Page 60 of Captiva Book Club

Christopher nodded. “She does. I thought I’d talk to you first, but I’m going to ask him his opinion. The other thing is that I want her to take these ten days and relax. I want her to talk about her feelings, but I also want her to chill, without any expectations. We’re going to hang out at the beach tomorrow. I think that will help.”

“Becca was born and raised on this island. The water always soothes her. And Chris, remember Becca isn’t the only one struggling. Don’t dismiss your anxieties. You need to rest too, okay?”

He nodded. “I will, Mom. I just want her and the baby to be okay.”

“They will be, Chis,” Maggie assured him. “You’re a good husband, and you’re doing everything right. Just keep being there for her and keep talking to her. She needs to know she’s not alone in this, even if it feels overwhelming right now.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, bending down to hug her. “Love you.”

Maggie squeezed his arm. “Love you, too, honey. Just remember, worrying is part of being a parent. But you’re strong, and so is Becca. You’ll get through this together.”

Sarah sat in the living room, waiting for Trevor to come home. She’d been trying to find the right time to talk to her husband about her decision. Initially seething over Trevor’s actions, she’d since calmed down and was ready to have a productive conversation. With so much going on with her mother and the preparations for Christmas, she’d put her feelings aside to keep the peace within her family. The result was more time to think about what was bothering her. When she finally figured it out, she decided she couldn’t delay their talk any longer.

“Hey, babe,” Trevor said as he kicked off his sneakers and pulled his t-shirt over his head.

“How was your run?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

“Great. It wasn’t as hot as yesterday’s run. We may not have a white Christmas, but I think Captiva might see temps in the sixties. I’ve got to get in the shower.”

Sarah wanted to stop him but thought it might be better to wait. She needed a few more minutes to collect her thoughts. When he returned to the living room after his shower, dressed in comfortable shorts and a fresh t-shirt, Sarah made her move.

“Trevor, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Sure, let me get a bottle of water. Do you want one?”

“No, thanks,” she answered, her voice steady, though her heart began to race.

He joined her in the living room, sitting across from her, his expression curious but not yet concerned.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last few days. I have to admit, if we were having this talk last Friday, we’d probably have had a fight.”

“Uh-oh, what did I do?” he asked, a half-smile on his face, though there was an edge of worry in his tone.

“Do? You remember when I asked you not to talk to Steven about your idea until I had a chance to talk to Ciara about it?”

She could tell he immediately understood where she was going with this discussion.

“Oh man, right, my bad. I’m sorry. You know how excited I’ve been about this; it completely slipped my mind. How did you know I’d talked to him?”

“He called Ciara to ask her when he might meet with her boss. Naturally, Ciara called me asking about it. I was going to talk to you about this right after he called. I asked him to hold off until after the holidays, because there is just too much going on.”

“What did he say?” Trevor asked.

“He was cool about it, said he understood and looked forward to seeing us at Christmas.”

Trevor rubbed his chin and sighed. “Honey, I’m so sorry, I really blew it.”

Sarah rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time.

“As I said, I was upset initially, and now I’m glad we had this experience, because it got me thinking about my part in this whole thing.”

“What are you talking about? You and Ciara are crucial to this project.”

Sarah laughed, though it was tinged with frustration.

“First of all, Trevor, it’s not a project yet. I know in your mind it is, but it’s only an idea at this point. What I was upset about was that you didn’t respect me enough to hold off and wait until I gave you the go-ahead. You ran with it, and my opinion wasn’t a consideration. If you thought I was so crucial to this going forward, you make it hard to believe that’s the case.”

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