Page 32 of Second Chance in Charlevoix
“Whatever works for you.” He swiveled to face her. “Sometimes it’s best to just jump in and let things happen. There will be other races.”
“I guess so.” Was there a double meaning here?
He didn’t look convinced. “I’m impressed that you and your sisters made that decision to relocate. A move like that when you have established careers is pretty brave.”
“Or clueless. Take your pick.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” Tugging his shirt from his running shorts, he ran it over his face. The man definitely worked out. “From what I can see, your move might be the most radical. You know, from Florida to here. I think you can handle a marathon.”
“Maybe.” The blue stretch bandana he wore carried a logo from another run. “Do you compete a lot?”
“Sometimes. I like to keep my edge.” He tipped his bottle and took a healthy mouthful. “How are you settling in?”
Thinking back to the recent family meeting, Marlowe said, “Moving is a journey.”
Brad threw his head back and laughed. “Sorry butthat sounds like one of the dishtowels my residents have hanging in their kitchenettes.”
“But it’s true. Right now most of my stuff is in a storage unit. I wish I’d done a better job of labeling the boxes.”
“You sound discouraged.” Taking another swig, Brad peered at her over the bottle.
“Not really. I know everything will work out, even though changes keep popping up. One thing leads to another.” She filled him in about their move to Seth’s new home, which was scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
“That makes sense. Seth Barrett is a generous guy. If his place is on Horton Bay, it's bound to be nice. You'll probably like it.”
“I went over the other day to meet him and check out the house. It's very modern with open levels and lots of stairs. Gorgeous view of Lake Charlevoix.”
“You sound discouraged.”
Her ponytail was slipping. Marlowe ripped off the scrunchie and shook out her hair. Smiling, Brad seemed to watch every move. But back to business. Where was she? Seth’s house. “It's just that my youngest sister Izzy, who works bingo with me, has a baby girl. I miss them.”
He took another sip of his water. “Open levels? You’d have to really watch that baby. But I admire the way your family wants to staytogether.”
“Losing our parents so long ago was a factor. We became really close for a while.”
“Right. As I said, I remember that accident.” Brad dropped his head as if he was remembering. “Terrible, for sure. Your family had been here a long time. Everyone knew them.”
Marlowe had once thought she would never climb out of that loss. But even though she was in high school at the time, she became the family cheerleader. Her plans included family movie day, trips to New York to visit Uncle Monty and Aunt Cate. After Sam met Kurt, she’d urged her sister to marry him. Unfortunately she’d done the same with Izzy. That divorce still stung. “Somehow we all made it through. But marriage and our careers took us in different directions.”
“Oh, you were married?”
She shook her head. “No, but Sam was. Her divorce is very recent. That helped us come to our decision to relocate. Besides, I can’t see growing older and only seeing my sisters and aunt on holidays or a birthday here or there.”
Lifting her hair back into a ponytail, Marlowe felt that she’d shared too much. She bounced up. “Sorry, guess I’m blathering on.” Stretching out her legs, she stared out at the water.
“Not at all. Sounds like you know what's valuable in life.”
“I’d like to think so.” Glancing at him sideways, she decided Brad was a deep thinker. “It took coming together last holiday season before we recognized that.”
The waves were mesmerizing. With some men, she always had to be alert and on her game. A year ago, she would never have believed she could be this relaxed, standing at a picnic table with an attractive man. A man who might be too young for her. “How about your own family? You’re close?”
“Yep, Mom and Dad were high school sweethearts and they’re enjoying retirement together. Those two taught me the value of hard work and commitment.” His smile spoke of a good relationship with his parents.
“So how did you get into retirement facilities?” Since Brad didn’t seem to be leaving she sat back down. He was on a roll and she didn’t want to stop him.
Leaning forward, Brad rested his elbows on his knees. “When my grandmother needed a hip replacement, she was placed in a facility for rehab. But the facility wasn't quite up to snuff…know what I mean?”
He looked over and she nodded. “Sure do.” She pictured smelly halls and food that tasted like cardboard. Those were the images that appeared on the news anytime there was a problem. But that certainlywasn’t Tall Oaks, with its freshly baked bread and cookies.
