Back Home Again (12 page)

“Of course, stop by anytime you like. My sisters will be calmer the next time you visit, I hope. They’re both very nice women—under normal circumstances.”

Irene laughed. “I’m sure they are. Believe me, I understand how large renovations like this can bring the worst out in people. I’ve seen marriages literally destroyed over remodeling projects.”

“I hope we’ll all still be friends when we’re finished.”

“I’m sure you will.”

After Alice hung up, she felt as if she’d made a new, and possibly valuable, friend. She couldn’t wait to tell Jane and Louise the good news. Well, that and to warn them to mind their manners a little better when visitors came calling. She feared that Irene was right, perhaps the stress was getting to all of them, or maybe this was just God’s way of confirming to her that she had made the right decision to go parttime in her work after all.

Alice prayed that God would continue to lead and guide her as she drove toward home that evening. Then she reminded herself that the best things in life didn’t come easily, and that was most likely going to be the case with Grace Chapel Inn. Perhaps she and her sisters were like the children of Israel being led from Egypt to the Promised Land. Hadn’t there been a lot of bickering and complaining along the way? She hoped that the three of
them wouldn’t do anything drastic enough to get themselves stuck in the wilderness. She didn’t really think that any of them, well, perhaps excepting Jane, would still be around in forty years.

Chapter Fifteen

A
lice arrived home to find Jane and Louise at something of a standoff. From the partially opened door, Louise appeared to be cloistered in her bedroom, surrounded by a number of crates. Jane was clanking around in the kitchen, apparently reorganizing, but Alice felt there was an inordinate amount of banging pots and slamming drawers going on. One thing seemed clear, neither of them appeared willing to talk just now. Certainly not to one another, and they didn’t offer much more than a slightly disgruntled greeting to Alice.

Alice felt bewildered by her sisters’ behavior and not quite comfortable in her own house. For the first time in ages, she found herself knocking on Aunt Ethel’s door.

“Hello, dear,” said Aunt Ethel, peering over Alice’s shoulder with curiosity. “What brings you over here?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Alice sighed and then held up her hands in a somewhat hopeless gesture.

“Well, do come in, dear.” Aunt Ethel held the door open wide. “It’s chilly out there tonight.”

Without waiting for an invitation to sit, Alice flopped
down onto her aunt’s overstuffed velvet couch. “I thought maybe you might know what’s going on.”

“Oh, are Jane and Louise still feuding?”

Alice nodded.

Aunt Ethel snickered slightly as she lowered herself into a padded rocker. “
Those two
.”

“They’re both so upset that neither one of them will speak—not even to me. I just don’t get it.”

“Well, I happened to pop in over there earlier today and I suddenly found myself caught in the middle of their little disagreement.”

“I’m guessing it was about the wallpaper.” Alice shook her head in disbelief.

“The wallpaper, the paint colors, you name it and those two don’t agree on it.” Aunt Ethel wore her
I-told-you-so
expression as she contentedly folded her hands in her lap and rocked back and forth.

“I don’t see why they won’t at least talk to me. It doesn’t seem fair that they should shut me out.”

Aunt Ethel cleared her throat and then patted her hair. “Well, maybe it has to do with what I told them earlier.”

Alice groaned. “Oh, no, what did you tell them, Aunt Ethel?”

“Just that it wasn’t fair to constantly stick you in the middle.” She leaned forward and peered at Alice. “I told them
that I think that it’s been taking a toll on you and that they should learn how to settle their petty differences without endlessly putting you into the thick of it. It’s just not right!”

“I don’t mind really. I’d rather be in the middle of it than on the outside while they both fuss and fume.”

“They are grown women and should be able to resolve these little spats on their own. You’re a busy woman, Alice. You have your job and your church responsibilities. You certainly can’t be expected to play nursemaid to two overgrown—”

“Aunt Ethel, I appreciate your concern for me. I really do.” For the second time today, Alice felt tears filling her eyes. “You’re not wrong either. It
has
been a little stressful lately.”

Her aunt nodded with satisfaction.

“I’m sure that it’s helping me to appreciate that I decided to work fewer hours.”

“You’re certain that’s what you wanted to do, dear?”

“I am now.”

“I know how you’ve always loved your job, Alice.”

Alice nodded. “I still do, but I’m equally excited about working in the inn.”

“But I’m sure you wouldn’t want to give up your nursing career completely, Alice. You’re so good at it.”

Alice smiled. “Thanks, Aunt Ethel. That’s probably one of the nicest things you’ve ever said to me, and you’re right.
I’m not ready to give it up just yet. I know that it’ll be time for me to retire someday.”

“Well, it’s true, dear. You are a natural-born nurse. You’ve always been good at taking care of others, but sometimes I expect you need someone to look after you. Now how about a nice cup of tea?” She pushed herself to her feet. “I guess I almost forgot my manners.”

Alice ended up eating a small, simple dinner of cinnamon toast and peaches with her aunt. When it was all said and done, she decided that this was probably one of her best diplomatic efforts so far—not that she had intended it for such. By the time she was ready to go back home, Aunt Ethel took her by the hand and smiled.

“Now, don’t you worry about a thing, Alice. I’m sure that everything will turn out just fine for your little inn. Remember, it’s often the best things in life that seem the hardest to come by.”

Alice nodded. “You know, I was thinking that same thing as I drove home from work tonight.”

The house was quiet when Alice slipped back inside. She paused to look at the bare walls in the dining and living rooms. Completely stripped of their many layers of wallpaper, at first they looked cold and naked, but after a while she thought they looked pretty, all clean and bare like that—as if you could see the real lines and architectural structure of the
house. She noticed the interesting wood trim around doors and windows and the crown molding around the high ceilings, as if seeing these things for the first time. It really was a lovely old home. It just needed a little tender loving care, not to mention elbow grease, to bring it back into its prime.

She quietly tiptoed up the staircase toward her room. Strips of yellow light were coming from beneath both her sisters’ doors.
Well, they haven’t murdered each other yet
, she thought. It wasn’t long before she had on her cozy flannel pajamas, the comforting ones with little teapots and teacups printed on the fabric, as well as the hand-knitted wool slippers that Louise had sent her last Christmas. She had just picked up her new mystery book when she heard a little tap-tap-tap on her door.

She cracked the door open to see Jane wearing a dark red chenille throw like a shawl over her pale lavender flannel nightgown. Jane’s thin bare feet looked cold and pale standing on the hardwood floor. Alice opened the door wider and motioned her forlorn-looking younger sister to come in.

“Want to talk?” asked Alice.

Jane nodded.

“I feel absolutely rotten,” Jane confessed as she sank into Alice’s easy chair by the window. She wrapped her throw more tightly around her shoulders and tucked her bare feet up under the hem of her gown. “I’ve acted like a complete moron
today. I’m sure Louise will never speak to me again. She’s probably in there packing her bags right now. I’ve heard her making all sorts of shuffling noises. I’m so sorry, Alice. I’m sure I’ve ruined the whole idea of running an inn for everyone.”

“Oh, Jane.” Alice shook her head. “You’re overreacting. I suspect Louise is just unpacking her crates, making herself more at home. Oh, she may have gotten her feelings hurt a bit today, but then you know that our Louise is like a rock. She doesn’t budge that easily.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “You’re telling me.”

“I heard you two had a bad day.”

“Does the whole town know?”

“It’s possible.”

Jane moaned.

“First I heard it from Irene—”

“That historical society lady?” Jane frowned.

“She’s actually pretty nice.”

“
Humph
.”

“And then from Aunt Ethel.”

“Well, that figures.”

“What happened?”

“You know. Just the same ol’ same ol’.”

Just then a sharper knock-knock interrupted their conversation. “Come in, Louise,” called Alice without even getting up.

“Oh!” Louise looked surprised to see Jane. “Am I interrupting something?”

Alice patted the bed beside her and smiled. “No, I think you should probably join us.”

Louise adjusted her dressing gown more neatly around her and then sat at the edge of the bed next to Alice. Her lips were pressed firmly together, but her eyes looked tired and sad.

“I know you girls had a bad day today,” said Alice. “Let’s just say I heard it through the grapevine, Louise.”

“That nosy historical lady,” said Jane.

“Figures,” said Louise.

“Now, listen, you two. Irene is really quite nice and reasonable. Of course, she thinks you two are both certifiably nuts. She wants you to understand that the society doesn’t give a hoot what you do with the interior of our house—”

“But what about—”

“Louise,” warned Alice. “I’m not finished. Anyway, Irene was very pleased to find out how we discovered the original paint colors for the exterior. She happens to like them too. She said she is going to try to spread the word around that we are historically correct.”

“H.C.?” Jane said with a smirk.

“I guess you could call it that.” Alice nodded. “I also had a nice little chat with Aunt Ethel tonight. She mentioned
that you two got a bit out of hand too, although she didn’t seem surprised.”

“Yes, she made that perfectly clear,” said Louise as she played with the belt to her robe. “I’m sure that it’s exactly what she expected.”

“I wanted to tell you both something.” Alice waited to make sure she had her sisters’ attention. They both looked up expectantly.

“Oh dear, is it bad?” asked Louise with worried eyes.

“Are you ready to bail on us now?” asked Jane.

Alice firmly shook her head. “No. I just wanted to let you know that I’m really glad that I went to part-time at work. I know I was worried about it the other day. And I’m sure I haven’t quite been myself lately, but now I know for absolute certain that it was the right thing to do.”

Jane smiled. “I’m so relieved. I was feeling guilty, thinking that maybe I’d talked you into something you weren’t really happy about. And then you’ve got Louise and me at home, waiting for you like a couple of spoiled children who need a referee to get along.”

Louise shook her head. “Goodness, Alice, I wouldn’t blame you if you’d decided you wanted to go back to working full time just to avoid us. We’ve behaved miserably.”

“I apologize,” said Jane. “To both of you. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“I’m sorry too,” admitted Louise. “I’m not usually like this. I think it has something to do with being back at home again, especially after all these years. It’s as if I’m suddenly seventeen again, trying to play the mothering role and thinking I can make my two younger sisters just fall into step.” She shook her head. “It’s really rather silly.”

Jane got up and sat down on the bed next to Alice now. She took Alice’s hand in hers. “Oh, it feels so much more balanced and peaceful having you here.”

Louise reached over and patted Alice on the back. “Yes, dear, you have no idea how much we need your help around here.”

Alice chuckled. “Oh yes, I think I do.”

It didn’t take long for Alice to adjust to her new role at the hospital. She let the administrator deal with the two nurses who couldn’t get along. After a week or so, she was getting better at accepting the fact that she didn’t need to take responsibility for everything that happened there anymore.

“You need to learn to let go and let God,” Vera reminded her during their morning walk one day. “You have such a tendency to carry the world on your shoulders, Alice.”

“I know.” Alice zipped her sweatshirt up higher against the chilly morning air.

“Old habits are hard to break. It just seems that most of
my life I’ve been taking care of people. It just seems natural to think that everything is up to me to work out or resolve or fix up somehow.”

Vera laughed. “Well, thank the good Lord that it’s not.”

Alice nodded. “Yeah, if it were, we’d be in some kind of a mess.”

“It’s okay to let people help you out too, Alice. You know, that’s why God put us all down here together.”

Alice turned and smiled at her friend. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“Well, we all need a little reminder from time to time.”