Summer Seasonings
At
The House of Four Seasons
By Atonia Walpole
Part 7:
Another day went by and they were all on deck watching the bluff come closer as they sailed to shore.
“That’s a welcome sight,” Max stated, arm around Toni.
“Oh, it is, darling, it is! You do remember my jeep is at the airport in Boston? How are we to get Auntie home?”
Max thought about his little car and then he thought about the highway. “Oh dear, does it ever end?”
They were let down in a boat and rowed to shore. Jack and Terry came, too. Terry carried Auntie up the cliff path and set her down in a chair on the stone terrace.
“You know, Terrence, this has been the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. It’s something I shall never forget. And this house, do you know Toni’s grandmother once sent me a card and inside she sketched this very spot. I didn’t realize this is where she lived for a time…I never knew and isn’t it fortunate that Toni found this very house?” she smiled up at Terry.
“Yes, mum, almost like magic, wouldn’t you say? He’s never been mentioned but could you tell me who your brother was, Toni’s grandfather?”
“Oh, he was very famous in his day. He didn’t use his real name, of course. My brother’s name was Dean Stanley. He kept his private life very private. He was killed shortly after Lise found out she was pregnant. She never remarried. His name? Oh, he went by James, James Dean.”
Terry smiled slightly. “Thank you for telling me that.”
“She never knew, her grandmother never told her who her husband was. He was only Dean Stanley.”
Terry turned as the rest of the party arrived on the terrace. Meeting Toni’s eyes briefly, he moved out into the grass.
Toni looked from him to her Auntie, wondering what they had been talking about. “Would you like some tea, Auntie?”
“Oh, I would, thank you.” She smiled pleasantly looking from one man to the other. A very good looking family Toni had married into.
Toni felt the comfort settle around her shoulders as she prepared a tea tray. The house was relieved and glad she was back. She noticed the fresh flowers on the kitchen table and the freshly-baked biscuit assortment she placed on a plate. She, in turn, loved the house. She was not ready…not yet.
As she carried the tray to the door she heard the front door open. “John, sweetheart, what are you doing here?”
“Hey, baby.” He kissed her cheek. “Let me carry that for you. I’ve come to take your Auntie home. Max couldn’t face driving his little buggy out on the highway and there was no way for you to get your car back.”
“That’s sweet of you. Thanks, John.”
After the tea was consumed, it was decided that Terry would go with John to take Auntie home and he’d bring Toni’s car back. Jack took his leave and after a quick kiss he walked down to the shore where his men waited with the boat. At last Toni and Max were on their own again. He took her hand and they walked down to the pond and to the gazebo.
“How are you, Toni, really?”
“I’m okay, Max, glad to be home, glad this ordeal is over.”
“Is it over? I’m beginning to wonder if things will ever be the same, knowing what you know now.”
“Between us…of course things are the same. Do you think my feelings for you have changed? They haven’t. I love you, Max, as I always have.”
He looked into her eyes. “I love you, Toni, as I always will.”
The next morning Toni found her keys in the dish on the hall table and opened the front door. Sometime in the night or early morning Terry had returned her jeep and left. Max came down the steps. “Your car back?”
“Yes, everything is back to normal. What would you like to do today? We could go down on the beach.”
Max leaned on the banister. “If it’s all right with you, love, nothing to do with water. I’ve had enough for a while.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE FALL...