Eddy walked over to where Andy was sitting on his front porch and handed him a cold beer. He sat down in the empty rocker and looked at Andy expectantly.
“I’m not interrupting anything am I? Did you already have dinner?” Andy asked after a long silence.
“I’m fine. Now are you going to tell me what’s bothering you, or will I have to start guessing?”
Andy took another few moments to gather his thoughts. He thought he had it all planned out by the time he finally left his office but putting his plan into words wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. It was terrifying. He took a long pull from his beer.
“I just don’t think I can do it anymore,” Andy said quietly.
Eddy waited patiently for him to continue before pushing him on. “What can’t you do anymore? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
“I love it on the water, but it’s just not the life for me.”
“So, you’re saying I need to find another job? That’s okay. I can go back to driving a truck. Don’t beat yourself up,” Eddy said.
“No. I mean yes, but not what you’re thinking,” Andy said before he took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Would you be interested in taking over for me?”
Eddy just stared at him.
“You love it on the water. I enjoy it, but it’s not my passion. Would you be interested in taking over my dad’s business? I’ll hand the business over to you, and let you use his boat for a season. That way there’s someone he knows and trusts, and I can concentrate on my furniture shop. He’ll remain a silent partner as long as he’s alive, and all you have to do is agree to keep the name and pay a small percentage to my mother. What do you think?”
Eddy looked at him with wide eyes and swallowed hard. “What?”
“I don’t want to sound cliché, but it doesn’t make me happy. I love being on the water, but I don’t want that to be my livelihood. The only reason I’ve taken over my dad’s boat is because I didn’t want to disappoint my parents. You’re practically family, and I think having you take over would be something they could accept. So, what do you say?”
Eddy continued to stare at him in surprise before one corner of his mouth curved into a smile. He leaned back in his rocker and folded his arms across his chest. Andy waited for him to say something. Anything. He was sure Eddy thought he had lost his mind.
“I don’t think you have any idea what you’re saying,” Eddy finally said after several minutes.
“So, is that a no?”
“I didn’t say no. I just don’t think it’s as easy as you’re making it sound,” he clarified. “First of all, how can you be so sure your dad will agree to it?”
“He doesn’t have to. I have full legal control over everything related to the business. I made sure it was official when I took over because we didn’t know how Dad would be. I didn’t want him to be able to do anything crazy without understanding what he was doing. He’s only listed as a silent partner, so he doesn’t feel like he lost everything,” Andy explained.
“And you want to just sign it over to me? Not sell?”
“Not sell. I’d rather hand it over to you and keep it going than just close it up. And I think once my mother stops being pissed, she’ll agree with me. The only thing I’ll have to figure out is the shanty since it’s property. What do you say? I’d really like to have a plan in place when I break the news that I’m hanging it up.”
Eddy took a long drink from his beer before setting it on the table and leaning back in his chair. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands behind his head as he rocked. Andy could tell by the added creases in his forehead that he was thinking over everything Andy had said. He couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t asking Eddy to house sit for a weekend, he was offering the stress and uncertainty of taking over a business.
“Okay,” Eddy said. “But only with your mother’s blessing. You all are family, and I don’t want to mess that up.”
Andy released a breath. He already felt some weight lift from his shoulders just knowing he had a plan. If his parents didn’t want to accept it, that would be on them, but he no longer felt like it was on him to keep the family business going. Maybe if he talked to his mother about it before he talked to Samira, he could convince his mother that this decision had only to do with him.
***
“So, you understand, then?” Mary asked anxiously.
“I can’t say I agree, but I understand what you did. I still wish you would have just told me, though,” Samira said from the sofa.
Even after being away an entire work week, Samira was having a hard time dealing with everything. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming. All of her instincts told her to run. When she ran, she didn’t have to deal with the hard things. Avoidance was much better than dealing with problems head on. Even though she had been avoiding her aunt, she needed her.
“You aren’t the only person who avoids things,” her aunt said with a knowing smile. “I didn’t want to tell you the details about the house, so I let that lawyer do it. I’m sorry. But I’m glad you’re here. Now tell me what’s bothering you.”
Samira tried to find the words to explain, but all that came were tears. They streamed warm and wet down her face. Grabbing some tissues from the box on the end table, she tried to soak them up as they fell, but it was no use. She’d held in her emotions the entire time she was away for work, and they all came rushing back the moment she was asked to talk about it.
“It’s okay, dear. Sometimes a good cry makes you feel better.”
