by Abigail Keam
River felt satisfied. In fact, he felt pretty darn good, heart episode and all. He was getting under Mary’s skin–getting under real good.
River knew enough about women to know that when a woman bothered to get angry with a man, it meant something was stirring inside her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even bother to get upset. If she didn’t cotton to a man, a woman would just ignore him. No doubt about it. He felt he was making headway with Mary, and that’s exactly what he wanted.
15
Mike spooned a glob of mash potatoes onto Jenny’s plate.
Eva asked, “Jenny, do you want some peas?”
Jenny made a face and shook her head.
“Well, I’m going to have some. It’s the last of the spring peas,” announced Eva.
Mike bit into a fried chicken breast. “This is really good. Who knew the New York gal could cook?”
Eva smiled. “Glad you think so, or it’d be pizza every night.” She looked at Mike. “How was your sugar today?”
“A little high, but I’m working on it.”
Eva nodded. “You know what the doctor said.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, pass me those peas. I want some.”
Jenny smiled at her dad as she handed him the bowl.
After discussing some repair work needed at the Chance Motel, as Mike still referred to Eva’s business, he said, “Jenny, your grandmother is picking you up after Sunday school tomorrow. Eva and I are taking the boat to go snorkeling. We’ll be home for dinner.”
“Can I come?” Jenny asked, biting into her chicken leg.
Mike and Eva exchanged raised-eyebrow glances.
“Of course, honey, but I thought you didn’t like boats or getting in the ocean,” said Eva.
“That was when I was little. Not anymore.”
Mike insisted, “Jenny, we’ll be out for hours.”
Jenny looked up from her plate. “Don’t you want me to go with you?”
Mike was taken aback. “Well, of course, but you’ve always hated going on the ocean side, and you’ve refused to get on a boat for years.”
“Things are different now.”
“How, Jenny?” Eva asked, once again amazed at the change in her stepdaughter since the kayak incident.
“Just different, that’s all. I don’t feel bad anymore.”
“I didn’t realize you felt bad,” remarked Mike. “How come?”
“Mr. Egan explained everything to me, and now I don’t have to feel bad.”
“What does Mr. Egan have to do with this new change of heart?” pushed Mike.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” objected Jenny. “It’s a secret.”
Mike opened his mouth, but Eva gently nudged him under the table. He looked at her with surprise as she subtly shook her head. Taking her cue, Mike replied, “Okay, but if you still want to come out with us on Sunday, that’s great.”
“I’ll have your things packed,” Eva reassured, “but if you change your mind, that’s fine, too.” She patted Jenny’s arm.
Jenny looked up at Eva and smiled.
Before Mike could say anything else, Snowball jumped up on the table and stole a chicken wing. While the grownups loudly objected, Jenny burst into giggles.
Eva shook her head and joined in the laughter.
Mike glared at Eva and Jenny laughing until he started chuckling too. When his chuckling turned into a full belly laugh, Mike wondered how he could be so happy again . . . and then wondered how long it would last.
Nothing lasted long in the Keys. Nothing.
But for now Mike felt blessed, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.
16
Eva got a complaint from a guest about loud arguing in Bungalow Six. Yuck! It was River Egan’s bungalow. She knew he had gotten out of the hospital yesterday. Secretly she had hoped he would check out, but she was not going to insist. After all, he was a sick man.
She had better see what the problem was. As she approached Bungalow Six, she could hear loud, angry voices from within. She also noticed that guests at the pool were turning to look in that direction. Eva needed to get the disturbance resolved quickly.
Knocking quickly on the door, but hearing no response, Eva pulled out her master key.
Suddenly the door burst opened and Mr. Egan’s daughter glared at her angrily. “What the hell do you want?” she yelled.
Eva stretched her neck to peer into the bungalow. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you needed any assistance.”
“Do I look like I need assistance? Did I call for assistance?”
Eva smiled and tried to retain her composure. “To tell the truth, I received a complaint from another guest about the noise coming from this bungalow, so I came to see if everything is all right. Can I be of any help here?”
The daughter peered out of the bungalow at the guests lounging at the pool. She yelled, “Gee, thanks a lot, you assholes,” and then raised her middle finger at them.
Eva was furious, but tried not to show it. “Please don’t disturb the other guests,” she said as she pushed past the daughter into the bungalow and closed the door. “How can I help you?”
“You want to help me?” replied the daughter sarcastically. “You can start by telling this old fool here that he can’t stay in Key Largo. He has to come home with me where he belongs.”
Looking over the woman’s shoulder, Eva spied Mr. Egan watching TV, apparently very intent on not paying any attention to his daughter. “Hello, Mr. Egan,” greeted Eva.
“Hello, Mrs. Bishop. How’s Jenny?”
River’s daughter looked at the ceiling and shook her head at his question.
“I’d like to talk to you about her and your little adventure. It seems that she has done a 180-degree turnaround about boats and the ocean. She’s even going to try snorkeling with her father and me this Sunday.”
River reached over and turned off the TV. “That’s grand.”
The daughter’s pout escalated. “That’s another thing I want to get cleared up. I’m going to sue you and your motel for letting my father go kayaking in a raging storm with an irresponsible, unruly child. It was simply inexcusable on your part and you are going to pay, let me tell you!”
River looked disgusted and snorted, “Let it go, will ya? I knew what I was doing. That heart episode could have happened when I was driving a car or sitting at home watching the boob tube.”
“You never listen to me and all I do is try to look out for your welfare,” accused the daughter before bursting into tears and racing out of the bungalow.
River looked pained for a moment and then sighed. “She’s been that way ever since she was a teenager. All the drama she put her mother and me through. Everything’s a big deal and everything’s about her.” He pointed to a recliner. “Please sit. Let’s talk about Jenny.”
“Thank you. I would like that,” replied Eva, sitting down. “She won’t tell us much about what happened that day. You know kids, but her father and I would sure like to know.”
River thought for a moment. “I don’t think I’ll be betraying a confidence. In fact, I think you need to understand. We sometimes assume children think like adults, that their thoughts and actions are built on logic, but that’s not the case. They make assumptions built on fantasy.”
“I don’t understand, Mr. Egan.”
“I’m assuming that your husband has told Jenny that her mother is looking down on her from heaven.”
“I’m sure that has been said. That’s what you tell kids who have lost a parent,” confirmed Eva.
“To Jenny’s mind, when she hears something like that, it’s not understood to comfort, or even a metaphor. In her little mind, her mother is really looking down on her every day, and perhaps judging the way parents do.”
“What could Jenny have possibly done that needed to be judged by her mother? She’s a sweet little girl.”
River leaned forward in his chair. “Perhaps loving her new mother.”
Eva stared at River, and then realized what he was saying. “You think Jenny loves me?”
“I think Jenny wants to love you, but she’s afraid she’ll forget her mother, and that her mother will be angry.”
“That poor girl! And she was punishing herself by doing something that terrifies her. She was forcing herself out on the water.”
“Is she really that afraid of the ocean?” asked River.
“Terrified. Her mother drowned in a freak car accident during a hurricane and Jenny was with her. Every summer, Mike–that’s my husband–sends her to Orlando to be with her great-aunt.” Eva added. “That’s hurricane season.”
“Mrs. Bishop, take advice from an old man. Don’t send her this year.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Ever since the kayak incident, Jenny has changed. She’s been calling me mommy and even wants to go snorkeling with us this Sunday.” Eva leaned forward and placed her hand on River’s. “Did you have anything to do with that?”
“I just told Jenny that her mother would be proud to have you fill in for her, and that she wants Jenny to have someone look after her.”
“Bless you for that. Bless you, Mr. Egan.”
“River. My name is River.”
Eva smiled at River as tears welled up. “I think I know what to do now to make things easier for Jenny. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
“Good luck to you, Mrs. Bishop. You and your family are good people. And about my daughter . . . I’m sorry about the disturbance, but I’m staying put. I hate it that our family dysfunction has disturbed your little bit of paradise here, but my mind is made up. Maybe fair weather will head both our ways and my daughter will check out tomorrow, leaving us both alone.”
Eva laughed. “You’re a rascal, River.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Speaking of Mary, how’s she doing?”
Eva laughed. “Gee, I thought we were talking about something else, but since you brought her up, I’d steer clear of her for the time being. Something you said got her all stirred up.”
River winced at the comment, but admitted, “You’re quite right. First things first. Got to get my daughter out of here and back home. Maybe I’ll take a little trip to Key West, where she can’t find me. Keep my bungalow free, will ya? I’ll pay for it, of course. Just keep charging on my credit card.”
“River, I don’t need to know any of your plans.”
“Ah, yes. You’ll want plausible deniability. Just keep my bungalow free. Okay?”
“Talk to you later, River.” Eva smiled as she left the bungalow and hurried to the office, skirting the pool area where Mr. Egan’s daughter was complaining loudly to the other guests.
Eva sincerely hoped that woman would check out tomorrow. She had never disliked a guest so much, and she’d had to deal with many rotten guests over the months since she reclaimed the Last Chance Motel.
For some reason, the motel was not working its charm on River’s daughter.
Pity, thought Eva. It was the daughter’s loss.
17
Mike tucked Jenny in after he made sure she had brushed her teeth. He read several chapters from The Three Musketeers until Eva joined them.
“Whatcha got there?” he asked, eyeing a box in Eva’s hand.
“It’s a present for Jenny,” revealed Eva. “And if you are finished, sir, I would like to give this to Jenny in private.”
Mike mugged and slammed the book shut. “I know when I’m not wanted.” Pretending to be hurt, he slunk out of the room.
Jenny laughed. “Daddy, you’re not mad. I can tell.”
Mike popped his head inside the room. “Have sweet dreams, baby.”
Eva waved him away. “I have something for you, Jenny.”
Jenny sat up in bed. “What is it?” she asked, eyeing the wrapped box.
“Open it and find out,” Eva encouraged.
Jenny took the box from Eva’s hands and tore off the wrapping. Opening the box, she lifted a clear rectangle with a cord attached. “What is it?”
“It’s one of those new electronic photo albums. I noticed you don’t have many pictures of your mother, so I found some and had them copied. They’re stored in this album. Whenever you want to see your mother, all you have to do is press this button, and you can see pictures of all the happy times you had with her. That way you’ll always have your wonderful memories at your fingertips.”
Eva pulled out another electronic photo album. “And this one is for new memories to come. There’s nothing on it now, but we’ll put pictures of fun stuff you do with your dad and me, and Grandma, too.”
Eva placed the two albums on the nightstand and plugged the filled one in. “What is the first thing you are going to put on our new picture frame?”
“I’m going to put our snorkeling trip on it. Mommy taught me how to swim in the ocean.”
“Then I will look forward to seeing how well you swim, and I promise to take lots of pictures for you. Okay?”
Jenny hugged Eva. “Thank you.” She looked at Eva with tears in her eyes. “It’s all right to call you Mommy too, isn’t it?” She looked confused.
“I think I can solve this problem. Beth will always be your mommy, but I don’t think she would mind if you called me Mommy as well–or you can call me Mom.
Jenny pressed the button on the album and a large picture of her mother appeared. “I think I will call her Mommy and call you Mom.”
“I think that is splendid,” replied Eva. “Let’s look at these pictures together, and you can tell me about them.”
Jenny pushed the button and a picture of Beth holding her on a porch popped up. “That’s our old house. We lost it in the hurricane. That’s Mommy holding me. I guess Daddy was taking the picture.”
“Your mommy looks very happy, Jenny.”
Mike listened outside Jenny’s bedroom door while Eva and Jenny reminisced about the pictures in the album.
Each picture caused Mike to feel both happiness and pain while Jenny described them. Wiping a tear from his eye, he went silently downstairs. When Jenny or Eva were not at home, Mike planned to go through the album by himself. He had never really said goodbye to Beth, and it was time. He loved her, and always would, but he also loved Eva and their new life as a family.
Mike knew Beth would understand. Life was for the living. Not for the dead. And he needed closure. He needed to say goodbye to his first love.
18
Mary was cleaning her patio when River popped his head around the corner.
“Hello there,” he called.
“I see they let you out.”
“Yep. I’m out and as free as a bird.”
“Is your daughter still here?”
“She finally went home. Happily, I think. She hated to admit it, but I’ve been a burden. I’m going to give her some space.”
River looked at the patio furniture. “May I sit?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes, of course.” Pulling out a chair, Mary said, “Sit here. Great view of the ocean.”
River sat and looked around. “Nice place ya got here.”
“My husband bought it for me, and my son did the renovation. Everything has been upgraded. Mike does everything first class, so it should bring top dollar if I ever need to sell.”
“Are you thinking of selling?”
Mary looked around and sighed. “Too many memories.”
“I understand that. I’ve made a decision. I’m selling my house up north and moving down here. I hear the siren of the Keys calling me,” he teased. Then River’s face turned serious. “It’s time for a change. I’m tired of living in the past.”
“Where will you live?”
“I’m renting a trailer in one of those parks right on the water. Not much room, but then I don’t need much. Just the sun and water. And the park has a large pool. I like to swim, so maybe I’ll do laps every day.”
“The doctor say it was okay to do laps?”
“The
doc encourages it. Said I need to exercise every day. What better exercise is there than swimming?”
Mary joined him at the patio table. She put her elbows on the table and gazed out at the ocean to the west. The sky was ablaze with red and pink.
“Red at night, sailor’s delight,” she murmured.
“What’s that?”
“I was just thinking about the pink sky. You know the old saying–red sky at night, sailor’s delight . . .”
River joined in, “ . . . red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You know, I might even get a job. Something to keep me busy.”
“Doing what?”
“I like people. I like the water. Maybe something to do with the tourist industry.”
“They always need reliable people, that’s for sure.”
River looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go. I’m moving into my trailer tonight.”
Mary knew she shouldn’t get involved, but couldn’t help herself. “Do you have a car?”
“Eva said she would give me a lift.”
Mary rose from the table and took off her gardening gloves. “Eva’s at home now with her family. Let me get my keys and I’ll take you.”
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“Oh, really? I think that’s why you came. Do we need to go back to the motel to pick up your things?”
River gave Mary a wicked grin. “Naw. I’ve got my gear in the driveway. One suitcase. I travel light. I’ll buy anything else I need.”
Mary narrowed her eyes.
River wasn’t sure if it was from the setting sun or if she was angry. He didn’t care, though. He had succeeded in getting Mary to drive him to his new digs.
So far his plan was working like a well-oiled machine.
19
Mary looked around River’s new “home” with a certain amount of disquiet. “It’s a little bit musty,” she commented. “Are you sure that there’s not mold behind the panels?”