by Rachel Hanna
“I know, honey… It’s a long way… But as soon as I get well, I’m coming back… I miss you both so much… Yeah, I get why you couldn’t take care of me… I know it was too much, Victoria…I don’t blame you… I love you…”
Julie seethed with rage. She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the condo, slamming the door behind her.
Michael blew up her phone with calls and texts, but Julie had ignored them for hours. When she finally came back to the condo, he was sitting in his wheelchair, staring at the door.
“Where did you go? You had me scared to death. I needed to go to the bathroom, and you weren’t here to help me!”
She laughed. “Why don’t you call Victoria?”
“What?”
“Do you think I’m hard of hearing?”
He swallowed. “You heard me?”
“Yep. And thank God I did,” she walked to her suitcase and zipped it up.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“What? You can’t just leave me here!” He followed her around the room in his wheelchair.
“I can, and I will. You see, I just spoke to your therapists, and they’ve arranged transportation to your appointments for you. They’ve also set up an intern to come by a couple of times a day to help you. I called the real estate agent and cancelled the listing. And, most importantly, I called your daughters and told them why I was leaving.”
“You told them?”
“Yep,” she said, gathering up her make-up and putting into her carryon bag.
“That wasn’t fair, Julie.”
She stopped and looked at him. “You know what isn’t fair, Michael? Having your husband of twenty one years cheat on you, get another woman pregnant, get engaged to her, get in an accident and then expect the very same wife to fix you back up so you can be with your skank again. That’s what isn’t fair.”
“Look, Victoria called me a few days ago and apologized. She’s just not cut out for caregiving like you are. But, if you want me to stop talking to her, I will. I think counseling could help us…”
“Stop!” she said, putting her hand in the air. “Look, I don’t know what’s happened to the man I married, but he isn’t here anymore. I’ve already grieved that loss. I feel nothing when I look at you. I thank God that I heard that call because it finally shook some sense into me. You’re not my responsibility anymore. I deserve to have a life I love because I built one. Goodbye, Michael.”
“You can’t do this, Julie,” he said, following her to the door. “You know this is wrong.”
“Call the doctor’s office if you need anything. Oh, and I asked your mother to come for a visit.”
“My mother? But, she’ll drive me crazy!”
Julie turned and smiled. “I know.”
Julie hadn’t told anyone she was coming. She wanted it to be a surprise. As she pulled into her driveway, she let out the breath she’d been holding for so long. Home.
She walked in the front door and was shocked when she saw how perfect it all was. The paint, the furniture, the floors. It was better than she could’ve ever imagined.
“Sis?” Janine said from the hallway. She ran to her and gave her a big hug, something she’d have never thought possible a few months ago.
“It’s me!” Julie said, her voice muffled by Janine’s curly mane of hair.
“Where’s the idiot?”
“In Boston.”
“What happened?”
“He showed his true colors again. Wanted me to help him get better and then go back to Victoria. So, I left him.”
“I’m so proud of you!”
“The girls understood, which surprised me. So, that gave me the strength to leave and come back home. And this place looks amazing! Where’s Dawson?”
“He’s down by the marsh eating his lunch, I think. And I know he can’t wait to see you. I think he has a little crush.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “No, he doesn’t.”
“Okay, whatever you say…” she said as she walked back up the hallway.
Julie put down her bags and walked out the back door. She could see Dawson sitting on the bench, her favorite place on her property. He was eating a sandwich and looking out over the marsh grass waving in the breeze. She sucked in a deep breath of the musky marsh smell, and it smelled like home.
“Hey,” she said softly as she walked up to him. He dropped his sandwich and shot up off the bench, a huge smile on his face.
“Oh my gosh, you’re back!”
Dawson pulled her into a bear hug, and she melted into a puddle. Oh crap, she had a crush on him too. Did forty-somethings even have crushes?
It felt good to have someone hold her tightly again. She pressed her cheek into his chest, drinking in the moment. He smelled like home.
Dawson cleared his throat and stepped back, running his fingers through his hair. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mind.”
They stared at each other for a moment. “At the risk of sounding very non macho, can I just say that I missed you?”
“I missed you too,” she said, her face burning.
“Where’s your husband?”
“In Boston.”
Dawson cocked his head. “But, I thought…”
“This is my new beginning, and I’m going to protect it. So, he’s not coming here.”
He smiled. “Good. I thought that was a very bad idea.”
“That’s what Dixie said too. Listen, I just want to thank you for taking care of my place while I was gone. It looks amazing.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“I was wondering if I could take you to dinner sometime as a way to say thank you?”
He smiled that crooked smile. “Why, are you asking me on a date, Julie?”
“What would you say if I was?”
“I would say what time should I pick you up?”
Yes, life on the island was turning out much better than she expected. Maybe new beginnings are bumpy, but so worth it.
Epilogue
Christmas was Julie’s favorite time of the year, and having dinner at her new house was even more exciting. She and Janine had had way too much fun decorating the place, with Dawson’s help, of course.
The three of them had found the biggest Christmas tree they could, carting it in his truck back to the cottage. Thank goodness for high ceilings or the thing might have popped through the roof.
Julie had convinced her mother and her husband, Buddy, to come to Seabreeze for the holidays. SuAnn had argued a little, but when Janine had sent her some pictures of the cottage, all new and renovated, she finally caved.
The best part of Fall had been the budding relationship between Dawson and Julie. They were taking things very slowly and had only been on a few dates, although most evenings Dawson was around, fixing this or that in her house. Nothing really needed to be done, but he seemed to find things to do anyway.
Now that the divorce was final, Julie knew she could date, but she’d been hesitant, wanting to protect her heart from being shattered again. Not that Dawson would ever do that. He just wasn’t the type. But, then again, she never imagined Michael would do what he did.
Although Julie was glad to have Dawson, Janine, Dixie, her mother and Buddy at the house for the holidays, she missed her daughters. Colleen had a huge case to work on and just couldn’t get enough time off for the cross country trip. Meg was all the way in Europe, and coming home for Christmas just wasn’t in the cards.
“I’m glad you and Buddy could make it,” Julie said to her mother as they prepared the salad.
“Me too, dear. And this place looks lovely. Dawson did a wonderful job getting it in shape.”
Julie smiled. “So you don’t fear for my life anymore?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. This island is a bit remote for my taste.”
“Oh, Mother, drink some wine and loosen up,” Janine said as she walked into the kitchen.
She handed her mother a glass and laughed.
“By the way, do you remember awhile back, when you gave me that medical power of attorney in case I needed to make decisions for you?” Julie asked SuAnn.
“Yes, of course. Why?”
“Well, Mom, I called your doctor a few days ago.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because you’ve been so tight lipped about your medical problem, and we were worried about you. Imagine my surprise when I found out the blood work you had us scared about was simply high cholesterol.”
SuAnn smiled. “A mother has to use whatever she can to get her daughters back together. I regret nothing,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.
Janine and Julie laughed and put their arms around each other. “I guess it all worked out,” Julie said.
“Yeah. But, don’t lie to us again. I was really worried.”
“Can I help with anything?” Dawson asked, as he walked into the kitchen. Julie thought he looked especially yummy today with his red plaid shirt, distressed jeans and his cowboy boots. Like a sexy lumberjack.
“You can take the ham to the table, if you don’t mind,” Julie said, smiling up at him. They were going on another date soon. The New Year’s Eve Island Bash was coming up, and even people from the mainland came to that. She was hoping for a big New Year’s kiss.
“Sure,” he said, winking at her as he picked up the ham and walked to the table.
“My, my, my,” SuAnn said. “Somebody is quite smitten with you.”
“And I’m pretty smitten with him,” Julie admitted. “But, we’re going slow.”
“Smart move,” Janine said.
“Don’t go so slow that you lose him, dear. You’re getting older, and the pickings get slimmer,” SuAnn said.
“Oh, Mom. Come on, let’s leave Julie in peace,” Janine said, guiding her mother away from the kitchen.
“Merry Christmas!” Dixie said as she walked up to Julie. She had obviously been waiting for SuAnn to leave the kitchen. They weren’t fans of each other.
Julie hugged her. “Merry Christmas! I’m so glad you could be here.”
“Thanks for inviting me. The house looks beautiful. Dawson did a great job here.”
“Yes, he did.”
“You okay? You seem a little sad.”
“I miss my girls. I’ve never had Christmas without them.”
“I understand.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Dixie. I know you must miss your boys too.”
“I do. But, some things can’t be fixed, no matter how hard you try.”
“Never give up hope.”
“You know, you’re like the daughter I never had.”
Julie smiled. “Thank you. And you’re like the mother I always wanted,” she whispered.
Dixie laughed at that. “Did you hear a knock at the door?”
“Is that what that was? It’s so loud in here.” Julie walked across the room and opened the door. Standing there was a man, close to her age, with dark brown hair. He looked angry or constipated, or maybe both. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Dixie,” he said, his tone sharp and cold.
“Um, okay…” Julie said, opening the door a bit wider. Dixie appeared behind her. Julie heard her gasp a bit.
“William?”
“Hello, Mom.”
Julie realized this wasn’t going to be a normal Christmas dinner, after all.
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