Miracle at the Museum of Broken Hearts

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

‘I think we’re all set.’ I turned and smiled at Heath as the two of us completed our walk-through of the museum. It was almost eight o’clock the night before the opening, and the two of us had been working our fingers to the bone the past few days to get everything sorted. There were always those last-minute details that took up so much time – clocks on the wall, missing vases, fresh flowers, and candles – not to mention dealing with umpteen visits from the caterers and even a few eager members of the press who wanted to interview Heath before the opening.

The rap of the doorknocker made me jerk, and Heath raised an eyebrow. ‘Who on earth could that be?’ He looked at his watch, then thumped toward the entrance. ‘Not another reporter, surely.’

I heard the creak of the door as it swung open, then Heath’s startled voice: ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I couldn’t make your grand opening tomorrow, so I wanted to come have a look at the premises tonight. My goodness, you’ve been busy.’ The controlled tone of none other than Liz Hough floated through the air toward me, and my heart jumped. Could this be the grand reunion I’d been dreaming of? Right here, right now? I’d been so busy this week I hadn’t had a chance to even think more about Liz and if she’d been behind pushing through the planning permission. If she was here now, it must have been her, right?

A smile lifted the corners of my mouth and warmth rushed through me. I couldn’t wait for the two of them to patch things up. Scooting over to a settee in the corner of the lounge, I grabbed an old magazine from the nineteen-fifties and flipped through the pages, trying to look like I wasn’t listening even though every bit of me was tuned to the voices in the foyer.

 ‘Well, aren’t you going to show me around?’ Liz asked.

Heath let out a puff of air. Uh-oh. I knew that puff of air, and it wasn’t a good sign. I could just picture the expression on his face, eyebrows knit together and brow crinkled.

‘Why?’ he asked. ‘So you can make fun of Gran’s idea? Tell me how I’m wasting my life here? Size up the building again?’

I caught my breath at the fury in his voice.

Liz laughed without a trace of happiness. ‘If I wanted this museum to flop, I wouldn’t have got in touch with the council to approve the planning permission so quickly, now, would I?’ 

The old house fell into silence, and I strained to make out what might be happening. Had Heath fallen into his mother’s arms with appreciation? I got up off the settee and tiptoed over to the doorway, peeping around the corner.

Oh.

No hug. Nothing. The two of them were standing stock-still in the entrance, facing each other like a Mexican stand off.

Finally, Heath spoke. ‘How did you find out about the planning issues, Mother? Surely you haven’t lowered yourself to hiring a private investigator to check into my affairs.’

Liz gave that same hollow laugh again. ‘Private investigator? I’ve better things to do with my time. No, I had a little visit from your assistant, Rose, who took the liberty of filling me in. One call to the councillor reminding him of all the investment ParteePizza has made in this area, along with the promise to open up a few more franchises, and he fell in line with the museum soon enough.’

‘What? Rose got in touch with you?’ I could practically see the wheels spinning in Heath’s head, and I ducked back inside the room and leaned against the wall, holding my breath as a smile spread across my face. He had to be happy I’d taken initiative.