Which worked great for me since I was way behind on my recreational reading after starting classes a year ago for my master’s degree in business.
“No, Levi works more than both of us together. He’s always either on the phone or his laptop, even when he’s home. Look, I know this weekend will be touchy. I’m not even sure why Levi was so insistent you and I come. I mean, we were close as kids, but that’s a long time ago. The last time I came to one of these, I was still married to Sherry. And, well, that weekend blew up in my face.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I rolled over onto my side and pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes.
“Honestly, no. I just want you to be prepared. I’m going to owe you big for this weekend.” He glanced at his watch. “We have an hour before the first event. You want to stay here and fool around a little bit or go check out The Castle? We have full access to all the public rooms.”
“Brenda must really like Levi. The last time Aunt Jackie tried to get her writers’ group an all access pass for an afternoon, Brenda turned her down flat. Aunt Jackie’s going to be so jealous.” Brenda Morgan was the manager of The Castle, the site of our weekend gathering. The Castle had only a few rooms they rented out and often didn’t even open the hotel section. Most weeks, it was a museum only. Brenda had been having trouble with the old buildings and the lack of air conditioning, not to mention a lack of adequate staffing to run a real hotel full time.
I ran my fingers through Greg’s sandy-blond hair as I considered the options. Brenda Morgan had been The Castle administrator since her husband, Craig, had been murdered out behind one of the cottages in the complex. I wouldn’t have been able to work in the same place where a loved one had died. On the other hand, Brenda and Craig had been separated at the time. Maybe the term, loved one, was out of place here.
Greg watched as I jumped off the bed and slipped on my flip-flops. “So I guess fooling around is off the table?”
“When it comes to making my aunt green with envy, I’ll go without for a while.” I put my phone in my capris pocket. “Are you ready yet?”
“Can we discuss how long a while is?” Greg sighed and then pushed himself off the bed. “I hope this satisfies your need to one-up Jackie. You two fight like sisters. Maybe you should try being nice.”
“Why do I have to be the adult?” Don’t get me wrong, I loved Aunt Jackie. Sometimes our relationship got a little tense as she could be overbearing and controlling, but nothing like what had been happening lately. My aunt had been on a holy tear for the last month. She was planning a June wedding to Harrold Snider. Jackie carried around a three-ring binder so she could write down notes as she thought of them. From what I could tell, everyone in the country was being invited. Well, everyone but Josh. He was still a little miffed about the Jackie and Harrold thing. Even though he was now officially dating Mandy Jensen, manager of South Cove’s new produce and fruit stand, the man still held a soft spot for my aunt.
Greg leaned down and kissed me. “Because you love your aunt.”
Well, he had me there. Even at her worst, she was still my aunt and my only living relative. I opened the door and stepped into the hall. “I’m still going to post these pictures on my Facebook page. I just won’t tag her.”
“Maybe she’ll be too busy looking at seating charts for the reception to notice. I could call and give Harrold a heads up to try to keep her away.” He checked his pocket for the room key, then pulled the door closed behind us.
“You’re a little OCD with checking if you have the key. You know that right?” Moving toward the elevator, I linked my arm with his.
“Who always locks herself out of our hotel room when she goes for ice?” He pushed the down button and the ancient elevator motor whirled to life.
“No one remembers to take their keys when they get ice.” I shot him a dirty look and then hesitantly stepped inside the elevator. “Besides, you’re usually in the room when I leave.”
“The last two times you locked yourself out, I was taking a shower. Luckily I heard your frantic knocks.” He pressed the lobby button and the doors slid shut with a bang.
“I wasn’t frantic. There were just people in the hallway and I was in my pajamas.” I looked up at the lights that showed us slowly making our way down the three floors. “Maybe we should take the stairs. I’m not sure this elevator is going to last the weekend.”
“Izzy works on these things and he says it’s safe.” Izzy was one of Greg’s friends and lived in Bakerstown. From the way Greg quoted him, Izzy knew everything about anything mechanical. As we stepped out into the lobby, a cool breeze flowed gently through the room. Greg picked up a flyer from a side table. “Do you want a tour pamphlet?”
“Sure.” I studied the map on the flyer and pointed to a spot to our left. “Let’s start in the dining hall. I hear they have tapestries from the Middle Ages.”
We found the room and as I walked inside, a sense of peace filled me. The place was stunning. If Levi was planning on hosting a dinner party in the room, he could invite all of the residents of South Cove and still have room for relatives and friends of the bride and groom. I pointed to the tapestry with the castle scene. “I saw that in a history book when I was in high school. I didn’t realize it was owned by The Castle.”
“There are a lot of antiquities housed here in The Castle.” A man spoke up behind us. “The original owner had boatloads of art and architecture shipped over when he visited Europe. He’d find old churches being torn down and take every last choir pew and piece of stained glass. He rescued this stuff and now everyone wants it back.”
I turned and looked at the elderly man watching us. He was doing the comb-over hairdo. I don’t know why men think we can’t tell they’re bald if there’s a few strands covering the top. I introduced myself and Greg, trying not to look at the top of his head. “I’m very interested in The Castle’s history. Are you a trustee for the place?”
He barked out a laugh as he shook our hands. “Not on your life. I’m John Anderson. I’m kind of a museum guide. I work for Brenda. Those trustee farts are all Wall Street types with their eyes only on the money. I swear, they’d take this place apart and sell it off, piece by piece, if they could figure out a way to break the trust.”
“It’s amazing. I don’t know why anyone would change a thing.” A female voice cut through the tension.
We turned toward the newcomers and I saw Greg’s eyes light up. He stepped toward the man and woman who had just entered the room.
“Levi! Hey man, thanks for inviting us.” He walked over and gave the taller man a bro hug. “I can’t believe you finally found someone to put up with you.”
“I could say the same thing about you, times two. Of course, I told you the first one wouldn’t work out when I stood up for you at that Vegas chapel. Didn’t we have to wait for Elvis to get done with his drive through couple?” Levi Walker slapped Greg on the back. “You should have listened to me and run that night.”
“You’re right there.” Greg turned toward me. “Levi, this is Jill Gardner. Jill, meet my best friend since seventh grade. Even if the guy doesn’t call, email or visit me unless one of us is getting hitched.”
“Jill, so nice to meet you. Greg has told me so much about you. And Jim had nice things to say too.” He came over and gave me a quick hug. “This is the love of my life, Jessica soon–to-be Walker.”
The woman came up and held out a hand. “Jessica Cole. I haven’t decided on if I’m taking Levi’s last name or not. It feels so archaic, like I’m property.”
“Jill Gardner. So nice to meet you.” I took a step toward Greg who pulled me into a hug. “Are you originally European? I can’t place the accent.”
“Jessica’s family is from Germany and we just came back from a tour of Europe. I told her that she was picking up the local flavor.”