“Sounds good to me,” Noelle said with a laugh. She often volunteered to sit on cushions on the floor when there weren’t enough seats for their after-dinner board games held in the living room.
“See?” Dean smiled at Vivian. “There are some things you would like to use the money for.”
Vivian shook her head. “Even if I do get new countertops and buy a big wraparound couch and armchairs, there will be so much money left over. What could I do with it?”
“Maybe use it for the pub,” Alexis suggested brightly. “I know we just redecorated, but there’s got to be something we could do. Maybe add an extension to the back so that we have more dining space? Or replace the windows with newer ones—they do let out a fair amount of heat in the winter.”
“Those are good ideas,” Vivian mused, valuing her daughter’s suggestions but not feeling sold on them. She didn’t want to be too much of a wet blanket, but privately she was thinking that even those things would still leave plenty of money left over.
“What do you think, Julia?” Hazel asked, looking at her sister with an expression of concern. Julia still appeared somewhat close to tears, and Vivian could tell that Hazel was trying to cheer her.
Julia shook her head. “I don’t know. I know you’ll figure out something wonderful to do with the money, Mom.” She offered her mother a watery smile. “I’m just still hung up on the fact that Dad did that. All my life, I trusted him completely, and I –” She stopped herself, taking a deep breath. “I keep thinking about Quinn and Macey. Especially after just giving birth, I feel so protective of both of them. I would do anything for them—and I can’t imagine keeping something so important from my child. Dad hid his debts from us, but he also hid that money, and we didn’t have it when we really needed it. Everything turned out okay, but what if it hadn’t?”
Alexis, who was sitting next to Julia, wrapped her arms around her sister. “I know it’s hard to think about. Dad made mistakes, and we all wish he hadn’t made them. I’m sure he wished he hadn’t made them too. Just try to focus on the fact that he was trying to make things better. I find that comforting, even though I’ll agree that this all feels very emotionally confusing.”
Julia nodded, smiling a little. “Okay. I’ll try to think of it that way.”
“I’m sorry I had to tell you all this,” Vivian said, feeling her heart go out to her children. She never wanted them to feel troubled or distressed, and she wished she hadn’t been the bearer of bad news. “I considered concealing it from you, but I thought that you would all prefer to know. And besides, I need help deciding what on earth to do with all this money.”
“You did the right thing, Mom,” Dean assured her, smiling at her. “It’s tough to hear, but we all definitely would rather know than not.”
Murmurs of agreement went around the table.
“Maybe that’s how Dad felt,” Hazel said softly after a moment. “He didn’t want to tell us because he didn’t want to cause us any distress.”
Tears brimmed in Vivian’s eyes again. “I think you’re right, Hazel. He always tried to protect us.” She let out a long sigh and then forced a smile onto her face for her children. “We’ll figure out something to do with that money. I don’t think The Lighthouse Grill needs an extension, and I love our old windows, I think they help give the place its cozy atmosphere. And I’m not really one for cruises, I’m afraid. I like the idea of putting the money toward the pub, but thanks to the way you all pulled together when it was in danger, there’s nothing that needs a large budget put toward it at the moment.”
“We did do pretty good, didn’t we?” Alexis said with a grin.
Her siblings laughed at her cocky demeanor.
“That was a really bonding experience,” Dean said. “And I’m proud of the way we handled it. It would have been nice to know that the money was upstairs in the attic all along, but I feel really proud of what we did together—and we wouldn’t have had a chance to do that if we’d known about the money. That’s definitely a silver lining in all this for me.”
“That’s a good point, Dean,” Hazel said. “I’m really proud of us too.”
Vivian smiled, glad that her children were choosing to see the situation in a more positive light. “I’m relieved to hear that you all feel that way. I’m definitely proud of you too. That’s one of my favorite memories of us as a family—the way we banded together to save the pub. It makes the fact that The Lighthouse Grill is still going strong sweeter, somehow. I’ll think about what to do with the money. For now, I’ll simply keep it all safe until I can settle on the best way to use it.”
“That sounds great, Mom.” Alexis nodded. “Take all the time you need. That money isn’t going anywhere.” She looked around the table brightly. “Is everyone finished eating?”
“Looks like it,” Noelle said, grinning. “Are you implying that it’s time for dessert?”
“Yay dessert!” Samantha exclaimed.
Jacob and Dean cleared the dishes while Hazel and Alexis got out the rich Oreo pie and cut it into slices. Soon they were all enjoying the delectable dessert while playing a trivia game that Julia had on her phone. The atmosphere of joy and camaraderie seemed to have returned, but every once in a while, Vivian noticed one of her children looking troubled.
Once they’d all moved into the living room for another couple of board games, Vivian went into the kitchen to get a pitcher of decaf coffee for everyone who wanted some. A moment later,Terrence appeared behind her, and she hurried into his embrace gratefully.
“I came in here to check on you,” he said softly, rocking her back and forth a little in the hug. “I know that was tough for you.”
“It was.” She shook her head. “In some ways it was easier than I expected, and in other ways, it was harder. I don’t even like thinking about what to do with all that money. Part of me feels like I don’t want to use it, or even keep it.”
“Why?”
“I put a brave face on for the kids, but I still have so many conflicting emotions concerning Frank’s handling of the money. That’s very challenging for me. It’s like whatever I use the money for might always make me think of Frank’s betrayal, and I just want to not think about it.”
“I can understand that.” He kissed her head. “All of the emotions that you’re feeling are valid. And remember that you don’t need to feel rushed about making a decision in regard to the money. Your kids are right—it’s not going anywhere. It can stay where it is until you think of something to do with it.”
She nodded, glad that he was there by her side to reassure and support her. “You’re right. I’ll try to just put it out of my mind for now. When something comes along that I want to put the money toward, I’ll know.”
