by Rachel Hanna
For some reason, she felt like this was going to be a showdown from the old west.
"Hi, Dixie.”
"Hello. Congratulations on your successful bakery. I hear the poundcake is very good."
SuAnn. "Mind if I sit down and talk to you for a moment?"
Dixie didn't think she had ever heard her be so polite. Curious, she nodded and walked over to the table to sit down.
"So, what can I help you with?"
SuAnn put her hands on the table, laced together, and stared at them like she was nervous. Dixie was not used to seeing this side of her.
"Well, you seem to have a lot more insight into my daughters than I do. I thought maybe you would give me some… advice?"
"Really? You want advice from me?"
"Look, I know I haven't always been the nicest to you, but I really do respect you. I think you're a strong woman, just like me."
"Well, thank you." Dixie didn't know where this was going.
"It's just that I came here because I love my family, and I wanted to be near them. You know how it is when you're getting older and you don't want to be alone."
"But weren’t you married? I mean, you weren't alone."
SuAnn closed her eyes and sighed. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Most of the time."
"My husband left me. I didn't leave him."
"Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"
"Buddy is kind of a boring guy. You know, I had all these dreams for what I would be doing in this phase of my life, and he hardly ever talked. He was nice enough, but he didn't want to travel and do fun things together. I like to salsa dance, and he can't dance at all. I like to watch mystery movies, and he only watches those shoot ‘em up westerns. We really didn't have much in common."
"But he left you?"
"Well, probably about a year ago, I was getting stir crazy up there in our cabin. I didn't want to worry the girls, so I turned to online shopping. Before I knew it, I had run all the way through our savings, but he didn't know it. I would have the stuff delivered at our local post office, and I'd unpackage it and bring it home when he was asleep or not paying attention. You know, when he was doing yardwork or something like that."
"Oh wow."
"Before I knew it, he found me out. The bank called him and told him that something must be wrong with our account because massive amounts of money were coming out of it. I had all of this stuff stored in a building on our property that he normally didn't go into. I had to confess what I had done, and he was so angry."
"Do you know how much money you spent?"
"Tens of thousands. We tried to have a big yard sale, but that didn't give us back nearly enough money. And then we started fussing and fighting, and before I knew it, I told him that I didn't think we had anything in common. I offered to go to counseling or something, but he chose to leave."
"And so that's why you came here?"
"Yes. I came here because I missed my family, and I wanted to be somewhere that I was accepted. I wanted to start over because I had seen Julie and Janine do that here, and I was so impressed with them. I thought I could do the same thing, and that they would be proud of me for opening this bakery. But instead, I seem to have made everyone angry."
"You know, I didn't speak to my son William for many years. We had a huge falling out with a lot of misunderstandings, and it stole so many years from our relationship. We’re closer now, but not nearly as close as we would've been had all of that not happened. Don't let that happen to you and your daughters. You can't ever get that time back."
“Dawson told me that I'm too critical, and that I need to apologize to my daughters for some of the things that I’ve said. I never mean any harm. Well, I guess if I'm being honest, some of the things I said to you were meant to be harmful."
Dixie laughed. "Thanks for the honesty."
"And I'm truly sorry. I've just been very jealous about your relationship with Julie, especially. But I can see why she likes you. You could've criticized me right now, but you haven’t. I appreciate that."
“SuAnn, your daughters love you. You're their mother, not me. But you have to be honest with them. You need to go tell them the truth. And tell them how proud and inspired you are because of them. I don’t think they know that.”
"They don't?"
“No. I believe they will forgive you, but you have to be sincere. And you have to stop putting your nose where it doesn't belong. I know it's hard, especially with our adult children, not to give advice. But you can't unless they ask for it."
"I'm starting to see that."
"And trust me, you can have a new beginning. I've fallen in love again, and I'm about to go traveling around the country after the first of the year. If I can do it, you can do it."
"I hope you're right. And I sure hope it's not too late with my daughters."
Julie sat at the little desk in her living room, overlooking the marsh out back, and continued writing in her favorite notebook. She was still working on writing her first book, something she only got to mess around with in her free time now. Life seemed so busy these days.
Sometimes, she found herself daydreaming, staring out over the marsh grass, thinking about all of the twists and turns in her life. She liked to weave some of those moments into her book, but she also didn't want it to become an autobiography.
As the days grew shorter, and sunset came more quickly, she appreciated those moments where she got to sit and watch the beauty that God created in the sky above the water. Shades of orange and pink and sometimes purple were painted across the clouds, and it always made her feel so thankful for this life she had built.
Just as she was about to close her notebook and start dinner, she heard someone knock on the front door. She certainly wasn't expecting anyone right now. Janine and Colleen were in their rooms taking naps before dinner. Normally, they had a family dinner on Sunday, but since Dawson was usually busy checking in and checking out guests, they had decided to do it tonight, right in the middle of the week. Dawson wouldn't be over until later, but he was bringing a deep-fried turkey that Lucy had made extra.
"Who in the world could this be?" Julie mumbled to herself as she walked over to the door. When she opened it, she never expected to see Buddy standing there.
"Buddy?"
He took off his beige tweed fedora and put it over his heart. "I'm sorry to bother you, Julie, but can we talk?"
She looked at him, confused. "Of course…" Stepping back, she opened the door and then slowly closed it behind her. He stood there, his hat in his hand, looking at his feet. At first, she had been shocked to even hear his voice because the man rarely spoke. It was low and gravelly, and a little more raspy than she had remembered the few times she’d heard it.
"Are you looking for my mother?"
"No. Not really, anyway. I wanted to talk to you."
"What about?"
"Well, if I know your mother, and I do, I don't believe she's probably told you the truth about what happened."
“She said she left you."
He chuckled and shook his head. "I knew she wouldn't tell you the truth. And I like you girls. I'm worried she might do the same thing to you that she did to me. That’s why I drove all the way here to look you in the eye.”
"Buddy, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Now, I don't want to badmouth her, but I have to tell you the truth. Your mother took all of the money out of our savings account and did a bunch of online shopping. We lost everything. Well, all except the house, where I'm still living."
"What? There must be some mistake. My mom has never really even liked shopping."
"Well, she liked it enough to spend all of our savings Nearly thirty thousand dollars.”
Julie grabbed the back of the armchair nearby to keep herself from passing out.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea.”
"I just didn't want her to steal your money. Don't give her access to your bank accounts or anything."<
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"What is going on here?"
Julie turned to see her mother standing in the doorway, a look of shock mixed with horror on her face.
"I came here to tell your daughters the truth about you!" Buddy said loudly. Julie couldn't believe he was talking this much. She hadn't heard this many words from him the whole time she’d known him.
"You had no right to come here and fill their head full of bad things about their mother!" SuAnn yelled back.
“Okay, everybody calm down. Let's all just take a deep breath," Julie said.
"What's going on out here?" Janine said as she walked out of her room. Colleen walked out of hers right at the same moment.
“Buddy came here to tell us that Mom stole their savings and spent it doing online shopping."
Janine's mouth fell open. "Is that true, Mom?"
SuAnn held up her hands. "First of all, it's not stealing when half of that money was mine. And second of all, yes. I spent a lot of money because I was so bored and needed some excitement. And it was the wrong thing to do, and I regret it."
"Buddy, I think you should go,” Julie said, ushering him to the door. She couldn't believe he had driven all the way from the mountains to tell her this instead of just calling her on the phone.
"I wish you good luck with that woman," he said to Julie before shutting the door.
"Oh, Mom. How could you do this?" Julie said, running her fingers through her hair.
SuAnn walked over to the sofa and sat down, her hands in her lap. “Maybe you'll never understand, but I'd like to explain. Dawson and Dixie have both told me I need to be honest with you girls."
"You talked to Dawson about this? And Dixie?"
"Dawson doesn't know what I did, but I did tell Dixie the whole story."
"But you don't even like Dixie," Janine said.
SuAnn laughed. "We are more alike than you might think. And we're good now."
“I’m just going to give y'all some time alone," Colleen said, walking backwards slowly to her room and shutting the door.
Julie and Janine sat down on the sofa and turned toward their mother.
"The last few years, I have felt like a hollow shell. When I first met Buddy, I fell in love with his kind, timid personality. To be honest, I just wanted somebody to grow old with, and he seemed like a good fit. Not everybody has the strength to put up with me, ya know. He let me just be free. But as we were married longer and longer, I got bored. I wanted to do things, go places, but it was like pulling teeth. And I just saw the time ticking away. I realized we just weren't right for each other."
"So you spent his money?"
"Our money. And I did. It was a terrible thing to do, but I didn't do it maliciously. Over the course of a year, I just tried to make myself feel better by buying a bunch of stuff. It became like an addiction."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Julie asked.
"You girls were going through your own trials and tribulations at the time. A mother is supposed to take care of herself and not put that on her kids. But then, I saw something amazing happen."
"What?” Julie asked.
SuAnn reached over and held her daughter’s hand. "I saw you bravely leave your life in Atlanta behind and come here to start over. You didn't know anyone, you barely had any money. You were able to create a whole new life."
"Mom, if you were so amazed, then why did you criticize it so much? Why did you try to get me to stay with Michael?"
SuAnn paused for a moment. "I think because I was scared of change. If you changed, then it was forcing me to think about my own life. And then I saw Janine come here and reinvent her life too. The more I saw, the more pressure I felt."
"You could have talked to us. This whole time, we thought you were happy with Buddy. And we thought you were disappointed in us," Janine said. SuAnn reached out another hand to hold Janine's.
"Look, I have a really hard time being vulnerable. I didn't grow up that way. In my house, there wasn’t a lot of emotion. It's just how things were back then. Anytime I have seemed critical, please know I haven't meant to be that way.”
Julie put her hand on her mother’s shoulder. "I know this must have been hard to deal with on your own, and I'm sorry we didn't know you were struggling. You just have to understand that we are all adults, and you don't have any right to be critical or give us your opinion unless we ask for it. We have to set some boundaries if you're going to live here."
"I love you girls, and I'm very proud of you. I know I don't say it very much, but it's true."
"How did you buy the bakery if you spent all your money?"
"I didn't exactly spend all of it. I had a little nest egg that Buddy never knew about, you know, just in case I needed to make a run for it."
Julie and Janine laughed. "Poor Buddy."
"Don't you worry. I've already decided as soon as I start making profit on the bakery, I'm going to send him a little something every month. Pay back the money that was rightfully his. That is, if he doesn't have me thrown in jail."
"I don't think he'll do that," Julie said. Janine cut her eyes at her sister, both of them wondering if he might actually go through with something like that.
“I’m also planning to sign the house over to him. That will more than pay him back for what I did.”
“I’m glad you’re taking responsibility,” Julie said.
"You know, that Dawson fellow is quite a catch, Julie. He really had a nice heart-to-heart talk with me. He's a keeper."
Julie smiled. "You don't have to tell me that. I got very lucky with that one."
Janine looked down at her hands. "I thought I had gotten lucky. But apparently, he didn't feel the same way."
SuAnn squeezed Janine's hand. "I'm sure he'll come around. He knows what he's missing."
The three women sat there, holding each other's hands and smiling. Julie had never felt so close to her mother, and she prayed that this was a new beginning for all of them.
Chapter Twelve
It had been over a week since Buddy showed up unannounced at Julie's house, and the relationship she had with her mother had only improved. Now, they were having lunch most days of the week, along with Janine and sometimes one or both of the girls. Her bakery was growing more successful by the day, and as holiday tourists started to arrive in town, she was getting busier and busier. Meg was even helping her build a website to sell her poundcake across the country.
The addition of Darcy working there had proven to be a good one. Not only was she a good worker, but she challenged SuAnn at any given opportunity. For some reason, that seemed to have kept her under control.
"What do you think about my make up?" Julie asked as she poked her head into the room. She and Janine were at Dawson's house getting ready for the masquerade ball. It just seemed easier to set up all of the make up and outfits there instead of trying to make their way from Julie's house all dressed up.
"It's beautiful, but half of your face is going to be covered anyway with that mask you bought."
"I know, but I doubt I'll wear that thing all night long. I need to look nice underneath," Julie said, dabbing at her lipstick.
"I don't even know if I want to be here. I'm the only one I know without a date. Even Dixie has a man!"
Julie put her hands on Janine's shoulders from behind, both of them looking in the mirror. "Don't give up on William. He just might surprise you."
Janine turned around and looked at her sister. "No, he won't. I shouldn't have done it, but I went to their company website today and looked up this Tina woman. She looks like a freaking supermodel. There's no way I can compete with someone like that, especially since we’re so far apart. Face it, Julie. It's over."
Julie poked out her bottom lip. "I'm sorry, honey. I really thought you guys were going to make it."
Janine sighed. "You and me both."
"Everything okay in here?" Dawson called from outside the door. Julie opened it, and he stepped back several steps, putting his hand over his mouth
. "You look amazing!"
"Why, thank you," she said, bowing. She hadn't even put on her dress yet, but the little bit of theater she’d done in high school had given her enough experience creating make up for a masquerade ball.
Dawson was wearing a suit and looked absolutely dashing, of course. "People should be starting to arrive soon. Meg, Christian and the baby are already downstairs. Vivi looks absolutely adorable in her little dress.”
"Oh, I have to come down and get some pictures. Let me just get my dress on, and I'll be right there.”
Julie shut the door and noticed Janine sitting there, looking down at her phone. "I have got to snap out of this! I can't continue putting my life on hold thinking about him. Tonight has to be a new start for me."
Julie squeezed her shoulders. "I'll support you with whatever you think is best."
"I know you will," Janine said, tilting her head back and looking up at her sister. "You better get your dress on and get down there before the place gets packed with people. Everyone's going to want to squeeze Vivi’s little cheeks."
"That's very true," Julie said. She quickly slipped on her dress and shoes, checked her makeup one more time and then left the room.
As Janine stared at herself in the mirror, her makeup almost complete, she made a vow to herself that tonight was the start of something new. She would be open to whatever came her way. Who knew? Maybe there was a new love of her life that would be coming to the masquerade ball.
When Janine finally got downstairs, the place was packed with people. After a difficult time with some glue on eyelashes, she had been delayed in getting to the party. She couldn't believe how many people were there, most of them out on the deck overlooking the ocean. Dawson and his party planner had done a wonderful job of decorating the place. The DJ was playing music, and the table was full of catered food from one of the local restaurants.
"Janine!" Dixie called from across the dance floor. She was holding hands with an older man, both of them decked out in flashy masquerade ball attire.
