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Marcie moved away, and Jenni looked at her friend. “How do you know all these people?”
“I come here pretty often, Jenni. I love it here, and so do Mom and Dad. And with them being on the island so often since they retired, they are in on all the local news, and they have made a lot of new friends.”
After sipping the water that had been quickly placed on the table, Caitlin added, “Susan and Chris have an amazing story. They reconnected after more than forty years apart. And Mike and SeaAnna, Susan’s daughter, have just started coming to the island. Their daughter, JoBell Leonard, is at the North Carolina Center for Aquatic Research in Belhaven.”
“That name sounds familiar.” Jenni could swear it. “I’m pretty sure I’ve read about JoBell Leonard in my alumni news.”
“We’ll go over and say hi before we leave and you can ask,” Caitlin said as she watched the food coming to their table. “One thing about Marcie’s, the service is really fast. Let’s eat.”
They were just finishing up when Caitlin saw the Smiths and the Leonards get up to leave. Caitlin caught Chris’s eye with a wave, and the four came over to the table. Caitlin rose to give everyone hugs and then introduced Jenni as her former roommate, and an alum of St. Adrian’s.
“Didn’t your daughter go to St. Adrian’s too?” Jenni asked SeaAnna.
“She did! What a coincidence. Are you here for the tournament this weekend?”
“I am now.” Jenni laughed and explained the situation.
“For sure when Jo gets here, you’ll have to meet her. She’s coming tomorrow evening. I had hoped she would come earlier and maybe spend some time with her dad and Dare on his boat, but it didn’t work out with her class schedule.”
“Dare?”
“Dare Davis. He’s a charter boat captain. And Jo’s good friend, I guess you’d have to say. I really wish for more,” SeaAnna’s voice trailed off. Mike touched her shoulder and shook his head as if to say, “Not now.”
Jenni glanced at Chris and Susan who seemed quick to change the direction the conversation had taken. Susan’s smile lit up the room. “Well, they will be together at the banquet with us, so, Jenni, you can meet both of them then.”
“For sure,” Jenni agreed. “We’ll let you go, then. We’ll see you at the banquet.”
“Oh, you may see us before then.” Chris laughed; the awkward moment now gone. “Since Susan and I are volunteering as judges, maybe you’ll catch the big one, and we’ll have to measure.” He winked at Jenni as they walked toward the exit.
“You never know what you might catch,” said Caitlin to Jenni. “You just never know.”
“Did I sense something about Jo and that Dare?”
“They’ve been together forever, and I guess SeaAnna would like to see them a bit more…committed, shall we say?” Caitlin smiled.
Jenni just nodded as they paid the bill and walked back into the parking lot.
In her mind, Jo would be smart to keep things just as they were, but who was she to judge? She, who had made so many mistakes in her marriage. Just because she no longer trusted anyone, didn’t mean others shouldn’t.
She was convinced that she was the reason everything went wrong in her marriage.
Plus, there were no good guys anymore. Too good to be true, as the old saying went.
Caleb, for example. He was surely in that category. He was handsome, thoughtful, and clearly, he knew his way around island life. What was missing? There had to be some fault, somewhere.
Banishing those distressing ruminations, she tried to look enthusiastic and said in her most positive voice, “I guess it’s time to practice a bit more. If I’m going to hook the big one, you know? And I didn’t know there was a banquet.
I mean, what? Do we dress up our waders?”
Caitlin turned the truck back toward the ramp access. “Look, I know this wasn’t what you had planned, but it’s going to be fun. Trust me.” She smiled. “And, at any rate, it’s a weekend we’ll certainly never forget.”
Chapter Five
When Jenni woke up, it wasn’t to the smell of bacon and eggs, but to the sound of the wind howling. She rolled over to look out her window and saw the tree limbs swaying back and forth and a bit of spitting rain hitting the glass.
Ugh. I can’t believe I have to get up and go out in that today.It’s so warm and comfortable right here in bed.
She rolled back over hoping to get in a bit more sleep, but her phone alarm went off right on schedule. It was five-thirty.
