“You and me, both.”
six
ROBYN HELD THE oval platter carefully, looking for any cracks or nicks. On first glance, the piece was in excellent condition. She turned it over and saw the familiar stamp with an anchor and the words Davenport and Stone China on the back. She looked at Mindy.
“Davenport Flying Bird,” she said with a smile. “1805 to 1820.”
Mindy cheered. “I was hoping you’d say that. We have about two dozen pieces in the crates my sister sent. Supposedly they’re all the Davenport Flying Bird pattern. It’s too busy for me, but collectors are passionate about it.”
Robyn studied the exotic bird, the blossoms in orange, yellow and blue. “I see the appeal. I’m not interested in collecting it, but it’s a beautiful pattern. I’ll go through what she sent and catalog it, then look at the wish lists to see who will want to know about what pieces.”
Mindy offered clients a chance to keep a “wish list” on file, detailing items they were interested in buying, should they come up. The computerized lists allowed for easy searching when new items came in. Robyn had a feeling they would quickly sell everything that had been sent.
“I’ve never gotten into china,” Mindy said, opening another box. “I appreciate that you know as much as you do about it.”
“Compliments of my aunt Lillian. One of the rooms in her house has hundreds of teacups and saucers from all over the world. Some of them date back centuries. We used to spend hours up there, trying to date pieces. She has a few full sets of dishes, but mostly it’s the teacups.”
Mindy grinned. “One of these days, I’ll have to go with you when you visit her. I’m dying to see her house.”
“It’s pretty special.” More significant than the house was Aunt Lillian herself. “I should go see her this summer. She’s mentioned it a couple of times.”
“How old is she?”
“Ninety-four.”
Mindy grimaced. “Visit with her while you can. You’ll feel awful if she passes away and you didn’t make the time. This is our slow season. Take off time whenever you want.”
Robyn wasn’t looking for more guilt in her life, and she knew her boss was right. “I’ll look at my calendar.”
Mindy unwrapped a set of bowls, also in the Flying Bird pattern. She put them on a shelf, then glanced at the screen on her phone. Her mouth curved into a smile.
“Dimitri,” she said.
“You’re texting?”
“Some. Just little flirty stuff.” Mindy sighed dreamily. “After our last lesson, we talked for nearly half an hour. The man is so good-looking. When he touches me, I go up in flames.”
“He shouldn’t be touching you,” Robyn said flatly. “This is trouble. He’s a practiced seducer, and you’re getting involved in something you can’t handle.”
Mindy smiled. “Oh, I’ll handle it just fine.”
“Ugh.”
Mindy laughed. “Come on. This is good for me. My life is ordinary. Why can’t I have a little fun?”
“It’s not the fun I object to. It’s the screwing up your marriage.”
Mindy waved away the concern. “Payne will never know, but obviously you have strong feelings, so we’ll talk about something else. How’s the wedding planning?”
Robyn unpacked a few more plates. “Not great. Harlow’s mad at me.”
“That’s hardly new. She can be, um, difficult. Or is demanding a better word?”
Robyn laughed. “Either works. I mentioned selling the house, and she went off. She thinks I should take out a loan to pay off her father and keep the house until she gets married. Apparently she’s set on a backyard wedding, and I’m the bitch in the way of that.”
“Would you qualify for a loan on your own?” Mindy asked. “You work here, but it’s only part-time.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to anyone.”
Robyn had savings and monthly income from Cord buying her out of the business, but Mindy was right about her job. It was only a few hours a week and didn’t pay all that much. What if she didn’t qualify for a loan? While it would solve her Harlow problem, it would not be happy news. Her plan for the new house was to buy something smaller, and not on the water, so the price would be significantly less. She was hoping to just pay cash with her half of what she got from selling her current place.
“Maybe I’ll talk to Payne about buying your place,” Mindy said. “We’ve discussed getting a bigger house, and yours is beautiful. The view alone is a stunner.”
“You’re welcome to bring him over to walk through anytime,” she said, rather than point out that buying a new house with her husband while planning to have sex with her tennis instructor seemed ill-advised.
Robyn’s discussion with Mindy—the one about whether she would qualify for a loan—replayed in her mind as she drove home. The reality of it was startling.
When she and Cord had first married, they’d started the charter business together. She’d worked side by side with him, taking out one of the two boats they owned every single day. She’d continued working as a charter captain while pregnant, finishing up a fishing trip, then driving herself to the hospital to give birth to Harlow.
She’d strapped on her newborn and had gone back to work within six weeks. In the evening, she did the company’s books. By the time Austin had come along, they’d had more boats and could afford help, but she’d still done the books until about six years ago.
In the divorce, Cord had bought her out of half the business—something he’d fought, but the judge had agreed that she’d worked just as hard to establish the company as he had. The supporting paperwork, including proof that she had indeed taken out a fishing charter the day she’d given birth, had helped.
Cord had pushed to pay her off over ten years instead of five. The monthly payments covered her expenses, including the mortgage, but didn’t leave a lot left over. Robyn had never thought much about her income stream or the fact that in six years, she wasn’t going to have that check to support her.
“Why don’t I have a plan?” she muttered to herself as she drove toward her neighborhood.
Selling the house was a huge first step. Once she had her own, smaller place, she wouldn’t be spending more than half of her monthly checks on the mortgage alone. She could save that money. She also needed to look at her job situation and work more hours.
She saw Austin’s SUV in the driveway. She pulled inside the garage. Once in the house, she called out his name.