Page 33 of Summer Longing
Ruth had so many questions as they sat down at the table in the restaurant. Did Olivia have a boyfriend? How was work going? Had she seen her father lately? But she held back from asking any of them, still stuck in apology mode for the bumpy start to the weekend.
“I just don’t get it,” Olivia said. “How could you let those people move back in when you’ve paid for the house?”
It did sound crazy, now that she’d been forced to articulate it. “I don’t know. Maybe part of the reason is that this is such a close-knit town, and I want to feel like I belong. I don’t want to displace locals.”
Olivia shook her head. “Well, that brings up the question of why you chose this place to begin with.”
From her seat, Ruth could see across the water to the Long Point Lighthouse. The sight of it still gave her a deep pang. “Grandpa Lew brought us out here one summer when he was working on a big housing development nearby. I fell in love with it.”And fell in love.
Olivia scanned the menu. “I mean, there are a lot of closer beach towns.”
“This place has a very rich history,” Ruth said, as if that had anything to do with her decision to move.
“Yeah?” Olivia didn’t look up from the page.
“President Roosevelt and his wife stayed here when they visited to lay the cornerstone of the Pilgrim Monument—you know, that tower you can see from everywhere in town?”
The waitress appeared, and Ruth ordered a bottle of the Kongsgaard. Olivia had closed her menu but was now hunched over her phone.
“Did you know this was the place where the Pilgrims first landed in America? Here, not Plymouth.”
Olivia looked up. “Mother, no offense, but I didn’t come here for a history lesson. What’s going on? Why are you out here?”
She had been dreading this moment of truth, considering she had drawn Olivia out here with an ever-so-slightly misleading comment. She would delay the discussion as long as possible. At least until the wine arrived. “Let’s talk about you first. How are things going at work? You must be running that place by now.”
At this, Olivia cracked her first smile of the day.
“Well, not quite. Actually, I’ve been thinking it might be time for me to go out on my own.”
“Really?” Ruth said, smiling broadly now herself. “That’s exciting.” A woman after her own heart.
“How did you know when it was the right time to start your own company?” Olivia said.
The question nearly brought tears to her eyes. Her daughter, asking for advice! “I don’t think there’s ever an exact right time,” Ruth said. “At least, not one that is ever safe or easy. It’s just a matter of feeling you need to take the leap.”
The waitress arrived with the bottle of wine, and the uncorking and pouring of a tasting glass took far more time than Ruth would have liked. She didn’t want anything to break the moment between herself and Olivia. But then there was the ordering and the arrival of bread. And by the time they were left alone again, Olivia said, “Mother, just tell me the truth. Are you sick? What’s going on?”
Ruth reached for her wineglass and fortified herself with a large gulp. “Selling the company was a big adjustment for me,” she said slowly. “I’m still not sure I did the right thing.”
“Okay,” Olivia said. “But what does that have to do with—”
“I came out here for the next stage of my life. And at my age, realistically, there aren’t that many stages left.”
“Youaresick.” Olivia blinked rapidly, and Ruth saw the fear in her eyes. She was touched by the show of emotion, but she wanted to reassure her quickly. “No, I’m fine. I just—”
“You’re fine?” Olivia said, her eyes expressing an altogether different emotion. One much less gratifying for Ruth to witness. “Then what the hell am I doing out here?”
“Visiting your mother,” Ruth said. “Isn’t that enough?”
“You said you were, quote, getting your affairs in order. You always do this! You lie to me all the time.”
“Lie to you? When have I ever lied to you? And Iamgetting my affairs in order. I’m looking to buy a permanent home out here. And a burial plot.”
“Aburialplot?”
“Yes. I want my final resting place to be by the sea.” She had thought of this just a few days ago.
“By the sea? What about by Grandma Joan?”
