Long Way Home

by Neve Cottrell

  “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you had some help wrapping this,” Alexis remarked with a smile.

  “Where would Santa be without his elves?” Betsy replied as she tore off the wrapping paper. “Oh, Alexis. You shouldn’t have.”

  It was a gift card for Salters, the nicest shop on the island for home décor.

  “I didn’t want to choose for you,” Alexis explained. “I thought we might go together, though, so I can see the type of things you like.”

  Betsy clasped the gift card to her chest. “Thank you, Alexis. That’s a great idea.” She sighed. “Yours is so sweet, now I want to do mine over.”

  Alexis began to unwrap her present. “I’m sure I’ll love it.” She pulled out a hand painted sign that read ‘You And I Are Sisters, Always Remember That If You Fall I Will Pick You Up…After I Finish Laughing.’ Alexis snickered.

  “I had Debbie Facinelli make it for you. Do you remember her? She graduated with me. She’s got a handmade craft shop in Flamingo Key, near Gatsby’s.”

  Alexis admired the sign. “Good for her. Was she the one who painted the principal’s golf cart with red hearts and rainbows?”

  Betsy lit up. “Yes! He was so impressed with her work that he hired her to paint his daughter’s bedroom.”

  The sisters smiled at the memory.

  “I have one more thing for you,” Alexis said, pulling out a manila envelope and handing it to her sister.

  Betsy opened the envelope and retrieved the papers inside. “Wow, this looks so professional.”

  “Kinda what I do,” Alexis said with a shrug. “It was actually fun working on it.”

  Betsy scanned the options, her brown eyes lighting up. “Is this for real?”

  “Well, I will need hard numbers from your books and a valuation, but I did a little research so that I could come up with a few possibilities.” She smiled. “I think you could have your cake shop and eat it, too, if you really want to.”

  Betsy threw her arms around her sister. “What an awesome Christmas present.”

  “What is it, babe?” asked Joe from across the room.

  “Thanks to my sister, I’m gonna be a mogul.”

  “A mogul?” Joe echoed. “Sounds expensive.”

  Betsy rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell you about it later.” She clutched the papers happily. “I’ll read these over as soon as I get some peace and quiet.”

  “If any of it confuses you, call me or send me a text and I’ll explain.”

  Betsy was more excited about this than the lace teddy Joe had given her earlier that morning. She decided to keep that fact to herself.

  Hours later, Betsy’s brood was gone but their remnants lingered. Garbage bags full of wrapping paper and ribbons. Cups and dishes. Tilly rested on the couch with a cup of tea, unwilling to tackle the mess around her yet. Greg napped noisily in his chair. Alexis emerged from upstairs and wandered into the kitchen for a drink.

  “Tea’s already made.” Her mother’s voice came from behind her.

  Tilly handed her a cup and Alexis sat down at the table. A large, wrapped box with a red bow sat in the middle of the table.

  “What’s this?”

  “Your Christmas present.”

  Alexis looked at her mother. Even though it was Christmas, she wasn’t expecting anything. Slowly, she unwrapped the gift to reveal a cardboard box full of papers. She poked through and something looked familiar. Eagerly, she pulled out a red notebook.

  “My poetry notebook. I assumed you tossed it years ago.”

  “No, it’s been here all along.”

  Alexis paged through the notebook, then poked her nose enthusiastically back into the box to see what else Santa had brought. She pulled out an award certificate.

  “First prize in the poetry contest junior year.”

  “They’re all there,” Tilly told her. “Every award. Every achievement of yours that we apparently don’t value or support.”

  Alexis was almost reduced to tears wading through the papers. Each one held special significance for her.

  “I didn’t think you cared about this stuff.”

  “Well, they came from you, dear. They’re part of who you are. I never dreamed it would be so many years before I would return them to you.”

  As Tilly fought back tears, Alexis gently placed a hand on her mother’s back.

  “We did our best, Alexis,” her mother sniffed. “I wish I could’ve been the kind of mother you wanted, but I’m so glad you’re here now.”

  Seeing her mother on the verge of tears, Alexis felt horrible. Despite recent evidence to the contrary, the MacAdams family did not produce tears easily. She realized how terribly ungrateful she seemed to her parents. She’d spent so much time feeling aggrieved, a victim of her surroundings, she hadn’t considered how her attitude had affected her parents.

  “Thank you for this,” she said. “It means a lot.” She picked up the red notebook and started to read through it from the beginning.

  “Why don’t you read a few of them to me?” Tilly suggested.

  “Really?” She paused. “They’re probably awful. What sounded dramatic at sixteen will probably sound ridiculous now.”

  “I’ll take the risk,” her mother told her and patted the chair beside her.

  Alexis sat down and began to read.

  Chapter Sixteen

  When Alexis emerged from her bedroom the next morning, she was surprised to see her father already seated at the kitchen table. She checked her watch; it was seven o’clock.

  “Are you feeling okay, Dad?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “Fit as a fiddle or, in my case, more like a cello. Why?” He picked up a pencil and scribbled something down.

  “It’s finally a chance to sleep in, yet here you are.” Alexis peered over his shoulder to see what he was doing. “A crossword?” she asked in disbelief.

  “What’s wrong with that?” He pulled the crossword book closer to him, protecting it from her view.

  “Nothing. I just don’t remember you enjoying crosswords.”

  “I didn’t know I liked them until a few years ago. Joey’s school had a fundraiser selling books and I wanted to get something, you know, to show support.”

  “And you chose a crossword. Interesting.” Alexis retrieved a mug from the cupboard and poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “It’s not interesting,” Greg insisted. “You used to spend hours doing crosswords, if I remember correctly.”

  “I did.” She smirked. “And, as I recall, you used to make fun of me. Told me to learn a real skill, like handling a saw.”

  “Well, now I can do both. How about you?” His blue eyes twinkled and she knew he was teasing her.

  She pulled out a chair and joined him at the table. “No work today, then?”

  He shook his head. “I took the whole week off. Merry Christmas.”

  “Where’s Mom?”

  “She’s sleeping in for a change.”

  “Good for her. She worked hard yesterday.”

  “What’s a six-letter word for a medicinal tree?” he asked.

  “Acacia,” she answered after a brief pause.

  He filled in the crossword. “Did you know your mother and I have been married for forty years?”

  “This year?”

  “May.”

  Alexis sipped her coffee. “Any special plans?”

  “I was thinking of taking her on a trip.”

  Alexis nearly spat out her coffee. Her father was voluntarily planning a trip? “Wow. To where?”

  “Thought you might have a recommendation.” He completed another answer in the crossword.

  She waited for a snide remark about all her fancy travels but none came. “Hot or cold?” she finally asked.

  “Not too cold. We’re not Eskimos. Not too far, either. I don’t want some eight- hour flight over an ocean. No offense.”

  “None taken. They’re not much fun.”

  “What are your
plans for today?” he asked.

  “Nothing this morning, but my friend is taking me to Verde Beach later today.”

  “Nice beach. Peaceful. I like to fish there sometimes.”

  “I haven’t been since ninth grade when we took a class trip to watch the birds.”

  “Eagles, osprey, heron. You get all sorts there. Protecting that part of the island is something the government actually got right.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She felt a political rant coming on.

  “Your friend is from school, right? Tyler?”

  Alexis nodded, surprised once more that he didn’t follow his usual verbal path. “He’s a really talented musician.”

  “Been watching him play, huh?” He tapped the pencil on his temple. “An eleven letter word? Oh, c’mon.” He pushed the crossword out of reach in annoyance.

  She pulled the page toward her to read the clue. “Good one,” she said, smiling. “It’s portmanteau. I learned that word from a book.”

  “One of your hundred dollar college books?”

  She pushed the crossword back over to him. “Nope. Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. I read it right here when I was a kid.”

  “Seems I should have been more interested in what you were up to. Do you think Owen would like that book?”

  Her face brightened. “I do.” She loved that the idea occurred to her father. “I bet he would like it even more if you read it to him.”

  “Something to consider,” he agreed. He then regarded her carefully, as though he was debating something. “You know, your mother and I have a deal.”

  “What kind of deal?”

  “We both want to be cremated without a big service. Just a small get-together back at the house.”

  Alexis’s brow furrowed. “Are you planning to go anytime soon?”

  He smiled briefly. “No, but you never know.” His eyes flickered to hers and she realized that her father was acknowledging her loss. Obviously, her mother had told him about Mark. Alexis expected that she would; she just didn’t expect her father to bring it up. Greg MacAdams was not someone who spoke openly on emotional topics. Political ones, yes. Matters of the heart, no way.

  “You have wills, right?” she asked. “Morris wouldn’t let Mom get away without it, I imagine.”

  “We do.” He hesitated. “We also have another deal that isn’t in our wills.”

  “You really need everything in writing,” she advised. “What is it?”

  “Whichever one of us goes first, the other one is free to go out and find a new partner. No long-term grieving allowed.”

  Alexis stared at her father. “So if mom dies first, you’re supposed to run out and marry the next woman you see?”

  He set down his pencil and looked at her. “No. I’m supposed to find someone else who makes me happy, or at least someone whose company I enjoy. Life is too short to spend it alone, Alexis.”

  “And Mom will do the same?”

  “Yes.”

  “And when did you agree to these terms?” she asked archly.

  “Our wedding night, nearly forty years ago. Still haven’t changed our minds. We love each other, but one of us can live without the other if that’s how it pans out.”

  “That’s romantic,” she mumbled.

  “No, it isn’t, but you know your mother. She likes her lists as much as you do. Helps her feel more in control of things she knows damn well she has no control over.”

  Alexis bit her lip, her eyes fixed on the tabletop. “And you’re okay with that? The idea of her with another man.”

  “I’ll be dead. What do I care?” He shrugged. “Anyway, it wouldn’t erase the love she has for me. If I’m not here to make her happy, I sure would like it if someone else could do the job. God knows she deserves it.”

  Alexis nodded, understanding the words that he’d left unspoken — and you do, too.

  He returned his attention to the crossword. “I’m glad you’ve been able to reconnect with old friends since you’ve been home. I hear that Tyler is a real nice guy. Good to his folks and his neighbors.”

  Alexis couldn’t resist a small roll of the eyes. “Real subtle, Dad, but thanks.” She took her coffee cup and placed it in the sink. “You know what might make Mom happy while you’re still alive and kicking? Cleaning up the kitchen once in a while.”

  He raised a scruffy eyebrow but didn’t turn his head. “Have fun at Verde Beach.”

  Alexis was nervous about meeting Tyler at his house before they went to Verde Beach. He’d made such a good impression so far; she didn’t want to discover any bad habits now. Nothing turned her stomach like a dirty bathroom.

  The house was a real beach bungalow, painted cottage white with a bright blue door and a green roof. The lawn was neatly manicured with a couple of potted plants beside the porch steps. Charming was the first word that sprang to mind.

  As she was about to knock on the door, the whirring sound of a lawn mower caught her attention and she glanced next door to see Tyler zipping along the front of his neighbor’s lawn. He waved when he saw her and she raised a confused hand in return. She checked her watch to make sure she had the right time. She did.

  He turned off the mower and trotted over to her, sweaty and smelling of freshly cut grass. In Alexis’s mind, a lethally sexy combination.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, bounding up the steps. “The door’s open.”

  “I can come back later if…”

  He cut her off. “No, no. It’s my fault. Mrs. Addy needed her yard done and I meant to do it earlier, but inspiration hit this morning and I couldn’t get out there until I finished.”

  He opened the door and held it for her. Alexis stepped inside and casually surveyed the interior.

  “Do you have a lawn business, too?” she asked.

  “No,” he said, closing the door behind them. “Her sons are grown and her husband died a few years ago. She can’t manage it on her own.”

  Alexis took a good look at him. His yellow t-shirt was like a highlighter for his muscles. She pretended not to notice. “That’s really kind, Tyler.”

  He shrugged. “She’s my neighbor.”

  Alexis tried to imagine random acts of kindness between neighbors in London. She nearly laughed out loud. She didn’t even know her neighbors’ names. When she went from visibly pregnant back to her trim figure without a baby to show for it, no one around them seemed to notice. Even when Mark died, no neighbors paid their respects. They either didn’t realize her life had changed forever or they simply didn’t care. The thought churned up a bitter taste in her mouth.

  “How was Christmas with your parents?” she asked.

  “Great. They asked after you.”

  “That’s sweet. Mine was more tolerable than expected.” She shook her head, realizing that it wasn’t true. “Actually, it was better than that.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Tyler pulled his top over his head. “I just need to change really fast. I reek of lawn care.”

  He sprinted down the hall and Alexis heard a drawer open and shut. She admired the artwork on the walls and her gaze lingered over a photo of Tyler and his parents on one of the end tables. They appeared to be on a boat with Tyler and his dad holding up a large tarpon while his mom wrapped a proud arm around her son. Their wide smiles told the story of happy fishermen. Alexis sighed with contentment. Simple pleasures appealed to her more and more each day.

  “Is that a silver king?” she called, observing the fish’s excessive size and silver scales on the side. It had to be at least six feet long.

  “Sure is. One of my dad’s proudest moments.”

  “I can tell.”

  “That fish had the fighting spirit, no doubt, but I managed to reel her in.” He emerged in a clean charcoal-colored top and dark jeans.

  Alexis swallowed hard when she saw him. “You caught it?”

  He ducked his head modestly. “I’m nowhere near the fisherman my dad is, but I got lucky that d
ay. He was ecstatic.”

  “Your house is really sweet,” she said, trying to focus on the interior of the house instead of the interior of his jeans.

  “Thanks, but I can’t take all the credit. My mom loves to decorate. She brings over her HGTV magazines and goes to town.”

  “Well, your mom has good taste.”

  “I’ll tell her you said so. Can I get you a drink?” he asked, heading for the refrigerator.

  “Is it too early for my medicine?” she asked, only half-joking.

  “I don’t have any whiskey,” he said, pouring a tall glass of water. He chugged it down. Lawn mowing was thirsty work.

  “Water’s fine for me,” she said.

  He poured her a glass and brought it to the coffee table in the living room. This was the room he spent most of his time in; Alexis could see that from the stacks of spiral notebooks and the three guitars leaning against the wall.

  “You still write longhand?” she queried, settling down on the couch.

  He bent his head in mock shame. “I know, I know. I’m old school. I can’t help it. The words seem to hold more meaning when I form each letter myself.”

  “You’re a romantic,” she said simply. “You probably wouldn’t be a very good musician otherwise.”

  He relaxed into the couch and nodded. “I take that as a compliment.”

  He looked irresistible sitting there, so comfortable with himself and in his environment. She remembered the feel of his hands under her clothes and shifted in her seat.

  “Should we get going?” she asked.

  “How about a song before we head out?” he asked. “It’s not every day I get to play for a beautiful woman right in my own living room.”

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Alexis said. She knew plenty of women who would line up outside to have a guy like Tyler strum his strings for them.

  He picked up the nearest guitar and rested it on his thigh. His fingers started moving before Alexis had a chance to make a request. He clearly had a song in mind. As Tyler began to sing, Alexis was conscious of her heart thumping inside her chest. She didn’t recognize the song, but the combination of Tyler’s smooth voice and chiseled features was so sexy that Alexis found herself too distracted to listen to the lyrics.