by Rachel Hanna
"Has anyone asked her about that?"
Colleen smiled. "I don't think anybody wants to really pull at that string."
"I totally understand."
Suddenly, the peace was broken. "Well, hello, my granddaughter. I didn't expect to see you here."
Colleen cut her eyes at Dawson before they both turned around.
"Hi, Grandma. I was just dropping by to give Dawson a guest list for the masquerade ball."
"Sounds fancy. I'll be looking forward to that."
“That's still a couple of weeks away. Don't you think you might be in your own place by then?"
SuAnn pulled out a chair from one of the tables and sat down. She waved her hand at Colleen. "There's no hurry. Besides, I'm sure Dawson appreciates me helping to pay his bills around here."
Dawson turned back to the water, his jaw clenching. “Grandma, you shouldn't say things like that."
"No, it's okay,” Dawson said, reeling in his fishing line. "Speaking of my bills, I need to make a quick phone call to the mortgage company. I had a question about our taxes. You ladies enjoy your talk," Dawson said, jumping up as quickly as he could.
As he walked away, Colleen stared at him, a sly smile on her face. He had now joined Lucy in the ranks of stranding someone else with SuAnn.
Chapter Nine
Colleen couldn't get away fast enough. Dawson was savvy, she'd give him that. Her grandmother had reeled her in, patting the table across from where she was sitting.
"You're not going to run off right now, are you?"
"Grandma, I actually have a date with Tucker tonight."
SuAnn looked down at her watch. "It's not late enough for a date yet. Have a seat. Talk to your old grandma for a few minutes."
“Okay,” Colleen said, begrudgingly. It wasn't that she didn't love her grandmother, but she didn't relate to her at all. Julie had not been the kind of mother that SuAnn was. She had always been encouraging, rarely critical, probably because she had grown up the way she did.
"So, tell me about this Tucker."
"Well, he's a toy inventor. We work for the same company now. He's a wonderful person." Giving her grandmother as little information as possible was always the best route.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Do you see yourself settling down with this boy?"
"Well, first of all, he's a man, Grandma. And second of all, he proposed recently but I said no." SuAnn’s eyes bugged out of her head.
"You said no? Colleen, you should never say no when a man proposes. He may never ask again."
Colleen laughed. "I love him, and I think we'll get married one day. But, I'm not ready."
SuAnn shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Dear, you need to rethink that. If this boy has a nice job and is good to you, you need to grab him while you can. There are so many single women out there. Lots of competition. You're never going to find the perfect one, so what's the sense in waiting?"
“Didn't you just leave your husband? You should understand better than anyone that you don't get married until it's the right person and the right time."
“You said you think he's the right person. What difference does it make if it's next month or ten years from now?"
"Because I'm not ready. And that's that. Look, I've got to get going. I don't want to keep Tucker waiting."
"I think you're keeping Tucker waiting right now," SuAnn called to her as she walked away. "You need to strike while the iron is hot!"
Colleen laughed as she made her way back to her car. Her grandmother really was something.
Meg walked down the sidewalk, looking at her phone. Christian was having trouble getting the baby to sleep, and she was on her way to her group session.
She and Darcy had become fast friends, although they had very different personalities. But she loved the fact that Darcy spoke her mind. It reminded her a little bit of her grandmother, but she found it endearing on Darcy. Not so much with her grandmother.
"Hey, there, Meg!" Dixie said. She was standing outside of the bookstore, lining up some books on a little metal shelf that they kept outside when the weather was good.
"Hey. How’s business today?"
"Pretty good. Why don’t you come on in. We got some new mango peach tea I wanted you to try."
"Sure. I have about ten minutes before my meeting anyway."
The two women walked inside, and Dixie poured her a glass of tea. They sat down at the table with Dixie telling the only other customer in the store to come get her if she needed any help.
"Boy, I've got to get off my feet today. One of the side effects of my Parkinson's medications is that it gives me fluid around my ankles if I'm on my feet too much.” She put her feet up on the chair across from her.
“How are you feeling?"
"Good. I'm still alive and kicking, and as long as I wake up on this side of the ground, I think I'm doing good."
Meg laughed. She loved being around Dixie with her energetic personality. It gave her hope that she could grow old and be happy like Dixie was.
"So, I guess you saw that my grandmother is the owner of the bakery?"
"Yes, I've heard. I haven't seen her yet, although she's not a real big fan of mine."
"Well, that's because she's jealous. She doesn't like that you have such a great relationship with Mom. She is sort of a competitive type."
Dixie laughed. "Well nobody can take away somebody's mother. I'm just your mother's friend.”
“My mother thinks of you more like a mother than her own, but we won't say that to my grandmother."
Dixie laughed. "Yes, let's not say that. "
“Grandma can be very difficult. I ran into her yesterday and she told me to stop going to group counseling meetings because I didn't need to be airing my dirty laundry in public."
Dixie looked stunned. "She said that?"
"She did."
"Well, I hope you're not going to listen to her. You need to do what's right for you."
Meg smiled gratefully. "Thank you. And this tea is amazing!"
“It is good, isn’t it.” Dixie smiled at her. “You know, you have much more light in your eyes today than I've seen in a while."
"I'm feeling better. The doctor adjusted my hormones, and I have to say those meetings are actually helping me. I met a new friend, and I'm starting to feel like my old self again."
Dixie reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "And it will only get better from here."
William sat at his desk, staring out the window over the city. He was thankful to at least have a park near his office building, although it was nothing like looking out over the ocean or being able to walk down to the marsh anytime he wanted.
He missed Seagrove more than he would've thought. But, mostly, he just missed Janine. Her laugh. The sweet smell of her thick, curly hair. Her snarky comments and goofy jokes.
So many times, he had typed her number into his phone, intending to call her and tell her how much he missed her. But what good would that do? She had already said she didn't want a long distance relationship, and really how would that ever work anyway?
He felt like calling her might just be prolonging the inevitable. Still, he really wanted to hear her voice and know that she was okay.
He usually talked to his mother a few times a week, and so far he had refrained from asking much about Janine. What if she was starting to date other people? What if she hated him? These were things he just preferred not to know.
Going home to an empty apartment every night was getting kind of depressing, even after only a few weeks. He knew that he needed to get on with his life and build something new, but it was hard.
He hadn't expected to miss that little island so much. But, there were no big opportunities there, and he had to go in the direction that would allow him to build his career. If there was one thing his father had instilled in him at a young age, it was that a man needed to work hard and be strong.
Right now, he wasn't feeling
very strong.
"You're here late.” He looked up to see his boss, Tina, standing in the doorway. She was tough as nails, and at first they had butted heads quite a bit. But now they had become pretty good friends, at least from his perspective.
"I'm the new guy. Have to impress the boss," he said, laughing. Tina was a VP of the company, and she’d been assigned to oversee him as he started the new division.
She walked closer and sat down in the chair across from his desk. "You've already done that. Our numbers are on an upward swing."
"We are a new branch. There's nowhere to go but up."
"I mean they are exceeding all expectations. You should be proud of yourself for what you've done in such a short period of time."
"Well, I'm glad you think so. I really want to make this place successful."
She squinted her eyes. “You seem a little down today? Is everything all right?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Just thinking about everybody back home. This was such a quick move, I really didn't have a chance to wrap things up there like I wanted.”
She nodded. "I understand. When I left Los Angeles, it was quite a culture shock to come here. But, I like it. And I know you will adjust also. Remember, I've only been here a couple of weeks longer than you have. I’m still learning the ropes too.“
"I'm sure everything will be okay for both of us. Are you headed out for the evening?"
She laughed. "Actually, I think I'm going down to Malone's to get a nice big glass of wine and watch some sports."
He leaned back in his chair. "You watch sports?"
"Oh yeah. I grew up with three brothers, so I definitely enjoy pretty much any sport."
William was surprised to hear that given how she looked. She was tall, long legs and bleached blonde hair. A couple of the guys in the office spent most of the day ogling her since she looked like a Barbie doll had just sprung to life. He’d pulled the men aside and told them staring at the big boss wasn’t okay and certainly wasn’t the right career move.
"Well, you enjoy your wine, and I'll see you here at the morning meeting." He looked down at his files, trying to decide which one to finish before going back to his sparse new apartment.
Tina stood and sat on the edge of his desk. "You know, life is about more than working."
"Not for everyone," he said, with a sigh.
"Why don't you join me?"
"What?"
"Come to Malone's with me. Have a beer or a glass of wine, relax for the evening. You're going to burn yourself out."
"To clarify, are you asking as a coworker or are you asking me on a date?"
She smiled, batting those long, most likely fake, eyelashes. "Well, if it makes you more comfortable to think of this as some kind of business meeting, then we’ll go with that.”
"I don't think you really answered the question."
Tina stood up, laughing as she sauntered over to the door. "I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes."
As William watched her walk down the hall, he wondered what he was getting himself into. Maybe he should just stay at his desk and then go home and eat another slice of cold pizza. Or, maybe he needed to try to embrace this new life he’d chosen.
Julie pushed open the door of the bakery and stomped inside, her mission spurring her feet to move faster than normal. Thankfully, the last customer was walking out as she walked in, because this was something nobody needed to see.
"Oh, what a nice surprise! My daughter so rarely comes to visit me," SuAnn said, raising an eyebrow. She walked past Julie and locked the door, before turning off the Open sign.
"Mother, this is not a social call. I have a bone to pick with you. Actually, I have several bones to pick with you. In fact, I have an entire skeleton to pick with you!" Julie had been mad a lot in the last couple of years, but right now she was purely livid.
"What on earth has got you all agitated?" SuAnn stood there, her hair in a perfect bun, her white apron wrapped around her waist.
"You've only been here for a couple of weeks, and you have already wreaked havoc on several people. I don't know how you work so fast."
SuAnn stared at her, like she didn't have a clue what Julie was talking about. "Why don't you sit down and have a piece of poundcake? I think your blood sugar might be low," she said as she walked back behind the counter and started to cut a piece of cake.
"My blood sugar is fine. I don't want any cake!"
"Julie, and don't take offense to this, but do you think you might be going through the change?" Suddenly Julie let out a primal scream.
“Honestly, mother, can you even hear yourself?"
"Good Lord! Don't be screaming like that. I'm new around here, and you're going to ruin my reputation as a business owner. Now, why don't you sit down and tell me what's upsetting you?"
Julie sucked in a long deep breath and blew it out through pursed lips. Janine had taught her that at one point, and supposedly it was a great stress relief. But right now, she felt like an entire bottle of wine was probably the only thing that might alleviate her stress.
"I don't need to sit down. I won't be here long. First of all, it was bad enough when you pressured Colleen to accept a proposal."
SuAnn chuckled. "Young women don't realize that they need to strike while the iron is hot. The young boy asked her to marry him, and he's got a good job."
“Just because he's cute and has a good job doesn't mean my daughter needs to marry him right now. You need to keep your nose out of her business."
"Well, I didn't know it upset Colleen. I'll apologize the next time I see her, although my family doesn’t visit me very often,” she said, cutting her eyes.
"And then, you go and tell Janine that she should leave town and go chase William. You don't even know William that well. Janine is happy here. She has a successful business, family and friends."
"Honey, we all know that Janine is getting on up in years. She shouldn't have let him leave. There's nothing wrong with moving to Texas and starting a new life."
"You honestly want your daughter to leave when you just got here?"
"Of course not! It would break my heart. But, I want her to be happy. Do you know how many years it's been since I've seen Janine actually happy? And then she finally meets this guy and lets him go!"
"Mom, she's happy. Well, not right now. I mean, right now she's a little sad. But, she had been happy before that.”
“Exactly! She was happy because of that William guy. She needed to follow him."
"You're impossible. Forget about Janine for a minute. The worst of your egregious behaviors lately was in the form of you telling Meg to stop going to her group sessions?”
"I didn't exactly say it like that. I told her to stop airing her dirty laundry in public. It's just not classy to tell everybody your problems like that. People are very judgmental, you know.“
Julie sucked in another long breath and blew it out, trying to get her heart rate down. "She’s struggling with postpartum depression."
"I don't really know what that is. I think I saw a Dr. Phil episode about that one time. Or maybe it was Oprah many years ago?"
Julie slapped her hands together in front of her mother’s face. "Listen to me! My daughter… that's right, she's my daughter, not yours… is struggling with depression. You have no idea how bad it's been. Her doctor recommended a treatment plan that included group counseling, and it's helping her. You need to keep your big mouth shut about it, you hear me?"
SuAnn stared at her. She had never heard Julie talk to her quite like that. For a moment, Julie almost felt guilty, but she knew it was warranted and very much needed if her mother was ever going to change her behavior. If somebody didn't knock some sense into her, she was going to ruin everything Julie had built in her new home.
SuAnn’s eyes watered a bit, but she quickly used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears before they fell.
"I'm sorry you're so upset at me."
Julie sighed. "Really, Mom? You do
understand that's not an actual apology, right?"
"I don't know what you want from me. I'm just trying to help my family. You know, I do have the benefit of many years of living. I'm supposed to be passing along my wisdom."
That made Julie laugh, although her mother didn't seem to mean it as a joke.
"Mom, I know you think you mean well, but the things you say to people are sometimes very hurtful. We all just got used to you being critical over the years, but these are my kids. And that's my sister. And I won't have you saying things that could potentially disrupt their lives."
SuAnn ran her hands down the front of her apron, smoothing it out, and then stood tall. "Well, it sounds like my own family doesn't really want me here in this town."
"Your family wants to have a relationship with you, but not this way. If you can't treat us with more respect and stop interjecting your opinions into our lives, then maybe we won't have a relationship." There, she’d said it. Out loud.
"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way."
Julie rolled her eyes and shook her head before turning for the door. She unlocked it and pulled it open, looking back at her mother who was standing there, staring at her feet.
"We all love you. But, love doesn't mean anything without respect."
With that, she walked out the door and wondered whether her relationship with her mother was over.
Chapter Ten
As hard as Janine had tried over the years with all of her meditation and yoga and New Age spiritual thinking, she still had a lot of pride. And stubbornness.
As she sat there on the bench overlooking the marsh, she stared down at her phone, her thumb hovering over William's face.
It would be really easy to send a text, ask him how he was doing. He’d been gone for over three weeks now. All she had to do was press the button and act breezy. Act like she didn't really care and was just his friend. Act like she hadn't been consuming massive amounts of ice cream and potato chips every night while lying in a hot bath thinking about him.