Page 51 of Against the Current

“Uh-oh,” Victor teased. “Josh, did you hear that? She’s got an idea.”

Josh squeezed her hand in return and said, “I’ll do whatever she says.”

Esme appeared with a bottle of wine and filled Jackie’s glass as Jackie delivered her plan of attack: The Sutton Bed-and-Breakfast.

“The place is huge enough to house both Ryan’s family and a bunch of guests,” Jackie said. “Or if Ryan and Trisha don’t want to go on living there, maybe Josh and I could take over? We could live and work at the bed-and-breakfast and meet travelers from all over the world. Heck, Ryan and Trisha could take over our place.”

Josh’s eyes glowed with excitement. “I could build new furniture. We could drive to antique sellers all over New England! We could give each room a theme. New paint jobs. Everything.”

“A theme! I like the sound of that,” Esme said.

Victor waved his hand. “I thought you wanted to sell! I thought you wanted to retire!”

Jackie lowered her gaze.

“Think of the beauty that exists for you after the sale,” Victor instructed. “Think of long afternoons of nothing to do. Think of zero stress. Think of spending more time with your grandchildren!”

“You’re not retired yet,” Esme pointed out to Victor.

“I’m basically retired,” Victor said. “All I do is lie around. When a decent idea comes to me, I write it in my notebook and put it in the book.”

“He is very lazy. That’s for sure,” Esme whispered to Jackie, smiling.

Victor pretended to swat her. “Goodness, Jackie. I’ve never seen you like this.”

You were gone for years, Jackie wanted to say.We were strangers.

Instead, she said, “The real estate agency has taken a hit the past few years.”

Victor’s eyes widened with surprise. As quickly as Jackie could, she outlined what had happened: the stolen clients, the poor business advice, the lack of funds, her inability to retire.

“Who is this real estate agent?” Victor asked. “Give me a name.”

“Do you know real estate agents in the area?” Jackie asked doubtfully.

Victor sighed and shook his head. “I guess not.”

“But Jackie, you’re always ready with a new idea, a new way forward,” Josh said lovingly. “If you decide not to sell the Sutton Estate, we’ll open the bed-and-breakfast. And if the bed-and-breakfast fails, we’ll figure something else out. We’re only in our sixties. We have time for a thousand-plus mistakes after this.”

“Ha,” Jackie said, trying to smile.

Esme decided to change the subject. “How is it going with the new set of grandkids?”

For a little while, Jackie and Josh gushed about Gavin, Willa, and Rudy. Josh spoke at length about Gavin’s mathematical mind, and Jackie talked about Willa’s ability to remember song lyrics after just one listen.

“The girl’s a whiz,” Josh agreed, tapping his temple.

“Who’s Trisha, anyway?” Victor asked, reaching for the bottle of wine to give himself a refill. “Is she from around here? Would I know her last name?”

Jackie’s stomach tied into knots. Victor hadn’t been around during the Trisha drama. He hadn’t been at the Sutton Estate on the day of the wedding.

“I can’t believe you don’t know,” Jackie said after a dramatic pause. “I figured somehow, some way, Mom would have found a way to call you and talk your ear off about it.”

Victor raised his eyebrows. Esme refused to look at any of them and focused on a corner of the room where a picture frame hung crookedly. Esme was probably thinking about her ownloneliness during that era. She’d been a single mother with three daughters. How did she ever forgive Victor? Jackie wondered now.

“Trisha is a Reed,” Jackie said under her breath.

Victor’s face broke into an outrageous smile. “You’re kidding.”

---