Page 31 of The Main Event

She was grinning, so I joined in. “And, what, your three parents are all one big, happy family now?”

“My mom and dad are still best friends,” she confirmed. “My dad and Rosie weren’t always tight, but they are now. We have a family dinner together once a week. My father is in Boston for work, and I know he dates when he’s over there, but when he’s over here he’s just part of the family.”

“Wow.” I didn’t know what to make of it. “You sound like you’re part of a really well-adjusted family.”

“I like to think so.” She sipped her martini and then asked the inevitable question. “What about you?”

“Oh, my family is the opposite of well-adjusted.” I tried to smile but it didn’t take. “My family is all about money. My father only cares about getting more money, and my mother only cares about what the money can get for her … like expensive teas at hard-to-get-in places where people who don’t have access to a Black card can’t visit.”

Daisy’s expression told me that she was surprised by my vitriol. “I’m sorry. That must have been hard for you growing up. Do you have siblings?”

“I’m an only child. I have a bunch of cousins, but they’re as insufferable as my parents. As are all my aunts and uncles. Money is the name of the game in my family.”

Daisy made a clucking sound with her tongue. “I guess that’s why George never talked about his family.” She looked sad. “Do you know why he chose you to give the hotel to?”

“No, and I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I want to believe that he saw something special inside of me. That he knew I would be the one to keep his dream alive.”

“Do you want to keep his dream alive?”

I held out my hands. “I have a business degree. That was expected of me. I never really wanted to go into business.”

“What did you want to be?”

“A race car driver.”

Daisy pressed her lips together, and I recognized she was fighting off a smile.

“It’s okay to laugh,” I said to her. “I know it was a ridiculous dream.”

That had her sobering in an instant. “There’s no such thing as a ridiculous dream,” she argued. “Dreams are what give us buoyancy in life. I still think I would’ve made a great astronaut.”

“Except for the math,” I teased.

“Except for the math,” she conceded. “If you want to be a race car driver, be a race car driver.”

“High speeds make me nauseous.”

Her smile was back. “Well, then get some anti-nausea medication. You can still be everything you want to be. Just decide what that is and go for it.”

“Racing doesn’t exactly hold the appeal of my youth any longer,” I admitted. “I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life, though.”

“Meaning you think you’re still going to sell the hotel,” Daisy surmised.

“I don’t know.”

“Then maybe you should take some time to think about it.”

“How much time, though? I feel as if I only have so much time until I have to make the decision.”

“I can’t answer that for you.” Daisy looked rueful. “I can’t make your choices for you. You’re going to have to figure out that on your own.”

And, because she was right, I simply nodded. “I guess I’d better get to thinking.”

WE TALKED ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHINGover dinner. I wanted to know what it had been like to grow up in Salem. She asked a lot of questions about my family and didn’t seem to like any of my answers.

The food was great. The drinks were exceptional. I almost didn’t want the meal to end when we were wrapping up. Not that it had been a date or anything. It had been the opposite of a date.

“Well, this was enlightening,” I said to her as we walked outside.

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