Page 104 of The Husband Hour
“Of course! I don’t mean to shove you out the door.”
“Not a problem, Henny.”
Craig followed him up the stairs. “Do you need more time here?”
“You tell me,” Matt said, letting him into his room.
Craig scanned Matt’s index cards while Matt booted up the computer and opened the file of Stephanie’s most recent interview.
“Just grab that bench over there…yeah, drag it over here and we can share it.”
Side by side, they watched the footage of Stephanie, nervous and emotional, answering Matt’s questions. When it was over, Matt turned to Craig.
“What do you think?”
Craig drummed his fingers on the desk. “There’s no question you have to use it.”
Matt had been afraid he’d say that.
You knew Rory’s flaws but still loved him, right? Then you have to trust that the world will too.
Could he do this film right without hurting Lauren?
There was no dignified way to walk on hot sand. Beth sprinted from the house to the ocean, scanning the beach for her daughter and husband. She turned left at the water’s edge, stepping around shell fragments and small marooned jellyfish the size of mini-pancakes.
A few yards away, near the lifeguard stand, she spotted Stephanie’s long blond hair. Howard was dressed in shorts, a polo shirt, and a baseball hat.
Seeing him from a distance was like looking back through time; he was twenty-five again. Maybe Howard actually looked younger after some freedom from the daily grind at the store. And maybe her weeks at the beach were having an effect on her too.
Howard noticed her and waved. Okay, that was a good sign. A friendly start.
“Mom!” Stephanie said, following her father’s gaze. “Look who showed up!”
“So I see. This is a surprise,” she said, accepting Howard’s kiss on the cheek. She realized that she’d missed him the past few weeks, and not just in sentimental moments like the Fourth of July fireworks. As challenging as it was to be together, it felt wrong to be apart.
“Welcome home,” she said, pointed in her use of the word home. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
They walked a few feet away, out of Stephanie’s earshot.
“I’ve left you messages,” she said, trying not to sound too accusatory.
He turned toward the ocean. “I’m sorry. I wanted to use the time apart to think.”
Swallowing her hurt, Beth said, “I used the time apart to think too. And I might have found a solution to our problem.”
He looked at her, crossing his arms. She explained her idea for subleasing the store. He seemed incredulous at first, but as she spoke, he began nodding.
“I can’t believe I didn’t consider that,” he said.
“You’ve just been too close to the whole thing. Come on,” she said. “I have paperwork back at the house to show you. And some good leads on tenants. But we have to follow up.”
They walked back to the house and Howard called out to Stephanie, “I’ll see you and your sister at dinner.”
“Dinner?” Beth said.
“I thought we’d go out to eat. I made a reservation at Tomatoes.”
She smiled.
