Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Do we have it all?” she asks. “I’m going to be disappointed if I’ve missed something, because I’ll come back next week and this will be a fly-fishing display. Christmas Town will be sold out.”
“Let’s check.” I methodically scan the shelves to ensure we have one of everything. “Oh, there’s the tree. But that’s not on the display.”
“Let me see.”
I pull the box out and she gets her readers on to check the picture.
“This is beautiful,” she says. “And they didn’t put it out.”
I look back at the shelf. “Looks like it’s the only one left,” I say. “Maybe they didn’t see it.”
There’s genuine excitement in her eyes. “It will be the center of the entire town. Oh, sweetheart, I’m so glad you came today. It’s been a while since we went shopping together.”
“You’re right, Mom. It has been a while. And hopefully we won’t come Christmas Town shopping again anytime soon.”
“Who knows? This time next year, I might want to expand.” She’s grinning ear to ear. I don’t know if it’s because she’s decided to spend way too much money on a Christmas village, or if it’s because she’s happy to have me home.
We wheel the carts over to the cash registers. As we wait in line, Mom scoops up my hand. “Worth isn’t your father, Sophia. Don’t let the actions of one man taint your view of the world. You’ll rob yourself of the joy of living. I’m not proud of much in my life, but I have three healthy, funny kids. Now I get to find out what’s in store for me in the next chapter of my life. I’m determined to make the most of it. I want to ride a horse—I’ve never done that. I want to learn how to surf. And I’m going to date.”
I almost choke on my own tongue. Date?
“I deserve a good life, Sophia. And so do you.”
“And the cherry on the sundae is your Costco Christmas Town.”
“That too,” she says, bumping me with her hip.
“You really think you could trust a man again?”
“I think I’m not going to give up before I’ve even tried. Sounds like you didn’t give Worth a shot. Life never turns out quite how you expect, but we have to make sure we revel in the good parts.”
It’s absolutely bizarre to me that after twenty-five years of betrayal by her husband, my mom could even think about dating. She’s had a long time to process things, but she’s also never given up. Is that what I did? Gave up on Worth and me without ever giving us a chance? I let what happened with my dad erase the possibility for a future not built on lies and disaster. I never believed an alternative could be possible. But if Mom can still believe in love after all this time…
Shouldn’t I?
THIRTY-ONE
Worth
As I round the corner on Ninth Street, I take a sip from the unexpectedly excellent coffee I got on the way out of the bowling alley. Before today, I hadn’t bowled in over a decade. I’d forgotten how much fun it could be. Obviously we all wanted to win, but that’s not why I had fun. It was probably something to do with Bennett’s hyper-competitiveness or how entirely terrible Jack had been. We teased him relentlessly, but he took it in stride. I guess if you’re hanging out on Martha’s Vineyard every summer, there aren’t many opportunities to practice bowling.
Bowling, of all things. My friends’ support means the world, especially when my heart is breaking.
Avril’s half running, half walking up the street. I check my watch. She’s not even late. She must really want me to go the hotel route on this place if she’s prepared to be on time not once, but twice.
“Hey,” she says, beaming. She envelops me in a hug. “Thanks for coming.”
“Not a problem.”
“I just want you to keep an open mind. I had some plans drawn up.”
It’s only then I realize she’s got a cardboard tube in her hand.
“I thought it would be good to see the plans in situ.”
I’ve got to hand it to her, she’s determined. On any other day, I would have said yes just because she’s on time and clearly committed to the project, but today I’m going to figure out if I genuinely want to be involved with this hotel redevelopment. If I do, the decision’s easy. If I don’t, I’m not sure how to proceed. I might say yes because I can see how badly Avril wants this.
“Lead the way,” I say, holding out the keys for the place.
“Oh, I have my own set. How do you think I got architects in here?” She opens the doors and I resist the urge to ask how she managed to get a set of keys cut. I’d rather not know.