“It was. My sister thinks Mom viewed Dad as a ticket out of a bad family situation. I assume Dad was dazzled by her style and charm and the sophistication she worked hard to hone. I expect his image of her may have tarnished through the years, but Lauren says he never stopped loving her.”
“I imagine it would be hard to sustain a marriage long distance. Your mom went with you to San Francisco and New York, didn’t she?”
“Yes. It was supposed to be a six-year deal. The agreement was that she’d return home when I turned eighteen. But while she was working as a concierge in New York, she met one of the regular hotel guests from France—who happened to be an executive with a global luxury goods company. Instead of coming back to Hope Harbor when my eighteenth birthday rolled around, she filed for divorce. A year later, she married Philippe.”
Paris address explained.
“That had to be hard on your dad.”
“I’m sure it was. And it wasn’t a bed of roses for Lauren all those years, either. Not only did she have an absentee mother, but Dadworked weekend delivery jobs to help pay my ballet-related bills. My career took a toll on both of them. Mom walking out was the final blow.” She sighed. “During this visit, Lauren’s shared quite a few details about their life here. Grateful as I am for my success, I’m beginning to wonder if it was worth the price they paid.”
Aaron’s throat tightened.
Guilt was a burden that could weigh you down, and hers was undeserved.
“You aren’t responsible for the choices your mother made, nor for the choices made on your behalf as a child. And guilt can be a curse.”
She studied him. “Based on that comment, I’m guessing you struggle with guilt too.”
It was a comment, not a question. One he could brush off if he chose.
But she’d been upfront with him. It seemed fair to reciprocate.
“Most of my guilt is related to Isabel.” He clenched his fist in his lap. “My wife and I were committed to honoring our vows, but I worry that Isabel may have picked up on the tension between us, despite our efforts to hide it in her presence. Gramp certainly did, though I didn’t find that out until after the fact.”
“Children do seem to be far more adept at tuning in to nuances than we sometimes give them credit for, but no one could fault you for trying to protect your daughter. That’s admirable. And I suspect you paid a price for doing that. Living in a strained relationship day after day would take a toll.” She wrapped her arms around herself as the breeze picked up and the temperature began its evening dip.
She was getting chilly.
But he wasn’t yet ready for this interlude to end.
He shrugged out of his tux jacket. Draped it over her shoulders. “Better?”
“Much.” She snuggled into the folds. “But won’t you be cold?”
While sitting next to a beautiful woman who kicked his pulse into high gear?
Was she kidding?
“No.” Best to leave it at that.
Yet she’d given him an opening to talk about his relationship struggles, and maybe he should take it. Because despite their recent acquaintance, his gut said he could trust this woman with his secrets.
He watched a pelican sail past overhead, its oversize orange beak vibrant against the fading, end-of-day blue sky, and made his decision. “Following up on your last comment, yeah, there were some tough years. To be honest, with the twenty/twenty vision of hindsight, I see now the marriage was a mistake from day one.”
“Did you know each other long before you got serious?”
“Long enough. She was an Oregon native too, from Bend. We met in college in Eugene and married the summer after graduation.”
“And moved here?”
“No. To Coos Bay, where we had both gotten jobs. She came from a blue-collar family like I did, and she had her sights set on a corporate career. I did too, in those days. Dad worked in the mill all his life, and I knew he wanted more for me than that.”
She scrutinized. “Didyouwant more?”
No surprise that his sharp, discerning date had drilled straight to the heart of the matter.
“I thought I did, but looking back, I think I went to college more to please Dad than because I had any great ambition to join the world of movers and shakers. I didn’t want to disappoint him, so I stuck with the corporate gig even though I quickly discovered an office job wasn’t a good fit. Olivia, on the other hand, thrived in the corporate setting. And she had ambition enough for both of us.”
