Page 63 of Winter in Paradise
Baker and Floyd head up the stone staircase to the main deck, with Anna and Cash following a few steps behind. Anna is plainly floored. Cash tries to remember what he felt like six days ago when he saw this place for the first time. He had been gobsmacked. Now he takes it for granted.
“Outdoor kitchen,” Baker says. “Pool, hot tub…”
“The pool has a slide!” Floyd shouts. “To another pool! This house has two pools, one on top and one at the bottom!”
Anna stands on the deck and takes in the view. “What was going on?”
“We’re still not sure,” Cash says. “The helicopter crashed in British waters. Dad’s boss, Todd, signed off to have his body cremated. We’re waiting for the ashes and for a report from the crash site investigators, but it’s tricky because the Brits are the authority, not the FAA or the coast guard. The pilot was killed—he was British—and a local St. John woman.”
“Local woman?” Anna says. “Did your father have a mistress here? Was he that cliché?”
“I think he might have been, yes,” Cash says.
They step into the kitchen, where Irene is sitting at the table. Her head is buried in her arms. She’s asleep.
“Your poor mother,” Anna says. “Don’t wake her.”
Irene raises her head, blinking. “Oh,” she says. She gets to her feet and offers a hand. “Hello, I’m Irene Steele.”
“Irene,” Anna says. “It’s Anna. Anna Schaffer. Baker’s wife.”
Irene steadies herself on the back of a chair. “Anna,” she says. “What are you doing here?” The question comes out as accusatory, just as Cash feared it might, but Anna wears a heavy suit of armor, so Irene’s tone bounces right off of her.
“I brought Floyd down,” she says, and she opens her arms. “I am so sorry about all of this. How awful it must be for you.”
Irene stares at Anna for a moment and then she walks right into Anna’s arms and the two women embrace, and Cash is as amazed that his mother is accepting comfort as he is that Anna is offering it—but he is also relieved.
Baker and Floyd enter the kitchen, Floyd gets a hug and a kiss from Grammie, and Baker announces that he’s taking Floyd down to look at the beach.
“That’s fine,” Anna says. “Then someone should probably drive us to our hotel.”
“Hotel?” Baker says.
“I got a suite at a boutique place in Chocolate Hole,” Anna says. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure how big this home was.”
“There are nine bedrooms,” Irene says. “Stay here, please.”
“Floyd will stay here,” Baker says. “Anna can go to the hotel.” With that, he takes Floyd’s hand and leaves the kitchen, shutting the side door firmly for emphasis.
Irene raises her eyebrows. “Is something going on?”
Anna says, “Baker and I are splitting. I’ve met someone else. Another surgeon at the hospital, actually. Her name is Louisa.”
Cash wishes he’d had a third margarita, or even a fourth, although he admires Anna’s ability to just come out with the plainspoken truth. Her tone is matter-of-fact and holds not even a hint of apology.
Irene opens her mouth, then closes it, then starts to laugh. Cash cringes. Why is he the one who has to bear witness to this confession? Why didn’t he go to the beach with his brother and nephew, or run upstairs to the guest room he has claimed as his own and hide under the bed? Why does he have to be standing here, watching his mother laugh at Anna’s moment of coming out? Irene laughs so hard that tears leak from her eyes. She’s trying to stop herself; she struggles to catch her breath.
“I’m sorry,” Irene says finally. “It’s just I didn’t think anyone else in the whole world could take me by surprise, but you’ve gone and done it. You’re leaving Baker for a woman?”
“A person,” Anna says, and Cash wants to applaud. “Another doctor, who also happens to be female, yes. I’ll apologize for being the one to break up the family, Irene, but I won’t apologize because Louisa is a woman.”
Irene nods. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you. I’m a bit self-absorbed these days, but I appreciate your being direct. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“I’m tired,” Anna says. “But thank you for asking.”
“It’s just as well,” Irene says. “I have a delicate matter to discuss with the boys.”
“Delicate matter?” Cash says. “Did you get news?”
