Page 57 of Over the Verdant Hills
He greeted his dad and asked how his day was and asked about his mom too.
His dad chatted for a bit, and then he threw a bombshell at Josiah.
“I’ve decided to retire.”
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Josiah said immediately, pausing in getting the dishes out of the dishwasher and putting them away, and he stopped, leaning against the counter. “Is there any particular reason why?” he asked, wondering if there was something that his parents were going to tell him about his mom’s health.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that your mom isn’t getting better. Each day, she seems to get a little worse. The hospital offered me a package, and I took it. We’re going to move to New Mexico, and we’ll be selling the house.”
“Wow. That’s a lot to digest.”
“We assumed you would be coming with us. They need handymen in New Mexico just as much as they do here. I mean, they probably don’t have as many yachts,” his dad said, his eyes sparkling with that little hint of laughter that always lurked around the corner with his dad.
“I’m sure they probably don’t. But you’re right. They have buildings of some kind.”
“Yeah. And you’re industrious, you do good work, and I don’t think you’d have trouble finding a job.”
“I don’t think I would either. But maybe you and Mom want to have some time with the two of you.”
“We wouldn’t turn it down, but we didn’t want you to think we were tossing you out on the curb. I suppose I should have waited for your mom, because she could say it all better. But we’ve been talking about it for a while, and I just turned in my papers at work to say thatI’m retiring and taking the package they offered. I guess it was on my mind, so I wanted to tell you.”
“Thanks. I hope that I’m not too much of a nuisance.”
He knew he wasn’t. He had helped with his mom. If he hadn’t been there, they probably would have had to hire a nurse for her on the days his dad had to stay in Blueberry Beach. So there was no question in his mind about whether or not his parents wanted him. But to New Mexico… He wasn’t interested. And it wasn’t just because he loved Raspberry Ridge and the town he’d grown up in. It was…partly because of Claire. And his hope that maybe there was something growing between them. Something more than just being friends.
Still, even if it weren’t for Claire, he didn’t want to move. He was happy where he was, although…it was sad to think about his parents leaving.
Was this how Claire had felt with her grandma? Like her world had been rocked a little bit, and everything that she’d thought was going to be happening was changing?
“You know you’ve been more help than anything. I guess your mom and I just assumed you’d be coming. It…is going to be a surprise to her that you think you might not.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m not. I love it here. I love you guys, and I’ll miss you. For sure. But I can’t imagine living anywhere but Raspberry Ridge.”
That wasn’t entirely true. He couldn’t imagine living somewhere else, unless Claire was beside him. Boston, perhaps, although he wouldn’t want to. Boston just seemed dark to him, although he’d never even been there. Maybe he’d like it better than what he thought he would.
“Would you be interested in buying the house?” his dad asked. “Your mom and I haven’t talked to a real estate agent yet, but we were going to do that on Monday. We figured we’d list it. With the market the way it is, we didn’t think it would last long. Plus, we’re going to price it slightly below market value for a quick sale. I’ll be done at the hospital in two weeks, and we’re already looking at real estate in New Mexico.”
“Wow. You guys aren’t messing around.”
“She didn’t tell you, but at her last appointment, the doctorrecommended she go somewhere warmer. He said that another winter like we had this winter would do more harm than good. It made sense to us. But it just took a while before all the pieces fit together. The hospital just happened to offer this retirement package to those of us who have enough years to qualify for it. After that, it was pretty much a no-brainer.”
“Yeah. I can see how that’s perfect for you guys. And maybe it’ll be nice to have a few years of empty nesting, without your kid underfoot all the time.”
“You’ve never been underfoot. We’ve always appreciated you, and if you wanted to come, we’d find a place where we could all live together. If you are truly not interested in going with us, we might find an over-55 community where we’d involve ourselves and enjoy a few years of activities.”
“The more active you stay, the healthier you’ll be.”
“I wonder if your mom might not be healthier if we got her doing some exercise. I thought once we moved to New Mexico, I’d see if we couldn’t try a few things.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Josiah said. He supposed he was a little bit in shock. It was a lot to take in.
“You didn’t answer me about the house.”
“No. I’m sorry. I… Could I have a day or so to think about it?”
“Sure. I told you we’re going to list on Monday, but we can tell the real estate agent that we have one person who might make an offer on it before it goes live.”
“That’d be fine. How much are you asking for it?”
