Return to Gray Harbor

by Bryant, J. J.

  He was tired but he also could see why people wanted to have families. It felt really rewarding. And amid all the commotion tonight, he felt like he imparted some important lessons on the boys. Why black magic was always bad, why you should always have a napkin on your lap while eating pizza (in case the hot cheese fell off). He thought maybe someday he could get into this whole father and husband thing like Tom. What a scary thought!

  And speaking of fathers, Michael thought about his own as he cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. He needed to clear the air with his father. He decided he was going to do it tomorrow morning before he wimped out. It had gone on for too long. He had a feeling that maybe his father wouldn’t feel the need to be such a tough guy if they were alone. Maybe they could talk it out. And maybe they could even discuss how they could save Malone’s.

  Michael also began thinking about his work. No one had called him back. He had left messages, sent emails. It felt like he was getting the silent treatment. He made a mental calculation of what was in his savings accounts outside of his investments — six million dollars, give or take a few thousand. He could comfortably resign and forget about all of the headaches he’d been dealing with at the fund. They all referred to themselves as the Goldfarb Family — but they weren’t family; hell, they weren’t even his friends. Not a soul had gotten back to him. He was going to have to go back to New York and resign in person. It was over and it was okay. He wasn’t sure what was next, but he did know that he needed a change.

  He just wasn’t satisfied with his career anymore. But he did like being a part of something important. He also liked being a part of the family again. It was something he hadn’t felt like in a long time ... not since Jesse had died. It hadn’t been the same -- or maybe it had just been Michael who wasn’t the same. He sat on the sofa and did something he hadn’t done in a long time, read the paper.

  Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Night one was over and it had been a hit. Everyone loved the bags, the hors d'oeuvres, and the cocktail hour. The dining room had a number of guests in it and as usual, the Tavern was doing quite well for a Thursday evening. The head of the touring group had said to her if the rest of the week went as well as tonight did, then they’d like to reserve group holidays on a consistent basis with as many as twenty-four guests in a single weekend! It would be a dream come true for Beth. That would account for a nice little chunk of annual expenses. She was going to sleep well tonight, and tomorrow she would go for a nice jog and maybe even go sit out by the lighthouse after breakfast was served.

  The tour guide really thought the bags were a nice touch, especially the candies. He even offered to pay a little extra for some additional items to be added to the bags, including brochures, bike maps, and anything else that could also be “very Maine.” Maybe she would get some of Michael’s ideas during their ‘business lunch’ on Sunday. She wondered what she should wear and where they would be going. Knowing the only other restaurants in town were informal, she decided casual would be the right look. What was she thinking? Why was she even thinking about this? She was not interested in Michael. Now that her mind was convinced, she just needed to convince her body of that, because every time she thought of him she felt an undeniable heat in her abdomen and her heart beat faster. She guessed there was nothing wrong with admiring him. He was like a taller, more muscular Patrick Dempsey ... and who could say no to that? She meant, who couldn’t look at that? No, she thought, she couldn’t do this. She had more important things to do than get involved with a man who wouldn’t be sticking around.

  The next morning, Michael got up early and got dressed to go running. Visiting hours at the hospital began at noon that day and he planned to be there then but before that, he had some other things to attend to at home. He had hired some painters to finish the work he and Jonah had started on the inside. He had also asked Bob to stop by with some slipcovers for the old sofas and see what he could come up with in terms of sprucing up the decor. He placed Judy in charge of taking care of that today. He was going to check out the work being done on the exterior of the house and he had also hired someone from McAllister's to do some planting and gardening. The place was really starting to come together.

  He ran downstairs and had a little coffee, let in the painters, and set up the rest of the workers around the house. Before he knew it, it was nine o’clock. He decided to head off in the direction of the Warren Inn and the Gray Harbor Lighthouse.

  He was feeling out of shape by the time he had run the three miles to the lighthouse. A few weeks ago, he wouldn’t have even been winded, he realized. He decided to have a little break, have a drink, and sit by the water. Just behind the lighthouse, there were these beautiful boulders right by the ocean where tourists often sat and watched the boats go by. In the distance, you could frequently see lobster boats. At this time of day, many of the lobsterman would have already been out for several hours but you could probably still see a few from the lighthouse.

  Michael walked by the small lighthouse and thought about how when he was a child, he had imagined living in a lighthouse of his very own someday. He had also dreamed of being a lobsterman, a naval officer, and a bag boy at Malone’s Market. Funny how hedge fund manager had never occurred to him. He smiled at himself.

  He walked out to the boulders and was climbing down when he saw her. There was Beth, sitting on the very edge of a sloping stone, with her feet partially in the water and partially on the pebbled beach surrounding the lighthouse. You could only ever see the little beach when it was low tide.

  “Pardon me, is this seat taken?” he asked her.

  She looked startled but before she could stop herself, she smiled and said flirtatiously, “So ... are you stalking me? First the market, then the tavern, the drugstore, and now here at the lighthouse? Come on, Malone, be a little more subtle.”

  He had to laugh at that one. She looked at him, amused.

  “Beth, I’m shocked that you would even imply that. I think you must have Annie feeding you the details of my whereabouts. I always run in the mornings, and who wouldn’t run to the lighthouse? It’s gorgeous here.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll let it slide this time,” she said with a smile, as she shaded her eyes from the sun.

  She looked great. She had on short navy blue running shorts with orange stripes. She wore a tight white tank top, white cross-trainers, and her hair was up in a ponytail. She looked healthy and even fairly tan for a redhead.

  He took a breath and looked out at the water. They sat in silence for a few moments. Then he asked, “So, how did it go last night?”

  She looked surprised that he remembered or even cared. Usually the men she went out with weren’t very interested in the happenings at the Inn. But then again, since they were ‘friends’ she supposed that was a normal question. Surely Annie would ask her such a thing. Now she was even rambling in her thoughts.

  “It went really well, thanks again for your help.”

  “I didn’t do anything really,” he paused as she was about to protest, “but I’m glad it went well.” He glanced at her shyly.

  She filled him in on what the tour guide had said and Michael shared in her enthusiasm. He even offered up a great idea.

  “You should get some bikes for the Inn, you could rent them out or let guests use them for free so they can ride up to the lighthouse or even go into town instead of driving. I think people could get into that, and it would show how bike friendly you are. And you could get some fairly inexpensive cruiser bikes online.”

  “That’s a great idea,” said Beth. And she really meant it. She hadn’t heard of any other Inn doing such a thing, so it could really help her get a write up by DownEast or even other travel magazines. It always helped to have a distinguishing characteristic. Maybe a business lunch with Michael on Sunday wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. She really enjoyed speaking with him. They stayed there for a while just chatting until he looked at his watch.

  “Time really flies when I’m with y
ou,” he said. “It’s already eleven thirty. I need to head back and go visit my father at the hospital.”

  He looked serious for a moment and then his face brightened. “This has been really nice. I’m really looking forward to Sunday. Dress casual. We aren’t going anywhere fancy for our lunch but I think you’ll like it.”

  He offered her his hand so she could get up, too. She took it and they both climbed the boulders together. When they reached the top, Beth stumbled and Michael caught her, and then he did a very unprofessional thing. He looked in her eyes and kissed her on the lips.

  His lips were soft and his arms strong around her. She forgot her surroundings.

  “Goodbye, see you Sunday!” And with that he ran off.

  Beth just stood there dumfounded as he ran off. What just happened? Did he really just kiss her? She began jogging back to the Warren Inn with a stupid smile on her face. Even though she was feeling really cautious about this whole thing, maybe she shouldn’t. Maybe she should just live in the moment and enjoy Michael while he was here. It wasn’t often she met a man with whom she shared such mutual attraction, intense chemistry, and great conversations. Maybe she should just go for it?

  Although she had no problem taking risks with her cuisine, with her business, or even at times with her own personal fashion, she had always guarded herself when it came to men. Maybe it was her parents’ terrible relationship. She remembered the day her parents had died in a car accident. They had been arguing even before they got in the car to take her older sister on a college visit.

  It had been raining and they crashed into a truck. Her sister made it out alive somehow but her parents had died instantly. She remembered that awful day now as she slowed to a walk. She had been called out of lab from class to the principal's office. Then months later, she got that call again after sister’s accident. Her sister had been on life support for several days before she finally let go. When she got the call that her sister was gone for good, Michael had slipped out of class to see if she was all right. She sobbed and told him everything. Things she had never told her friends about her parents, about finding out her father had had an affair. About how she had told her mother the night before. About how their death was probably her fault, and about how now Jen, who had nearly lost her life months before, had died in another tragic accident and how she couldn’t stop it. She begged him not to tell anyone, and he never did. He never even mentioned it again. She had mostly blocked that out.

  But now, as she walked beyond the Inn and into her cottage, she realized that maybe knowing what she knew about her parents’ marriage was why she was so distrustful of men. Maybe it was why she would never let anyone close.

  But she had that one time. That one time in high school, she had let in nerdy, pepperoni-faced Malone. Maybe it was time now to let in Michael, the man. She smiled slightly at the thought and then hit the shower.

  Michael ran all the way home at full speed. He was glad he had run into Beth and that they had shared a moment, but now he had to stay focused. He needed to figure out what he was going to say to his father and how he would patch things up, if they could be patched up at all. He was also concerned about broaching the topic of the business. By the time he arrived back at the house, he was breathless. He quickly waved to Jonah, who was working in the kitchen on his laptop. Jonah looked like he wanted to talk but Michael avoided it. He saw Judy and Bob, who were in a deep conversation about color palettes and said a quick hello as he ran to the shower. He showered quickly and opted against shaving. He had always wanted to grow a beard; maybe he’d just go with it. He threw on some jeans, a fresh green polo shirt, his boat shoes, and wayfarer sunglasses. In ten minutes flat he was clean and dressed and in his car.

  On the ride over to the hospital, Michael couldn’t help but replay the interaction he had with his dad on Monday over and over again in his head. When his dad had said he didn’t want to see Michael. Would today be any different? Michael took in a deep breath as he pulled into the Saint Andrews parking lot. He had no idea how this was going to go but he knew it had to happen. He walked to the front desk and found out his father’s room number, then made his way up the elevator. Once he got to his father’s door, he stood outside it for a few minutes, trying to compose himself, when his father’s doctor walked out of the room.

  “Can I help you?” She asked, holding her clipboard.

  Michael looked at her name tag before responding, “Yes, Dr. Williams, I was just going in to say hi to my father.”

  “Oh, yes.” She smiled. “You must be Michael, the big finance guy in New York. Your dad will be happy to see you, just go right in.”

  Huh? His father talked about him to his doctor? Michael couldn’t believe it, especially after Monday. He took a deep breath and walked in slowly. He saw his father lying there a bit dazed, just watching television.

  “Hello, Dad,” said Michael hesitantly.

  His father said nothing but looked at Michael and a light seemed to flicker in his eyes before darkening again. But he said nothing. There was a chair by his bed and Michael went over and sat down.

  “Dad, I know you didn’t want to see me Monday and I don’t know if you want to see me today. But I wanted to see you.” He paused and looked at his father. His father had turned his head slightly to see Michael better and was focusing on what he was saying. He didn’t say anything but Michael could tell that he could hear him. Michael let out a sigh.

  “Dad, thirteen years ago I left because I wanted to live my dream. I wanted to go to New York and make something out of myself, like you did for yourself in Maine. I’ve worked really hard at what I’ve been doing but I think I want to do something else now.”

  He took a deep breath before continuing. “Being back home this week has inspired me and I want to try a new endeavor. But first …” Michael took another breath and looked at his father. His father had a hopeful, but also extremely sad, look in his blue eyes. He almost looked vulnerable, something Michael never thought he’d be able to say about his father.

  Michael repeated himself again. “But first,” he paused and said, “I want to help out with Malone’s Market and make the whole family's dream come true and finish putting Malone’s on the map. And I also wanted to say...” he faltered a bit and paused.

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry for all the time we’ve lost together as father and son because I’ve been too stubborn about all of this.”

  Michael looked at his father, who was struggling to move his lips. Finally, his dad said in a strained tone, “It’s okay, son.” It took a lot out of him to say the words. He paused and said, “I na na need you annnnda ammm gladda you are here.” A tear streamed down James Malone’s face. Something Michael had never seen before. His father — the strongest and toughest man in the world — was crying. Michael couldn’t believe it. He got up from his seat and went over and hugged his Dad, starting to cry, too. He knew what he had to do now. He had to fix this. After a few moments, he sat back down and looked at his Dad and held his hand. It was limp, but Michael sat there and held it and listened to his father.

  “Sonna I am sorry tatatoo. I na na needa your help. The markmarkettta is in trubtruble.” James fought to get the words out.

  “Dad, I know. I’ve been helping out this past week and know all about it. But there is a solution, Dad. If you trust me to work on it with you and the rest of the family.”

  James attempted a smile again. “Soundsa good, whattaver yooou thinthink. I am afraida...gotta ina over my head.”

  “Dad, I have a lot of ideas but I don’t want to do anything without your consent. How about I work out some ideas and I come here each day and we can go over the plans and make some decisions together? As partners, if you like.”

  James smiled again and slowly formulated his next words. “That’s ppperrrfeccct, son.”

  Michael smiled and embraced his dad one more time before heading out. James Malone looked happy and Michael felt happier than he had in a long time. In fac
t, he felt like a million pound weight had been lifted off his back. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already three thirty. This entire day had flown by.

  Before heading out, Michael went to find Dr. Williams to discuss his father’s treatment and find out what would be necessary at home and how he would be able to navigate through life with this now.

  Dr. Williams explained that James had already started rehabilitation at the health center, which was expensive but worth it. She told him that his father had started to walk, which was huge, but that the next three to four weeks were going to be key and he would need all the support he could get. That meant daily visits and support, maybe even some help during physical therapy. Speech and balance might take longer and he might never be able to use his left hand fully but Dr. Williams said she thought James was very lucky. If it hadn’t been for Marty’s early discovery of James it would have been much worse. Some more changes would need to be made to help James transition back home and back to the store. Michael knew he could help make it work.

  Michael walked to the car and called his mother at the market and told her he had visited his father. She was ecstatic. He told her he would pick up some pizzas and other goodies and get things ready for dinner at seven that night. Next he called Jonah to ask what videos or games he might want and to let him know they could discuss the website when Michael got home. Then Michael drove into town feeling better than he had in a long time.

  Chapter 11

  After leaving the hospital, Michael ran a few errands in town including grabbing some soda, videos and video games, pizzas, pasta, and salads. He also grabbed the Wall Street Journal for the hell of it; maybe he’d dig into it later tonight or the next day and see what was happening with the markets.

  When he drove home he liked what he saw. The siding had been finished, window boxes with beautiful flowers had been put in, and the lawn looked well manicured. Flowers were planted everywhere. It looked kind of like it had when they were kids, but better. Michael went in and unloaded everything on the table and then looked for Judy and Jonah. He walked into the living room to find Judy sitting in there with her sketchpad.