Page 29 of The Summer of Us

Then I did something I never thought I would do. I told the truth about where I had been and what I had done. He listened in silence, whistling low when I finished.

“Wow. He was some piece of work.”

I acknowledged his words with a nod. I felt exhausted after telling him. Drained. But I was done hiding. I was also done talking about myself.

“What about you, Michael? What has life been like for you?”

For the first time, I saw a cloud of sadness pass over face, and his smile faded.

“I’m still here,” he stated.

“Here, as in Mission Cove? Or the world in general?” I asked.

He scrubbed his face. “Both, I suppose. There were a few years I wanted to leave Mission Cove, but the bottom line was, despite your father and his underhanded ways, I loved this town.” His voice dropped. “I loved Molly Jones, too.”

I remembered they had dated all through high school. “And now?”

He was quiet for a moment, filling his cup, then taking a long sip. “She got pregnant the last year of school. We got married.”

I kept silent, knowing there was more to his story.

“It was hard to give up on my dreams. I wanted to go to university—into business management. But I had a family I needed to look after.”

“It must have been difficult.”

“At times. But my son, Jesse, and my wife made up for it. Then a few years later, we had a daughter.” He hesitated, his eyes blinking rapidly. “My mom died not long after Jenny was born.”

“I’m sorry, Michael.”

He cleared his throat. “Not long after that, I was able to buy the dry-cleaning business from Old Man Tate. Molly got a job at the day care, and things were going good for us. Some unknown benefactor gave a bunch of people in town the chance to buy their buildings outright—dirt cheap.” He cocked his head, studying me. “Happened after your father died. Know anything about that?”

I shook my head, trying to look surprised and puzzled. That had given me a lot of pleasure. Giving back to the people my father had stolen from for years, but I intended to keep it anonymous.

“Interesting turn of events,” I mused.

He looked skeptical. “Isn’t it just?”

“So, you bought the building?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“I couldn’t refuse at the price and terms it was being offered for. Luckily, people still need dry cleaning and laundry done, so we stayed busy. Not as busy as I need at times, but I get by.”

I sensed there was more. “Good. So, things are going well for you.”

“They were. Then Molly got sick.”

The way he stated it, I knew Molly hadn’t survived.

“Michael, I’m sorry to hear that.”

This time, he didn’t try to hide his emotions. “Breast cancer. She fought so hard, but in the end, it won.”

“How long ago?”

He wiped away the tears under his eyes. “Almost two years.”

“So now you’re a single dad, running a business and looking after your family.”

“Yeah. But I have great friends—” he indicated the kitchen with a jerk of his head “—including Sunny. She and Molly got closer after you were gone, and I know how much Sunny misses her as well. She’s been a great help, and my kids love her. I have other people, and they help out too.” He studied me in silence. “The town has changed, Linc. It’s a great place—better than you remember it. Thanks to the unknown benefactor, the community has become tight. We’re prospering.”