the difference between the two of them and how they
handled stress. Holly couldn't get enough of sweets and Tracy looked
at water and indulged in Jack's martinis. It's a good thing the two
of them didn't often have stress in their lives, Holly would weigh
two hundred pounds and Tracy would be a drunkard.
Steve was working late tonight of all nights. After all
these years, the newspaper was struggling to keep advertisers. The
subscription numbers were down and continuing to fall as more and
more people were relying on the internet for their news. Small town
newspapers were suffering less than their big city counterparts
because people in small towns were more involved in what was going on
in their neighborhoods. Still, Holly knew it was a worry to Steve.
His great grandfather was there when the very first Camden Chronicle
was published and Burkes had been involved with the newspaper ever
since.
Holly was beating the cookie dough as she munched on her
candy bar. She thought back to when she first realized what she felt
for Steve was more than the good buddies they had always been. She
had just turned fifteen. She and Steve had a joint birthday party as
they had for every one of them. They both thought they were too old
to share their birthday but they went along with it because it made
their mothers happy.
“Hi, honey, I'm home,” Steve said the same thing
every time he opened the back door. Holly thought it was silly at
first but through the years she came to expect it and if he didn't
say the words, she knew the day hadn't gone well for him.
“What's wrong, you are eating a candy bar and baking
cookies,” he said as he dipped his finger into the dough catching a
chocolate chip on his tongue.
Holly told him about the offer she and Tracy had
received. “We are thinking it over tonight. I don't know what we
will do, Steve. I know we will eventually have to turn The
Merryweather over to someone else but it has been part of all our
lives for so long.
“Arthur Pierce didn't make his millions by being
sentimental. I'm sure he will bulldoze the old place in favor of a
high rise.”
“That's just it, do we really want The Merryweather to
be demolished? Let's talk about your day. My brain is numb trying
to decide what to do.”
“I'm afraid I don't have much to report. We lost
another advertiser today. I'm not sure how long we will be able to
continue with the Chronicle if this trend continues. Maybe we should
both call it a day and retire to the Florida Keys.”
“Steve, you know you will never leave Camden Corners.
What would you do without our grandchildren to fuss over? Speaking
of our grandchildren, did you notice how round Kelli's face was
yesterday when she was here?”
“What does that mean? Is she alright?” Steve asked
forgetting about the newspaper and the hotel for the moment. His
concern was for his daughter.
“Of course, she's alright. Don't you remember when
she was expecting Jason and Ryan, both times her face looked like a
moon pie?”
“I'd forgotten about that. You mean we are going to
be grandparents again?”
“I'm not sure but I suspect that is why she was so
tired yesterday. She mentioned she had a busy week at the
hospital. I know she took on an extra shift for her friend Daisy
while she is on her honeymoon. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on
my part. It's been a few years since we have had a newborn around
here.”
“Daisy is on a honeymoon again? How many honeymoons
is one person entitled to. This must be her fourth marriage.”
“Fifth, but who's counting?”
The phone rang. Holly answered it. “Hi Kelli, dear.
What's up?”
“Mom, remember yesterday when you asked if Jeff and I
had an announcement to make? Well it got me to thinking and I bought
a home pregnancy test. It's positive! We are going to have another
baby!”
“Kelli, that's wonderful. What do Jeff and the boys
think of it?”
“Everyone is thrilled. Ryan is looking forward to
having a little brother to tease, just like Jason has been teasing
him for years. I can't believe I never even considered the
possibility. What kind of a nurse am I?”
“You are a wonderful nurse and you know it. We are
very happy for you dear.”
“I knew you would be Mom. Jeff and I thought our baby
days were behind us. I guess we shouldn't have gotten rid of the
crib.”
“Maybe you will be able to buy a new one in pink,”
said Holly crossing her fingers.
“That would be nice. I love you, Mom. Tell Grampa we
love him too.”
“I will and you congratulate Jeff for us. We love you
too, Kelli and we couldn't be happier.” Holly set the phone down
and wrapped her arms around her husband. “Do you still want to
move to the Keys, Gramps?
“Not on your life but I wouldn't mind making a move to
the bedroom with the sexiest grandma in town.”
“I thought you'd never ask,” said Holly. “I don't
know why I bought all that junk food to alleviate my stress when all
I needed was you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment