CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Harry didn’t get a chance to speak with Molly again until they were heading home on the ferry that afternoon. While he had continued doing inventory, she had been pulled in half a dozen directions, with someone from nearly every department coming at some point throughout the day to ask her for help with a wide variety of issues.
Stanley hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said Molly was the expert on Boldt Castle. From the donors with whom she’d been asked to have lunch, to helping the onsite handyman, she could pinpoint the exact day in history when the tower construction had begun and knew exactly where to look for a rare hinge needed to re-hang an antique door.
Since he’d been left to his own devices, Greta had asked Harry to have lunch with her at the onsite café. She was slightly subtler in her probing than her husband, but her intent was the same—to protect Molly and Amelia from anyone who might hurt them.
Harry badly wanted to prove himself to Greta, but all he could do was answer her questions openly and honestly…even when his answers didn’t necessarily reflect well on him. Particularly when he admitted that he’d been the one to end his relationship with Molly all those years ago.
The ferry home was crowded with both employees and visitors. Though Molly had been working hard all day, and was now officially off the clock, she was still happy to answer questions about the castle on the trip. Harry felt the same way about his work—he’d study history even if no one paid him for it.
They disembarked, then headed back to the high school to watch Amelia’s first partial dress rehearsal for The Sound of Music. Amelia had texted them an hour ago to let them know it was open to the families of the performers and that she’d love it if they came.
“I can’t wait to see her as Louisa,” Harry said.
“The role is perfect for her—she’s always had her nose in a book.”
“Just like you.”
“And you too.”
When she smiled at him, Harry was relieved that he hadn’t scared her away by coming on so strong inside the castle shop. She wasn’t exactly throwing herself into his arms…but she wasn’t shutting him out either.
From his studies of battle plans over the past decade, he knew that progress couldn’t always be measured in clear wins. Often, not having to retreat was cause for celebration, because it meant you could return the next day with a better-honed strategy.
As soon as they walked into the auditorium, Amelia called them over. “Mom, Dad!” Her hair was braided and pinned up, and she was wearing a dirndl that looked like it could very well have been made out of old curtains. “Remember, this is our first dress rehearsal, so we’re probably going to suck.”
“No matter what you sound like,” Harry replied, “I’m going to be impressed.”
“You’re just like Mom. I can never get an honest critique out of her, no matter how hard I try.”
“I’m always honest,” Molly protested. “It’s just that you’ve been amazing in every show you’ve ever been in.”
“Even the one where I threw up halfway through my solo?”
Molly laughed. “Okay, so that might not have been your finest moment. Even though I still think you pulled it off. Besides, hardly anyone noticed.”
“Everyone noticed!” Amelia turned to Harry. “Tons of people in the audience ended up barfing after I did.”
Molly was still laughing. “Not tons. Only one. Maybe two.”
“I’ve got to finish getting ready with the rest of the cast. See you after the show.” And then she was gone, disappearing backstage.
“It feels like your hair just blew back, doesn’t it?” Molly joked. “Did we ever have energy like that?”
“You definitely did. You’d go from back-to-back classes, to your part-time job in the dining hall, to my place where we’d study for hours…and then we’d stay up half the night making love.”
She looked around to see if anyone had heard him, though no one was standing close enough. Still, she said in a low voice, “You can’t keep talking like that.”
On the contrary, Harry knew reminding her how good they’d been together was exactly what he had to do.
“Especially when I’m sure our story has been spreading like wildfire and everyone is going to be watching us.” She pointed at a row already half full of parents, kids, and teachers. “Come on, let’s go sit down.”
She likely believed there was strength in numbers—or rather, that he wouldn’t be able to keep bringing the two of them closer if they were surrounded by other people. But Harry wasn’t so easily daunted. Not when he knew that becoming a part of Amelia’s and Molly’s lives also meant becoming a part of their community.
He introduced himself to everyone within handshake distance, falling into easy conversation with several of the parents who had spent some time in the city before moving to Alexandria Bay. Molly, however, was noticeably silent, even going so far as to pull out her phone. It was her version of a KEEP OUT sign.
Soon, the lights went down. The orchestra began the overture’s familiar melody.
And Harry was spellbound.
Amelia was brilliant in her role as the book-loving Von Trapp daughter. She was sweet and funny and sang like an angel.
He didn’t think that just because he was her father. From the audience’s laughter and the looks on their faces, he could tell everyone agreed with him. He wanted them all to know she was his, but he couldn’t exactly stand up and shout, That’s my kid!
Thirty minutes in, the director said, “Let’s take five.”
The kids were just starting to walk off stage when someone yelled, “Look out!”
The performers scattered just in time to miss being hit by the wooden backdrop of a bedroom falling over and crashing into the big bed everyone had been sitting on for My Favorite Things. This crash set off a chain reaction, with a set piece of a mountain falling next, and then another that was supposed to be the inside of the Von Trapp family home.
“How are we going to get this fixed by opening night?” one of the stagehands wailed.
As soon as she’d made sure no one was hurt, the director turned to the audience, looking remarkably calm amidst disaster. “Anyone out there good with a hammer?” Clearly, working with hormonal teenagers all day gave high school teachers a higher threshold for trouble than most other people.
Harry didn’t think twice before standing. Helping to fix the backdrops was the perfect way to get involved with Amelia’s school. What’s more, he actually did have good building skills. Not only had he helped his father build his home at Summer Lake, but he’d also stepped in to manage his father’s construction crew several times throughout the years.
“I’ve never worked on the set for a musical before,” Harry said, “but I’m willing to give it a shot.”
“Then don’t be a stranger.” The director motioned for him to head up to the stage. “We need you to get working on these backdrops right away.”
“Harry.” Molly put a hand on his arm. “It’s really nice of you to offer, but you don’t have to do this.”
“I want to do it.”
Just as he’d said in the gift shop, after a lifetime of doing the things he had to do, he was finally doing the things he wanted to do. Getting to be a part of his daughter’s musical felt like a gift.
As was the hug Amelia gave him when he got up to the stage. The greatest gift in the entire world. “Dad, you’re the best!”
It didn’t matter how long he and Amelia had known each other, their bond already felt strong and pure. Amazingly, she didn’t seem to be holding on to anger or frustration about the past fifteen years. Instead, she had chosen to appreciate all they’d found and had to look forward to in the future.
Whereas, Harry’s family had been tethered to the past for as long as he could remember. Even thirty years later, the anniversary of his mother’s passing was a hard day for his father—and Harry too, who always made sure to be with his dad in an attempt to forestall another breakdown.
Now that everyone, including Harry’s father, was doing so well, was it finally possible to transcend their past? To look back at their mother’s life without mourning?
Several times since reconnecting with Molly, Harry had talked about wanting to make a fresh start, though he hadn’t known how exactly to go about doing it. Until now, when he realized Amelia was showing him the way with every smile, every hug, every excited plan she had for them as a family.
After all these years, Harry thought he knew what family was all about. But nothing had prepared him for a love this deep. This profound. This boundless.
For all that he’d wanted to give his heart to Molly in college, the truth was that Harry hadn’t been ready to love her right.
He’d needed his daughter to help him understand what love really was.