Dawson turned back to the water, his jaw clenching. “Grandma, you shouldn't say things like that."
"No, it's okay,” Dawson said, reeling in his fishing line. "Speaking of my bills, I need to make a quick phone call to the mortgage company. I had a question about our taxes. You ladies enjoy your talk," Dawson said, jumping up as quickly as he could.
As he walked away, Colleen stared at him, a sly smile on her face. He had now joined Lucy in the ranks of stranding someone else with SuAnn.
Chapter Nine
Colleen couldn't get away fast enough. Dawson was savvy, she'd give him that. Her grandmother had reeled her in, patting the table across from where she was sitting.
"You're not going to run off right now, are you?"
"Grandma, I actually have a date with Tucker tonight."
SuAnn looked down at her watch. "It's not late enough for a date yet. Have a seat. Talk to your old grandma for a few minutes."
“Okay,” Colleen said, begrudgingly. It wasn't that she didn't love her grandmother, but she didn't relate to her at all. Julie had not been the kind of mother that SuAnn was. She had always been encouraging, rarely critical, probably because she had grown up the way she did.
"So, tell me about this Tucker."
"Well, he's a toy inventor. We work for the same company now. He's a wonderful person." Giving her grandmother as little information as possible was always the best route.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Do you see yourself settling down with this boy?"
"Well, first of all, he's a man, Grandma. And second of all, he proposed recently but I said no." SuAnn’s eyes bugged out of her head.
"You said no? Colleen, you should never say no when a man proposes. He may never ask again."
Colleen laughed. "I love him, and I think we'll get married one day. But, I'm not ready."
SuAnn shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Dear, you need to rethink that. If this boy has a nice job and is good to you, you need to grab him while you can. There are so many single women out there. Lots of competition. You're never going to find the perfect one, so what's the sense in waiting?"
“Didn't you just leave your husband? You should understand better than anyone that you don't get married until it's the right person and the right time."
“You said you think he's the right person. What difference does it make if it's next month or ten years from now?"
"Because I'm not ready. And that's that. Look, I've got to get going. I don't want to keep Tucker waiting."
"I think you're keeping Tucker waiting right now," SuAnn called to her as she walked away. "You need to strike while the iron is hot!"
Colleen laughed as she made her way back to her car. Her grandmother really was something.
Meg walked down the sidewalk, looking at her phone. Christian was having trouble getting the baby to sleep, and she was on her way to her group session.
She and Darcy had become fast friends, although they had very different personalities. But she loved the fact that Darcy spoke her mind. It reminded her a little bit of her grandmother, but she found it endearing on Darcy. Not so much with her grandmother.
"Hey, there, Meg!" Dixie said. She was standing outside of the bookstore, lining up some books on a little metal shelf that they kept outside when the weather was good.
"Hey. How’s business today?"
"Pretty good. Why don’t you come on in. We got some new mango peach tea I wanted you to try."
"Sure. I have about ten minutes before my meeting anyway."
The two women walked inside, and Dixie poured her a glass of tea. They sat down at the table with Dixie telling the only other customer in the store to come get her if she needed any help.
"Boy, I've got to get off my feet today. One of the side effects of my Parkinson's medications is that it gives me fluid around my ankles if I'm on my feet too much.” She put her feet up on the chair across from her.
“How are you feeling?"
"Good. I'm still alive and kicking, and as long as I wake up on this side of the ground, I think I'm doing good."
Meg laughed. She loved being around Dixie with her energetic personality. It gave her hope that she could grow old and be happy like Dixie was.
"So, I guess you saw that my grandmother is the owner of the bakery?"
"Yes, I've heard. I haven't seen her yet, although she's not a real big fan of mine."
"Well, that's because she's jealous. She doesn't like that you have such a great relationship with Mom. She is sort of a competitive type."
Dixie laughed. "Well nobody can take away somebody's mother. I'm just your mother's friend.”
“My mother thinks of you more like a mother than her own, but we won't say that to my grandmother."
Dixie laughed. "Yes, let's not say that. "
“Grandma can be very difficult. I ran into her yesterday and she told me to stop going to group counseling meetings because I didn't need to be airing my dirty laundry in public."
Dixie looked stunned. "She said that?"
"She did."
"Well, I hope you're not going to listen to her. You need to do what's right for you."
Meg smiled gratefully. "Thank you. And this tea is amazing!"
“It is good, isn’t it.” Dixie smiled at her. “You know, you have much more light in your eyes today than I've seen in a while."
"I'm feeling better. The doctor adjusted my hormones, and I have to say those meetings are actually helping me. I met a new friend, and I'm starting to feel like my old self again."
Dixie reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "And it will only get better from here."
William sat at his desk, staring out the window over the city. He was thankful to at least have a park near his office building, although it was nothing like looking out over the ocean or being able to walk down to the marsh anytime he wanted.
He missed Seagrove more than he would've thought. But, mostly, he just missed Janine. Her laugh. The sweet smell of her thick, curly hair. Her snarky comments and goofy jokes.
So many times, he had typed her number into his phone, intending to call her and tell her how much he missed her. But what good would that do? She had already said she didn't want a long distance relationship, and really how would that ever work anyway?
He felt like calling her might just be prolonging the inevitable. Still, he really wanted to hear her voice and know that she was okay.
He usually talked to his mother a few times a week, and so far he had refrained from asking much about Janine. What if she was starting to date other people? What if she hated him? These were things he just preferred not to know.
Going home to an empty apartment every night was getting kind of depressing, even after only a few weeks. He knew that he needed to get on with his life and build something new, but it was hard.
He hadn't expected to miss that little island so much. But, there were no big opportunities there, and he had to go in the direction that would allow him to build his career. If there was one thing his father had instilled in him at a young age, it was that a man needed to work hard and be strong.