Page 49 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“Well, that was his assessment. I can only assume that he’d decided it didn’t bring him luck because things hadn’t worked out with Alicia.” She shook her head. “He fell into my embrace, in tears. He said he’d wasted his life, angry for too long at the cards he’d been dealt.”
Lauren could certainly sympathize.
“He also mentioned survivor’s guilt, which I didn’t understand. Then he offered the bracelet to me and said he owed it to the artist to strip away any negative feelings associated with it. It was meant for something better, he said. He asked me to give the bracelet away to someone who was full of life and possibility because then the luck that had missed him was sure to find the right person.” She smiled, a little chuckle rising up. “He said that if he could, from heaven, he’d tell me who the right person was.”
“Why not Stephanie? She’s full of life.”
“Stephanie had already gone off to college when he died, and it hadn’t occurred to me. But when Mary said that you were coming, and she couldn’t find the right gift to get you, something in my gut told me you were the one who should have it.”
Lauren wasn’t sure she was the right person at all. Was she full of life? Definitely not.
“It’s silly, but I felt like Phillip was urging me to give it toyou.” Her face fell into a more serious expression. “When you went up to your room early tonight, I was worried about you. Brody told me about your fiancé.”
The hairs on Lauren’s arms stood up with the mention of Mason. His memory had found its way to her even while she’d tried to avoid the thought of him by coming down to the kitchen tonight.
“It’s all a bit unreal after hearing about him.”
“What’s unreal?” Lauren asked.
“Phillip explained to me that night that lifeisthat sea glass: broken, jagged pieces, left to the elements. And yet, in the turbulence of the storms they are made beautiful. He said he could see the beauty now, but it was too late for him. He’d wasted his life being angry.”
Lauren’s breath was shallow while she absorbed Phillip’s explanation of the sea glass. Her own storms were overpowering her now, but were they also smoothing her, polishing her up for a better life? She certainly didn’t feel like it, although it was a nice thought. “Why was he angry? Did he tell you?”
She shook her head. “But he took both my hands and looked directly at me, and that was the moment that I realized that all the bitterness I’d seen in him over the years was actually fear. Of what, I’m not sure. Tears welled up in his eyes and he told me to go get my husband, Chuck. He sat with him that night and pleaded with Chuck to forgive him for being a terrible father.”
“Wow,” Lauren said, floored by the sadness of Phillip’s story.
“I do wonder if he had some hand in you getting it, or at the very least if there’s something bigger than us at work—call it luck, intuition, karma.”
“If I’m being honest, I don’t believe people can give us signs. Or that a bracelet can bring luck. I don’t believe in any of it at all.”
“Whatdoyou believe in?”
Lauren hadn’t considered that question since the day Mason died. She hoped that there was somewhere he’d gone to. There were times she swore she could feel him near her. “I believe in God, but it seems sometimes as though I’ve been overlooked.”
“Why?”
Lauren found herself opening up due to Melinda’s sincerity and the late hour. She explained exactly what happened to Mason and how she was managing. “I’m stuck and I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ve sold your business, changed where you live, started to work a new job, met new people. You’re only stuck in here.” She tapped her temple. “But I understand. I’ve been there. When Brody’s father and I didn’t work out, I was lost. I felt like I’d done something wrong to be abandoned. I still love him…” Her voice faded away as she drew inward.
“He left you?”
She nodded. “Last year. From the moment we married, he was barely there. I should’ve seen the warning signs then. But I thought that when Brody was born he’d change. Growing up, Brody barely knew his father—Chuck worked all the time. And they were so different. The only time Chuck would talk to him was to tell him that he needed to apply himself if he was ever going to succeed in life. He wasn’t around enough to see that Brody approached life differently than he did.
“I pleaded with him to stop spending so many hours at work. I tried to explain to him that he needed to have quality time with his son if he ever wanted a relationship with him. But Chuck hadn’t really had one with his own father.”
“That’s so terribly sad,” Lauren said. She’d seen firsthand that Brody was a good man.
“Yes. I do know, however, that like his father he has a good heart deep down, and he loves Brody. He’s just not great at showing it. I’ve left messages for him, telling him that. I just hope he doesn’t wait until the bitter end to see it, the way Phillip did. And my biggest fear is that the same trait was passed down to Brody.”
“Brody mentioned that he didn’t want to get married.”
“I know.” Melinda shook her head. “He doesn’t realize that all relationships aren’t like the one that Chuck and I had.”
“I can’t imagine never knowing the kind of love I had with Mason.”
“I wish Chuck had known it.” Melinda frowned. “I wishI’dknown it.”
