Free Destination Wedding ~ A Novel by Deanna Lynn Sletten Page B

blue eyes. She was a registered nurse and worked in the pediatric department of a hospital in Minneapolis. Claire had noticed today at the beach that Angela had laid in the shade to protect her skin. She was a smart girl. Claire asked her about working with children and they fell into an interesting conversation about her nursing job.
    Mandy appeared with Craig a few minutes later and they had a small huddle with their friends. Just as Jim came down the stairs, the rest of the wedding party left together, leaving only Claire, Jim, Mandy, and Craig.
    "What's going on?" Claire asked Mandy.
    Mandy glanced nervously behind her before answering. "I sent everyone else off to have dinner. We're waiting for Craig's parents."
    Craig cleared his throat. "We thought it might be nice to have dinner with just the parents tonight," he said. Craig lowered his voice. "I think my parents are a little uncomfortable with being thrown into the whole crowd since they don’t know anyone here but us. I thought if we had dinner in a smaller group, they might get to know you two better and be more relaxed."
    Claire thought the Fishers were just unsociable and that's why they didn't feel like they fit in, but she kept that to herself. "That sounds nice," she told Craig with a smile. He seemed to relax a little when she agreed with him.
    Jim didn’t say anything. He still appeared to be in a foul mood from his conversation with Diane.
    "Are you okay with that, Daddy?" Mandy asked.
    Jim shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me," he said brusquely.
    Janice and Carl came out of their second floor room and down the stairs. Mandy and Craig turned to greet them. Claire took this chance to kick Jim in the ankle. "Be nice tonight. The kids are under enough strain with Craig's parents."
    Jim glared at her but didn’t say anything.
    "We thought we'd try the Blue Bay Grill downtown," Mandy said as they all stood there in a circle, staring at each other.
    "Sounds good," Claire said. "What about Glen and Lisa?"
    "Lisa said she was tired after today. They're going to grab a bite down at the pool bar and head back to their cottage," Mandy said.
    Claire nodded. Chickens. "Well, shall we go?"
    The group walked in twos down the narrow street. Mandy and Craig were in the lead, Janice and Carl were in the middle, and Claire and Jim brought up the rear. The two front couples had their arms linked, but Claire stayed as far away as possible from Jim. If he was going to be a jerk, then she was going to ignore him.
    The Blue Bay Grill was busy, but their group found a table by the water and sat down. Just like the restaurant the night before, this one was a large, covered deck that jutted out over the harbor bay. Out in the harbor, they saw lights on several of the small boats and yachts. It was a relaxing setting to have dinner.
    "I'll have a scotch and water," Jim said to the waitress when she came up to the table.
    Oh, boy, Claire thought. He was no longer ordering the fruity island drinks. Tonight he was going to drink the hard stuff.
    "Do you want a scotch, too?" Jim asked Carl, loudly across the table.
    Mandy's eyes darted between her father and mother. Claire shrugged. What could she do?
    "I'll just have a beer," Carl said.
    Janice ordered a glass of white wine, and Mandy followed suit. Craig ordered a beer like his father had.
    "I'll just have iced tea," Claire told the waitress.
    While they waited for their drinks, they perused the menu. Tonight there wasn't the easy banter they'd all enjoyed with the younger people the night before. No one was sharing ideas about the menu or what they wanted to try. To Claire, the atmosphere around the table seemed oppressive.
    "What are you thinking of ordering, Mandy?" Claire finally asked, trying to get the group talking.
    Mandy looked at her, relief filling her eyes. "The grilled tilapia with mango sounds good," she said. "And these Au Gratin potatoes it comes with sound delicious."
    "They do. I might try that, too," Claire said. "What