CHAPTER 36
“I’m not sure there are any cruises in our near-term future, though,” Harlow added.
“Why not?” Etta asked.
“She gets seasick,” Larissa replied. “One summer, some friends of ours asked us to come down to their house. They live on a lake and have a boat, so we went out on the water, and let’s just say… it didn’t go very well. I ended up holding her hair as she– Well, we’re eating, so I won’t be describing it, but we turned the boat around.”
“I honestly forgot all about that.” Harlow chuckled. “I meant that you’re about to finish your doctorate, and you’ll be teaching after that, so you probably won’t want to take any time off; at least not for six months.”
“Oh, well, not all cruises are six months long, Harlow,” Larissa replied. “We could do a long weekend one if you can get some seasickness patches.”
“You don’t feel it as much on the bigger boats,” Frances shared. “I get seasick, too, but I only felt queasy a couple of times, and the pills you can get at the store helped with that.”
“Maybe we’ll go on a cruise one day, then,” Harlow said and squeezed Larissa’s thigh.
“So, putting the science aside… I am curious: how did you two manage to handle going through divorces right aftermeeting each other? And there were children involved, too. How did you deal with all of that? It had to be stressful, and you weren’t really together. How did you know it was worth it?” Larissa asked.
“I don’t have any science for you there, kid,” Frances spoke. “I looked at her, and I just knew. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it happened. Then, we talked for a while, and I knew I’d been right. I had things I needed to sort through first, and so did she. When I saw a ring on her finger for the first time, it damn near scared me away, and maybe if I were a better person, it would have, but I just needed to know her. I remember her telling me that she had a wife, and the first thing I thought was that I had a chance. I was married, too, and I hadn’t ever been with a woman, but my mind and my heart went there first. I felt like that had to mean something.”
“Her kids are good with it. They were adults basically, and we see them whenever they come home from school,” Etta added.
“They asked me why I was leaving their dad, and when I explained, they told me that they understood and wanted me to be happy. I introduced them to Etta once she and I were officially dating, and they love her. So, my kids get the best of both worlds. My husband has a new fiancée, and she’s great. They now have four parents who love them. While we’re not changing diapers anymore, they’re both at that age where they still need guidance from us. Also, money. It’s about money a lot of the time.” Frances laughed. “Neither of them is dating anyone right now, but soon, they’ll both meet someone and probably bring them home. They know they can bring anyone to our house, and as long as they’re good to my kid, I don’t care what gender they are. They know I’ll love them no matter what, and so will their father. So, that’s it. Everything worked out when I finally met the person I was meant for. I don’t regret anything.I think I had to follow the path I followed to get here, and I wouldn’t ever regret my kids. I wish Etta and I had all those years together, of course, but I’ll always wish for more time with her. Now, we’re just going to have that.”
“More time?” Harlow asked.
“I’m selling the shop, Larissa,” Etta said.
“Oh?”
“It’s not exactly doing well, but the building is worth something. Frances and I want to retire, and the money from the sale could afford us a nice retirement. Frances works from home right now, and she’ll keep doing that until she decides to finally quit, but I want to sell this place and focus on the next phase of my life. That’s more time with her and the kids when they come to town. Soon, they’ll be bringing people home, like she said, and our house might be filled with grandkids one day.”
“We want to get an RV then so that we can easily travel back and forth wherever they end up,” Frances added.
“Well, I’m sorry to see this place go,” Larissa said. “I assume whoever buys it won’t keep it as a bookstore.”
“I doubt it. It’ll become some trendy café or a clothing store, I’m sure. I’ll miss it, but I’m ready for something else.”
“When?”
“I’m going to put it on the market within the next month or so. Once it sells, whenever that is, we’ll have a going-out-of-business sale and get rid of whatever inventory we can. Then, that’ll be it. I’d like to keep you on until the last minute. The other part-timers will probably leave on their own before we close for good. If you can help with the end-of-business stuff, I’d really appreciate it. Frances will help, too, and I think between the three of us, we can handle it.”
“I’d be happy to help, but itdoesdepend on when it all happens. I’ll have school starting back up, and I’m teaching next semester and hoping to wrap up my doctorate soon.”
“I understand. If you can, you can. And if not, we’ll be okay.”
“Maybe I can help, too. I work during the weekdays, but I could help out on the weekends or something, if you need it,” Harlow offered.
“That’s very nice of you, but I couldn’t pay you, Harlow. We want to save as much as we can.”
“I don’t mind volunteering. If she’s here, I’d want to be here anyway.” She turned to Larissa. “Does that make me sound co-dependent? I’m not, I swear.”
Larissa laughed and replied, “No, it makes you sound sweet.”
“Well, we can figure out all of that later. Let’s finish our meal and this interview,” Etta suggested. “What else can we answer for you?”
???
“That was fun,” Harlow said when she followed Larissa into the garage.
