Page 5 of Until Forever

“I’ve already told you, Keith. It’s too late. The place is too far gone. It would take a fortune and a whole crew working on that place for months to save it. Demolition is already set for a week from now. There’s not enough time.”

“I know. I know all that,” I sighed. “But the last you could do it walk through the place with me. Explain to me what it needs. I know enough to spot the work it needs to be functioning again, and I know that’s too much to take on all at once. But if you could just explain the exact codes and issues it was condemned for, that would be a place to start, right?”

“I don’t know, Keith…”

“Come on, George. Do it in honor of my granddad, even if nothing comes out of it. Humor me on this, will you?”

He was quiet for a moment. “Alright,” he finally groaned. “Meet me at the marina tomorrow at noon. I’ll swing by on my lunch break and go over the citations with you. But that doesn’t promise anything, you got it? I’m only doing this, so you’ll let it go and move on. And so you won’t blame me for voting to have it condemned. The place is dangerous, Keith. Imagine Em or somebody wandering in there and having the whole place fall down on top of them!”

“I hear you. Fair enough. Just explain it all to me, and once I see it for myself, I’ll leave you alone, okay?”

He hung up, leaving me to go back to bed. Maybe it was all for nothing, but at least this way, I could explain to Derek exactly why the place had to be torn down for good. Even if he still blamed me for letting it get so far gone, maybe he’d understand why I wasn’t doing more now to save it. I think we both needed the closure of knowing the place was a lost cause and being told exactly why.

That hardly made it any easier for me to sleep, but I closed my eyes and tried to anyway.

3

KEITH

The next afternoon, I met George at the docks around Mullins Cove as planned. I went into it feeling optimistic, but that didn’t last long. I thought the whole thing would make me feel better, but it was quickly proving to do the opposite.

“All of the land around here shifts over time,” he explained. “There are a ton of underground cave systems in these parts, and the ground starts to give in around it after a while.”

“I expected the list of repairs and citations to be long, but…” All I could do was shake my head. “No wonder it was voted to be condemned.”

“I’m sorry, Keith,” he frowned. “If it’s any consolation, this structural damage has been around long before your granddad died.”

My worst fears were confirmed. I didn’t have the time or the money it would take to fix the place. He went through each of the glaring problems one by one, humoring me enough not just to state what they were, but also to explain what I’d have to do to correct them.

“It’s months of work and tons of money that I just don’t have,” I sighed. “I don’t even think my house would be worth the amount of money we’re talking about.”

“Even if you could fix the place up by some miracle, or rebuild it from scratch, what would you do then?” he asked. “You’d have all the boats to replace and maintain and the licenses to operate. You and your brother have a good thing going with Mullins Construction, Keith. I know this place is special to you and all, but I think it’s best to just let it go and move on.”

I nodded, dragging a hand across my beard as I stared down the dilapidated old marina—just as Derek and I had done the day before. He didn’t want to hear it anymore than I did, but George was right. At least I could feel a little redeemed in knowing the story might not have been any different, even if I had started working on the place years ago.

“I guess this is what I get for thinking things would work themselves out,” I sighed, then turned back to George. “Well, thanks for coming to meet with me anyway. I guess I’ll go update Derek on the bad news.”

Just as I reached to shake his hand, we were interrupted by the nasally voice of some guy who appeared to be discussing the same details George had just gone over with me. Only in reverse.

“Once this is all leveled and the ground is reinforced for the build-out, the docks can be rebuilt here. I’ll give you the number of a great architect I know, but I personally would recommend doubling the number of docks and boat rentals this place used to offer.”

The guy rattled on and finally emerged from around the corner enough so I could get a good look at him. It was Tony, a local real estate guy I never liked. He always acted like he was better than everyone else, and he dressed like it, too, in his ridiculous suits. Who wore suits like that this time of year? He had to be sweating gallons under all those layers.

But that thought quickly vanished as I looked to this side and saw none other than Lana Miller standing next to him. What the hell is she doing here? Did she show up just to throw salt in my wounds?

Tony noticed me and George about the same time, and quickly tensed up. “Oh, gosh. Keith. Hey. I didn’t know you’d be here today,” he said sheepishly.

“Didn’t know I’d be here?” I barked. “I still own this place, you know. Even if it is being condemned.”

His mouth dropped. “Yeah, I know, but…didn’t you get my messages? Or my letters? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you. I assumed since the building was getting torn down, you’d be ready to sell the property.”

“Wait,” Lana turned to Tony, ignoring me entirely. “You haven’t negotiated the sale yet?”

The sweat pooling on his skin was more than obvious now as he stammered on, his eyes darting back and forth between us. “Like I was saying, I’ve been trying to get in touch with him, and I really didn’t foresee any problems…”

“Wait just a damn minute.” I stepped closer, towering over Lana and that little weasel in his suit. “You’re the one who did it, aren’t you? I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out who would file for this place to be inspected. It was you, wasn’t it?”

She didn’t answer with words, but the defiant look that washed over her face as she crossed her arms and tilted her face up towards me, not backing down, told me everything I needed to know.

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