“I can if I want to,” he said back, his voice teasing, although there was a clear note of sadness present too. “But yeah, I mean, it’s not atotalshock. You guys were always a little… distant.”
“Your father was busy with work!” Eleanor protested, not sure why she was defending her ex. Habit, perhaps.
“Mom, he’s a tax attorney, not the president. Yeah, he worked a lot… but it was probably more than he had to work, if we’re being honest with one another.” Jeremy’s voice was matter of fact, but it made Eleanor ache, to think that her son had seen all this, that she hadn’t been able to protect him from this kind of thinking. “And I love you both, obviously, and want you both to be happy. But it seemed sometimes like you were the one puttingin the effort to make our family happy, without necessarily getting much back in return.”
Again, Eleanor cringed. Had she seemed so pathetic to her own son, the boy—now a man—whom she loved more than her own life? Had she been so willfully ignorant?
To her surprise, instead of wearing her down, the thought filled her with energy.It’s not too late, a quiet, but firm, voice inside her said.
“You know what?” she said. “You’re right, honey. I did put in a lot of work to make our family happy. And if that didn’t work out, well…”
Well, your dad is a big dope who doesn’t know a good thing when he has it,she thought, but did not speak out loud.
“Then that’s just because things don’t work out sometimes,” she said instead. “That doesn’t mean my effort was wasted. It just means that this time around, when I make a fresh start for myself, I’ll have an even clearer idea of how to find what I’m looking for.”
“A fresh start?” her son repeated.
“A fresh start,” she confirmed, starting to feel excited by the idea. “Near the ocean.”
She’d blurted it out without thinking, but now that it was out, she found she liked the idea too. She had spent her whole life in Indianapolis, except for when she’d gone to college, and even then, she’d only moved an hour away to Bloomington. She’d always wanted to live near the ocean.
“The ocean.” Jeremy sounded like he was nodding. “Yeah, okay. Go get ’em, Mom. That sounds great.”
Eleanor found she was beaming, a happy surprise since, only a few minutes before, she’d felt like she’d never smile again. Still, she made sure to check her enthusiasm so she could make sure her son was okay with this news. No matter that he was an adult, it couldn’t be easy to learn that your parents were splitting up.
“I appreciate your support,” she told him, “more than you can know. But I just want to make sure you know I’m here for you however you need to feel about this. If you’re upset, or mad, or have questions, I’m here for all of it.”
“I know, Mom,” he said. “And I’m sure I’ll have more to talk to you about when I’ve processed a little bit. But for now, I have to go. I have class, and if I don’t let Dave back in here to study for his midterms, he’s going to pass out from the stress,” he joked, referring to his roommate.
Eleanor, who missed her son desperately since he’d moved away for college, always hated hanging up the phone with him. But she knew she had to give him space to spread his wings and time to process the bomb she’d just dropped on his image of their family.
“Okay, sweetheart,” she said. “I love you lots and lots.”
“Love you too, Mom. I’ll call soon.”
Eleanor wondered if her excitement would fade when she ended the call, but she found, to her relief, that it didn’t. Instead, the flare of energy in her got her through quickly showering and throwing on clothes, the act feeling like she was washing off everything bad from her past. She dug out her laptop, which was old and rarely used, since she hadn’t worked outside the home and could use her phone for most things these days. But for this research, she wanted the full screen effect.
She typedbest seaside towns for new beginningsinto the search bar and waited for her future to appear before her. The first couple of hits didn’t give her what she was looking for. Some of the options were for swanky spots in California with homes thatstartedin the millions of dollars. Nice if you could afford it, Eleanor was sure, but rather outside her price range. She kept scrolling and found some more affordable options, but many of those were actuallylakeside. Eleanor would never disregard the Great Lakes, as she’d taken many wonderful vacations therein her life, but she found that she wanted the real ocean, not anything smaller.
And then, just at the bottom of her list of results, she found it. Magnolia Shore, Massachusetts.
If you’re looking for New England charm in a place that’s off the beaten path, the travel website promised,Magnolia Shore is for you. With just over six thousand residents, Magnolia Shore offers a small-town feel without being stifling, and its proximity to major hubs like Boston, Providence, and New York means that you can get your fill of the big city whenever the urge strikes. Foodies will delight at the fare on offer in Magnolia Shore, whether you’re looking for a quick bite or a fancy night out. The town’s diner offers updated classics and familiar flavors, while Riverstone Kitchen, the best restaurant in town (in this writer’s humble opinion), is headed up by culinary tour-de-force Jared Novak, previously a darling of the Boston restaurant scene. If you’re looking to live on the waterfront, Magnolia Shore is the perfect choice. The town has a small river that cuts through its main street and empties into the Atlantic. This means that there’s riverside property mere steps from the sea—which offer waterfront views without the cutting New England chill, come winter.
“It’s probably too good to be true,” Eleanor muttered to herself, afraid of getting her hopes up. But as she clicked through the photos that were posted on the travel website, which showed bright autumn leaves, a sparkling summer ocean shot, and an old brick clocktower, she couldn’t stop herself from falling more and more in love. Holding her breath, she clicked on a link to Magnolia Shore real estate options, then let out that breath in an excited squeak when she saw that there were feasible options already available! There weren’t a ton of properties, which made sense for a small town, but…
Eleanor wiggled excitedly in her chair. This was happening. She could do this.
With a smile on her face, she sent the link to Jeremy.
ELEANOR: Maybe this place for my new start? What do you think?
While she waited for him to get out of class so he could answer, she poked through all the photographs she could find online about Magnolia Shore. She hit on the jackpot when she found a small-town newspaper with partially digitized archives. It seemed like the place had lots of local celebrations and events, especially in the fall when the leaves turned.
Her phone buzzed.
JEREMY: I think it’s perfect, Mom!
Eleanor grinned. She thought so too.
