2
Audrey tappedher foot as the meeting was wrapping up. She’d been doing everything she could to stay focused on what Sue Ann was saying but her mind kept pulling her in the direction of how much work this singles week thing was probably going to be for her.
Viv was incredible. Amazing. When Audrey had asked her sister to move to Hope Falls, she hadn’t batted an eye before agreeing. And Viv had been dedicated to making their business successful. She showed up, not necessarily on time, but she always showed up. While she was at the coffee shop, she worked hard and then as soon as the clock struck midnight, or five when they closed, she partied hard. That was where her passion lied, it was in her extra-curricular activities.
Things just didn’t keep Viv’s interest very long. She would be obsessed with something one week and then the next week on to the next shiny new thing. Big picture ideas were where she shined. Follow through-grunt work was not her strong suit.
And as much as Audrey loved Josh’s grandmother, Nonna wasn’t exactly someone who was going to be picking up Viv’s slack. She barely knew how to use her smart phone for calling people. She never used it to go online, and as far as Audrey knew she didn’t own a computer. Oh, and she was ninety-two.
Audrey was torn between thinking it was sweet that Viv had teamed up with Nonna and wanting to wring her sister’s neck for taking this on. Especially right now. It couldn’t be a busier time for the Wells sisters since one of their sisters, Ava, was getting married on Valentine’s Day. It was the seventh of January, which meant that there were only four weeks until the inaugural singles week was scheduled to commence on February 7th. And five weeks until Valentine’s Day which was the culmination of the week-long event and their sister’s wedding.
What was Viv thinking?
“Okay.” Sue Ann hit the gavel that she used to call the meetings to order on the podium. “In the infamous words of Porky Pig, tha tha tha that’s all folks! See you next month on the twenty-first.”
Sue Ann barely got the parting comments out of her mouth before Audrey turned to her sister. “Why would you take on something of this magnitude when we have Ava’s wedding on Valentine’s Day.”
Viv looked wholly unimpressed by Audrey’s concern. “We barely did anything for the first one and that was when Ava lived in Chicago and the wedding was here. She actually lives in Hope Falls now. I doubt that’s going to mean more work for us.”
Their sister Ava had been engaged to Ian, her childhood sweetheart of twenty years, and had planned on marrying him the summer before in Hope Falls. But on the morning of her wedding, Ian slid a Dear Jane letter under her door explaining that he’d been having an affair that spanned over a decade and he was leaving her for the other woman.
It had all worked out in the end. Ava was now set to walk down the aisle with the man of her dreams. Their late mother would have called it fate. Cora Wells was a firm believer in true love, fate, destiny, serendipity. She was a true romantic.
Nothing wavered their mom’s faith in love and all things associated with the word. It was actually quite remarkable considering their father, who their mother maintained was the “love of her life” until her dying breath, had abandoned her with four daughters ages five, four, three, and two.
Audrey had no memory of her father, Mason Wells. She’d seen pictures. She’d heard countless stories, but she didn’t have any memories of her own since she was barely out of diapers when he took off. From the stories her mom would tell about him, he’d been a magnet that people were drawn to. Sort of like Viv. Their mom always said that Viv took after their father. She was outgoing, fun, fearless.
The exact opposite of Audrey.
The Wells sisters might be considered Irish twins since they were all born within a year of each other, but the foursome could not be more different in both personality and appearance. The only physical characteristic they shared was the hourglass figure that they’d inherited from their mother, which they were all grateful for. Other than that, they looked nothing alike, and they all had very unique personality traits.
The oldest, Grace, had been like a second mother to the rest of them. She had taken custody of all three of the sisters when their mother passed away when Grace was eighteen, Ava was seventeen, Viv was sixteen, and Audrey was fifteen. And she had taken care of the household for the years their mother was sick leading up to her death. Grace was textbook Type A. She needed to have control at all times or her world was not right.
Up until a couple of months ago Grace had been a high-powered entertainment law attorney in Los Angeles where her nickname had been The Ice Queen, or ‘Elsa’ from Frozen. The nickname worked on two levels because not only was Grace considered cold and detached by her colleagues, she also resembled the Disney princess with her light blonde hair and icy blue eyes.
But that’s not who Grace was deep down. She was loyal and selfless and would do anything for the people she loved. She now lived in Hope Falls and was engaged to Easton Bishop. The two of them had entered a reality home renovation show and won. They were continuing to flip houses while he worked on a book he was writing, and she worked as a real estate agent. Audrey could not be happier for her sister.
Ava, the second oldest and the one who was set to get married on Valentine’s Day, was the most nurturing of all the sisters. She had long, light brown hair and gorgeous blue-green eyes. She was kind and caring and it didn’t surprise Audrey at all that her sister had gone into the mental health profession. Ava was a psychologist who was focusing her specialty on childhood trauma and early development.
Her soon-to-be husband, Asher Ford, worked in law enforcement and had recently joined the Hope Falls force after leaving New York homicide division. He moved himself and his teenage daughter across the country so that he could focus on being a parent to Blake, who was having some behavioral issues. Audrey knew that Ava was going to be an amazing stepmom.
Viv was third in the lineup and probably the most opposite to Audrey. She had long vibrant red hair and huge green eyes. Whenever she was stuck for a Halloween costume, she’d throw on a red dress and go as Jessica Rabbit, who she was a dead ringer for. Viv was the wild child. Growing up their mother had endearingly nicknamed her ‘Troublemaker.’ She was flirty, fun, and free spirited. She loved adventure and new challenges. She had a phobia to commitment and loved meeting new people. She was blunt, brutally honest, and bold.
Viv was unapologetic in her pursuit of happiness. If she wanted to do something, she did it. If she wanted to say something, she said it. If she wanted something she went after it. No hesitation. No overthinking. No shame. Audrey had always envied Viv’s fearlessness.
Audrey was the youngest Wells sister and well, the plainest in the bunch. Where her sisters all had stand out features, she just had dark brown hair and her eyes were sometimes green sometimes light brown, which she supposed made them hazel. Even her eyes couldn’t make up their mind as to what they wanted to look like. She was the only Wells girl to inherit their father’s olive complexion which her mother always commented on, saying how much she looked like him with a hint of sadness in her voice.
Audrey loved organization, lists, plans, and keeping everything in order. If Viv was a fly by the seat of her pants type, Audrey was a wear the same pants every day and never go anywhere type. She was shy, quiet, and the bookworm of the bunch. She blended into the background and was an observer.
“Do you need a ride home?” Viv adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder as the sisters made their way out of the rec room.
“I came with you so…yes.” Audrey would have thought that would have been obvious.
“Okay, well I just have a few people I need to talk to. I’ll be back.”
With that declaration, Viv was gone. Audrey was left alone in the lobby surrounded by people who were all making small talk. Feeling out of place, she did what she always did when she found herself in situations like these. She moved to an out of the way spot, took a book out of her purse, and put her head down.
She did, however, make sure she had a plain view of the door so she’d be able to see Josh when he came out. If he saw her, there was a good chance he’d come over and at least give her a hug and maybe a kiss on the forehead which he did about fifty percent of the time when they said goodbye.