Saving Gracie

by Kristen Ethridge

  “Coming, Nana.” Jake raised himself unsteadily, still fighting off the fog that lingered in his mind after he opened his eyes.

  He caught a glimpse of the clock as he walked by. Fifty-six minutes had slid past. Jake hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He assumed sheer exhaustion and stress had finally caught up to him after a night of tossing and turning.

  The numb center of his brain thawed long enough for Jake to hope Sam didn’t have a hidden camera in the office. He knew his father’s close friend would relish documenting the interim CEO sleeping before the most important meeting of his short and doomed career.

  Diana Powell Peoples slipped in as soon as her only grandson opened the door just enough for her to fit through. Jake had always thought she looked younger than her seventy-four years, with very few wrinkles on her face. Today, though, every line etched into her skin seemed more pronounced. Could worry over this situation be aging her as much as he felt it was aging him?

  “We need to talk, Jakey.” Nana chose to pace instead of sitting.

  “Sam’s arrived earlier than I thought he would. He’s up in the boardroom, on his cell phone. We need to get up there. He won’t be able to make hurtful calls with you and me sitting across from him.”

  “I hadn’t planned on going upstairs quite yet.”

  “You don’t have a...” Nana turned on the ball of her foot. “Jake?”

  She looked her grandson square in the eye. A few quick steps later, she folded Jake in her small arms. Diana’s birdlike stature did not affect her ability to give a bearlike hug.

  “Nana...” He leaned into the relaxation he’d searched for all afternoon. “I just don’t have a good feeling about any of this.” He never could lie to this woman who’d always believed in him.

  She patted his back, as she so often did decades before, when he’d been a little boy who had trouble getting back to sleep in the middle of the night.

  “Me, neither, Jakey. But we’re going to get through this. No matter what happens in that boardroom, you’re still my grandson, and I’m still glad you came back from Austin to try to make this company a better place. Let’s sit for a second.”

  Jake followed his grandmother to the couch like a curious puppy. He needed these few minutes with Nana. He needed to admit to himself just how much it meant to him to be the family leader his father never trusted him to be.

  “I want you to go up there and speak from the heart, Jake. You’re just like all the men who’ve come before you—you like facts and figures. And I know you’re proud of what you’ve put together in a short time on that condominium development over on Gulfview.” She patted his hand. “But lots of people put together real estate and construction deals every day. I know that’s not why you came back. Be honest with yourself and be honest with the board.”

  He could feel his breathing become less labored, something he hadn’t observed since last night at Huarache’s with Gracie.

  “But, Nana, how do I put something into words that I can’t even explain fully to myself?” He exhaled strongly.

  “I don’t know. Only you know the answer to that. I’ve learned it’s never a bad idea to pray.” She stood up and squeezed Jake’s shoulder. “I’m going to head up there and see what I can do before the meeting starts. Come up to the boardroom when you’re ready.”

  The stately woman walked to the door and laid a light hand on the handle, then turned back to face her grandson. “No matter what, Jakey, I love you. Don’t forget that.”

  Once she closed the door, Jake could hear only silence. Even his own thoughts fell to the wayside.

  He looked at his desk, covered in stacks of folders and reams of white rectangles with rows and columns of neat black ink. He wanted so badly to draw comfort from the sight of all his preparation.

  But instead, the view made his gut cramp, and left him more uncomfortable than at any time in recent memory. Jake again took note of the quiet that surrounded him.

  John Edward Peoples IV stood alone. So very alone.

  * * *

  Echoes greeted the interim CEO as he took the first step off the elevator. The voices of the directors bounced off the polished marble flooring in the hallway to the boardroom. The amplified volume made it seem as though a hundred people crowded into the room, instead of the mere ten who would shortly be seated around the table.

  Jake’s stomach seized. He could feel the viselike teeth of fear clamping down. Never before, not even when he turned over his house key to help make restitution to his creditors as a part of his bankruptcy filing, did the acidic sea in his middle churn so violently.

  The feel of a thousand ant feet blazing a trail buzzed over his skin. Gripping the pen and signing his name to the paperwork dissolving his law firm a few months ago hadn’t made his hands tremble like this.

  God, why did I come back? Why did I come back for this?

  Jake had never directly questioned God in thirty-four years. And he didn’t know why he thought God would answer him now.

  The Ruler of the Universe wouldn’t have time to answer an off-the-cuff question from a perpetual mess. God would spend His time with people who knew Him—people like Gracie.

  Gracie.

  Just thinking of her smile and her optimistic heart brought him a small measure of comfort. Facing the demise of her own business, Gracie never changed course. She showed him why her school was special, why her work was special. And in doing so, she gained Jake’s respect and support.

  If Gracie could do that, surely Jake could pull off a similar feat today with the board. Nana implored him to give honesty. And even Jenna’s words from a few days ago came back to mind—don’t forget what’s important.

  All he needed to do was convince ten business leaders why he’d come back.

  Too bad God hadn’t answered his question yet.

  * * *

  “I thought I heard someone in the hallway.” Milton Brashear, the president of Port Provident Bank and Trust, greeted Jake at the door to the boardroom with a solid pat on the shoulder. “Ready?”

  Milton meant the gesture to be reassuring—Jake could sense that—but instead it underscored what remained at stake.

  “Ready.” A less-true syllable had never been uttered in Jake’s life.

  “Everyone, Jake’s here. Let’s take our seats.” Milton ushered the prodigal son into the room.

  The thud of the heavy doors shutting reverberated deep in Jake’s bones. No turning back now.

  Nana remained standing after everyone took their seat. As the only member of the family on the board, she customarily started the meetings.

  “Welcome, everyone. We only have one agenda item today, the vote to confirm John Peoples IV, as the official CEO of Peoples Property Group. This will fill the vacancy left by the unexpected death earlier this year of my son, John Peoples III. Jake will present an update on the Provident Plaza condominium project on Gulfview Boulevard, then we will take the vote.”

  The matriarch sat quickly, as though she hoped to move the meeting along as fast as possible. She would not prolong the uneasiness either for herself or her grandson.

  Sam Pennington spoke, his words deflecting Diana’s poised introduction like an army missile. “Diana, I don’t think we need to see a presentation. We’ve all known the boy for years. Let’s just take the vote.”

  A mutter worked its way across the room. It sounded like a childhood round of the telephone game.

  “Agreed.” Bruce Patterson, a local insurance agent who had served as a groomsman at Jake’s parents’ wedding, spoke above the din. “I make a motion we move straight to the vote. Do I have a second?”

  “Second.” Sam raised his hand with a dismissive flick of the wrist.

  Jake swallowed hard. A lead weight worked down his throat. He could feel the stretching and burning at every
inch.

  “We have a motion to move straight to a vote.” Nana’s voice fell flat. “Jake, do you have anything you’d like to say?”

  “Diana...” Sam used the woman’s name as a warning.

  She turned in his direction with whip-cracking speed. “Hold your horses, Sam. He deserves a chance to speak. You just took his presentation time away from him.”

  “We’ve agreed to a vote, Diana. You can’t just keep propping your boy up.” Sam would not give an inch. Johnny Peoples died in January, but his spirit of rancor lived on in the board members he’d appointed during his lifetime.

  “Since you want to play by the rules, I move that we give Jake an opportunity to make a statement before the vote. Do I have a second?” She never took her eyes off her son’s lifelong friend, even though she addressed the entire board with her question.

  “Yes. Second.” Milton waded into the fray.

  From his chair at the head of the table, Jake surveyed every other face in the room. No one moved. A few looked down, unwilling to make eye contact. Whether they were keeping their cards close to the vest or just made uncomfortable by the verbal tug-of-war, Jake couldn’t tell. He hoped for the latter. He knew his odds were better if he could play for sympathy.

  Nana turned away from Sam slowly. Jake knew she was daring the troublemaker to make her bare her claws again.

  “Jake,” she said deliberately, “the floor is yours.”

  The significance of the moment overwhelmed him. This very floor might never be his again.

  He needed words.

  “Thank you, Nana.” He paused.

  Breathe. Exhale. Breathe again.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today.” Jake tried to stall with a little bit of introduction. “All of you knew my father, and most of you have watched me grow up, leave town and recently come back. For those of you who were surprised when I returned to Port Provident, I want you to know I arrived with the best of intentions.”

  Jake could see compassion in the eyes of many at the table, but only sharp daggers in Sam Pennington’s cold stare. He resented every word out of Jake’s mouth.

  “All of you work here in Port Provident, and you know what it’s like to do business in a small town. Reputation is everything. And it seemed to me that Peoples Property Group had been coasting on our name instead of being at the forefront of shaping this town. I came back to change that.”

  Sam leaned forward and pointed straight at Jake, barging into the monologue. “No, you didn’t. You came back because your own reputation got shredded in Austin. You’re even more of a fool than I thought you were if you believe we’re all going to buy your line, son.”

  Jake knew his father loved to spread stories about his naive mess of a son. He didn’t realize how much his father’s circle took them as the truth. Until now.

  “It’s not a line, Sam. I could have stayed to rebuild my career in Austin. I chose to come home to lead the family company after my father’s death. I believed in my obligation to my grandfather and great-grandfather and the work they did here.” He tried to keep his buttons covered up where Sam couldn’t punch them.

  “The family company? You’re not really family. So you can quit trying to—”

  “You will not speak that way in my presence, Sam Pennington.” Nana’s gasp of breath came out more like a shriek. “Your last name is not Peoples, and you are not qualified to speak on who is or is not a member of my family.”

  The blood sprinted to Sam’s face through the throbbing vein in his throat. His sallow skin turned crimson all the way back to the receding hairline.

  “Diana, I’m more than qualified to speak on who should run this company, and this boy isn’t it. Jake’s a fool who damaged Johnny Peoples’s name before he was even born. I’m not going to stand by and let him damage Johnny’s name in death. I could give my support to this company headed by a member of the family, but all Jake has is a big name he never should have been given in the first place.”

  Jake’s heart rate increased to match Sam’s. What on earth was the accountant talking about? He’d seen many sides of Sam, including pointed anger, over the years. But he’d never seen his father’s best friend lose control.

  He couldn’t even hold a grudge over Sam’s labeling him a lazy fool. Not until he found out what the rage-fueled speech truly meant. He’d had his suspicions for years. Now, he could know for certain—it was clear the same price would be paid no matter what.

  “His mother was an alcoholic socialite who pawned her child from an affair off on my best friend. And how did Johnny get repaid? By a ‘son’ who rejected working at this all-important family company—until he botched his legal career.”

  Sam banged on the table with his fist. Jake swore the sound could have been his heart. Child of an affair? Not Johnny Peoples’s son?

  He’d often wondered if something like this would explain his father’s coldness over the years, but no. It couldn’t really be true. Port Provident was the quintessential small Texas town. Gossip edged out high school football as the number one pastime. If Sam’s allegations contained even a shred of truth, surely the information would have reached Jake’s ears over the years. Through all the questions and the doubts, he’d clung to the fact that no one had ever confronted him to his face with that ugliest of suspicions.

  “Your name may read John Edward Peoples IV on your birth certificate. But Johnny Peoples isn’t listed as your father. There’s a blank line there. Haven’t you ever wondered why? It wasn’t an oversight. He wouldn’t allow your mother to insult him in that way.” Sam slouched in his chair, spent. His words came out in a surly growl. “Let’s just take the vote, Diana.”

  To his right, Ken Potter shook his head. His confusion mirrored Jake’s own. “There’s not going to be a vote,” his words came out slowly, framed in disbelief.

  “What do you mean?” Numbness overtook Jake. He couldn’t feel his mouth and tongue moving, even as they spoke the words.

  “The bylaws state that a direct descendant of the founder, John Peoples, must be CEO. If Sam’s allegations are true, and you don’t qualify, then the board must look elsewhere in the family or change the bylaws, neither of which we’re prepared to do today.” Ken’s eyes looked pleadingly at Diana.

  “You’re right, Ken.” Jake heard his grandmother’s heart break with three simple syllables. “I don’t know why Sam’s bringing up these allegations today, but...”

  “Diana, you know I’m not lying.”

  She backed her chair from the table and stood.

  “There’s no vote. Meeting adjourned.” Her voice trailed out on a heavy breath. Without another sound, Nana walked out of the boardroom her father-in-law, husband and son all had once dominated. Even her shoes didn’t echo on the granite flooring.

  Eight other members of the board followed quickly. No one dared to let out so much as a whisper. There would be time enough for hushed voices and gasps of surprise behind carefully shielding hands.

  Sam Pennington stopped short of the doorway. He turned and looked at Jake. His mouth opened, stalled, then closed again.

  And then, the keeper of Johnny Peoples’s legacy walked out the door, leaving only bitter memories—long past and brand-new—behind.

  Jake stood alone in the boardroom over which he’d hoped to preside.

  The portraits lining the back wall dared to make eye contact with him. John Edward Peoples, John Edward Peoples II, and John Edward Peoples III all stared at Jake, unblinking.

  Swiftly, Jake grabbed the clear water glass from in front of him on the table. In his palm, it felt cool and smooth.

  Jake felt like neither.

  He hurled the glass at the last oil painting with all the awkwardness of the young boy whose father would never play catch with him. He threw it at the canvas with all the ra
ge of the young boy whose father would never say “I love you” to him.

  Now he knew why. All those years of coldness. All those words of anger. All those instances without parental support.

  Johnny Peoples had never told Jake “I love you” because he couldn’t. Johnny Peoples had never loved Jake.

  John Edward Peoples III took a direct hit just under the left eye. The tearing of the canvas as the painting in its gilded frame hit the floor acted on Jake like the release of a grenade pin.

  Emotions exploded. Jake had lived a lie for thirty-four years. How could he ever trust anyone again?

  Fathers should protect their sons.

  And so should grandmothers. Not only had he lost his family legacy today, the long-known-yet-buried secret caused Jake to lose faith in the one person he’d always thought he could trust.

  * * *

  Gracie shuffled through the small pile of papers on her desk. Capping her red pen, she set aside the day’s grading. She knew some teachers found paperwork like this tedious, but Gracie enjoyed the process. It gave her the opportunity to see the progress of her students. It always felt good to know she’d been able to help good people further their grasp of the English language as they sought to assimilate into this country, which had given them all—herself included—so much.

  Now that she’d finished her work for the day, it was time to start thinking about tonight. She couldn’t wait to see Jake and to hear about his presentation.

  Normally, for a casual event like tonight’s fund-raiser at the church, Gracie would just pull out a pair of cotton shorts and a casual, solid-colored T-shirt and pair it all with the official beach-town footwear: flip-flops. But not tonight. As she climbed the stairs, she mentally flipped through her small closet.

  She wanted to surprise Jake. She wanted to look like someone the CEO of an important local company would be proud to be seen with. She knew that, in spite of his doubts yesterday, the other members of the board would see through one man’s vendetta and confirm Jake anyway.

  Gracie pulled out her two favorite cotton sundresses and laid them carefully on the bed. She stared at them, brought over jewelry to match, then stared some more.