His mother left him alone in the office and Michael sat down and stared at the spreadsheet. He decided to get any additional data into Excel and then begin filing and color coding. He loved these types of tasks. Of course he loved to be challenged, too, but sometimes it was nice to get visible results right away. Maybe that’s why Beth liked cooking so much, he thought. Originally, when they were in high school, she had talked quite a bit about becoming a doctor. He had to admit that she had been a great lab partner and probably would have made a great doctor, but he was actually more impressed that she became a chef.
Once upon a time he thought he’d be a writer. Instead, he picked his career by picking what he was best at and what he would make the most money doing. At the end of the day, finance and the market didn’t make him happy. He was good at it, he had good instincts and he was comfortable taking financial risks — but for some reason, not creative ones. He really admired Beth for taking the unexpected route and coming back and creating something great for the town. Not only did her Inn provide jobs, it also was a place where the townspeople could convene.
As he was getting his family’s things in order, he also decided it was time for him to take charge of his life, too, and really think about his next steps. He picked up the phone again and tried his assistant. He checked his email, nothing. He knew it was over. He just had to decide what he was going to do about it, and come to terms with it all and with what he wanted to do next. But honestly, for some reason he didn’t care that much about his job and what could happen, maybe that should tell him something. The money may be great, better than great, but he felt empty at the end of the day. Something to think about.
When he looked at the clock, it was nearly noon. Michael looked around the office and noted that he had placed the last files into the file cabinets. They were labeled and color coded. That just left the stack of bills, which he was going to take care of next. He sat down and took a look at each of them carefully before he wrote out any checks. He set aside some of the smaller, less noticeable bills to pay for the next day, with his own checkbook. Just a little help to keep the place going. He wished he could just give his family the $500,000 — but his had mother made it clear that she felt if he did, then he should have a stake in the business.
Even though he had made and saved millions of dollars, a half million was not exactly a small expense. He had all of the important and urgent bills paid and some set aside for the next day, when both Annie and his mother came in armed with tuna salad sandwiches, colas, and chips.
“So, Mom and I talked,” Annie said. “We have a number of ideas for improvements that might not be so costly, based on what we’ve heard on the floor from customers.”
Michael listened carefully as his mother and sister offered some suggestions. A deli counter, recipe cards at the fish counter suggesting their other products, more appropriate seafood accompaniments, pre-packaged foods, a small coffee shop with its own separate register and entrance.
Michael also shared a few of his own ideas, a re-branding effort, new logo, picnic tables out back, an ocean-themed playground area for kids. He wanted to make the Market a destination and help set it apart from the competition.
They were all good ideas, and many of them wouldn't be nearly as expensive as some of the things their father had put in place, including large tanks for fish that spanned floor to ceiling ... making Malone’s more like sea world than a market. There were clearly some misguided plans that were going to take place — but they could change that.
Marty took a deep breath. “I think we have some good ideas here but we’re going to have to talk to your father about all of this, and you know how stubborn he is. And he’s never listened to any of us...”
Michael knew what was coming.
Annie looked at their mother. “You should really talk to him, Mikey. I know things are rough between you two, but believe it or not, I think Dad will listen to you. You wouldn’t be so successful managing that hedge fund if you didn’t have a head for business. We need that.”
His mother gave him a meaningful look. He didn’t know what to say. He was honored that they valued him but he also wasn’t sure he wanted to work at Malone’s, and he definitely didn’t want to speak to his father about all of this. But he saw no way around it.
“Fine, I’ll talk to him. And I am happy to help, but I don’t know that I want to be a part of Malone’s Market full-time, but we can work something out.”
Both his mother and Annie smiled.
Michael said, “So, I’m going to wrap things up, Annie, and then I’m going to go get some pizzas and videos and head over to your place to see the boys.”
“Sounds good. Tom will be there, he’ll give you the rundown on bedtimes, baths, and all that. Thanks again, Michael. We’re looking forward to some alone time.” She winked and Michael nearly gagged. As much as he liked his sister, even at thirty-one, sometimes he just did not need the details about her personal life, even just implied details.
Beth was tired. Making breakfast that morning was hell on earth. Her head was pounding and she felt like she had cotton in her mouth from being so dehydrated. And she kept getting distracted while baking; she nearly burned her scones. All she could do was think of Michael. Why couldn’t she get him out of her head? Sure, he had lean muscles and long limbs, sure he had deep blue eyes and dark hair and a smile that could make you weak in the knees — but she wasn’t interested. She couldn’t be. She had no time for this, and she certainly had no time for someone who was just going to up and leave in a few weeks. Where would that leave her? She couldn’t think about it anymore, she had too much work to do. And she told herself that she wasn’t interested, not interested at all. So why did she keep seeing his face everywhere and keep replaying last night over and over in her head? She sighed.
Okay, fine, she liked him. She was really interested, but he was leaving soon. She knew he said he thought about leaving his job and coming back ... but thinking about doing something and actually doing something were two entirely different things. But if she just thought of it as a fling, maybe it would be better. It had been quite some time since she had been with someone and she didn’t know how much longer she could take it. She was independent, but being alone was not always the most fulfilling. She sighed again.
“Oh, mother — damn it.” She had just burned the asparagus for her vegetable frittata. Today’s breakfast special. She needed to focus, she needed to get him out of her head. She couldn’t keep thinking about Michael with all the pending guests. As much as she loved the restaurant and the Tavern, it was the Inn that brought in the greatest profit margins. Impressing a tour group like Pedal Feet was exactly what she needed to allow the Warren to thrive. Today bicycle tours, tomorrow weddings, she thought. And as far as Michael — well, if he really did ever move to Maine, then maybe they could have something. But until then, if it ever happened, she needed to focus.
She needed to get through this breakfast first and then she’d be off to town to get the items necessary to welcome her guest. She was thinking little bags with bottles of water, power bars, other Maine snacks, and a copy of DownEast Magazine would be a nice welcome for her guests. She loved the idea, but too bad she had only thought of it this morning, and right before breakfast service was about to begin.
After breakfast service, she met with the staff, then Lisa arrived and all plans were in place for the welcome reception for their guests in the Tavern that evening. They’d be serving a simple fare for their first evening in Gray Harbor, the Tavern’s standard menu. The only difference was they’d have some passed hors d'oeuvres during the welcome cocktail hour from five thirty to seven thirty that evening. When all was set, it was already two... Beth had to hurry before the check-ins in two hours; they decided to hand out the bags at check-in, so she needed to do some fast shopping first. She grabbed her purse and keys from her office behind the kitchen and made her way to her car.
After lunch, Michael wrapped up some paperwo
rk and saved it all on the computer. He also printed out suggestion slips and made a customer feedback box for the front of the store. He thought that he, his mother, and Annie had come up with a lot of good ideas, but he wanted to hear from their customer base, maybe they saw flaws in the business that his family did not. Maybe there were more products they’d like Malone’s to carry, maybe they thought the checkout lines were not efficient enough. As he made his way to the parking lot, he called Jonah to check in.
“Jonah, how’s it going?”
“Mikey! Hey! Man, it’s looking good. These shingles are nice. Oh, and your friend Bob from the store is here. He threw in some window boxes with flowers that he’s installing. They have geraniums or something in them. Whatever it is, Mom will love it. It’s like a whole crew is here. They’re doing the front and sides of the house today and he says they’ll wrap up tomorrow.”
“That’s great, Jonah, just great. Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something” said Michael in a deliberate way.
“Yeah, what’s up?” responded Jonah cautiously.
Michael decided to get right to the point. “Have you ever made a website? I think we should have one for Malone’s and I was hoping you could help. “
“I mean, I could, but that would take a lot of time...”
“What if I cover some of your hours at the fish market in exchange and you still get paid? You’ll just work upstairs in the office instead.”
There was a pause as Jonah considered it. Then he said, “All right, cool, but we should also maybe do a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, and maybe even a Pinterest page about new products or from the perspective of a fishmonger. Oh, wait, we could even do our coupons from it and save money instead of that old circular—”
Michael was impressed. “Wow, Jonah, this all sounds great. Have you ever talked to Dad about these ideas?”
Jonah chuckled. “Are you kidding me! Like he would ever listen.”
“Well, let’s do it. Why don’t we sit together tomorrow afternoon and talk. I’d like to hear your ideas on re-branding, too, and let’s get Judy involved in that. What do you think?”
“That sounds awesome! I’ll ask Judy what she can do with the logo. She is great with all that graphic design stuff.”
“She is?”
“Oh, yeah, loves it, she wants to go to art school. Oh, crap, I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Anyway, I’ll talk to her about it today! Talk to you later, bro!” With that, Jonah hung up.
Huh, Michael thought, as he started the car. Looks like he wasn’t the only one who thought their father was stubborn. And even Judy was afraid to tell the family what she’d really like to do. He began to think maybe a mural might be nice touch on the wall in the parking lot near where he and his mother ate lunch the other day. Judy could probably help with that, too. That wall was just large concrete bricks. Rather than painting it or siding it, a mural could give the place a nice whimsical feel, especially along with a small jungle gym … or maybe just some swings, since they would mean less liability. Maybe he would talk to his mother and Judy about that. He had so many thoughts swimming around his head that he didn’t realize he had arrived at the video store, which was next to an old bookstore. He decided to stop in to the bookstore first, but stopped when he noticed a large ‘for sale’ sign outside of the building.
“I can’t believe it,” he mumbled. He had spent many years in the bookstore when he was young and even all these years later, the place still looked magical. It was a small stone structure that had three levels.
Mrs. Slossenger, the owner, had moved into the basement when her husband had passed away and the other two floors housed books. He peered through the windows and saw the shelves and the tables. He had spent so much time there growing up, but he guessed with the advent of the e-reader and the Internet, books were less popular. But with all the tourists, he figured mass-market paperbacks and magazines would still sell. He didn’t know why he did it but he opened up his wallet and took out a card so he could jot down the number on the ‘for sale’ sign. It couldn’t hurt to find out how much the place was ... even as a vacation apartment. He could remodel and take the top floor as an apartment and rent out the other two floors to a store. It could be a nice investment. It would be small, but surely bigger than his studio in New York. He whistled as he walked over to the video store.
After thirty minutes, he walked out with what he thought would be a good assortment of movies and snacks for his nephews, who were five, seven, and eight years old. He got two Harry Potter Movies, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean, Narnia, and a super hero movie. He looked at his watch. It was three forty-five. A little too early to buy the pizza now, so he grabbed a menu and made sure they did delivery. Next stop, the drug store. He figured comic books and soda would be good. He also wanted a new notebook and some more pens for himself. He was making his way down the aisles with his arms full of ‘supplies,’ when a woman bumped right into him. He was annoyed.
“Hey, watch where you’re going,” he said, before he realized the woman was Beth. She looked startled.
“Sorry about that, I’m in the biggest rush,” she said, without even looking up.
“Beth? Hey, it’s me, Michael, no problem. You okay? Anything I can help you with?”
Oh, God, she thought, it’s him. The last person she wanted to see when she was so frantic. She was trying to find enough copies of DownEast Magazine for her gift bags and couldn’t. She was freaking out.
“Well, I need twelve copies of DownEast Magazine but there are only four here, and there really isn’t anywhere else in town to pick it up ... I need them for these gift bags for the guests. But there aren’t any ... and now I don’t know what to do.” Her words came out in a rush.
“You know what, I saw some by the register. I’ll be right back and see if they have eight more.” With that, Michael ran off to the register and saw some right by checkout. He grabbed them and he also grabbed a bag of individually wrapped Maine candies. He left his own items for purchase at the counter and let them know he’d be right back. He ran back to Beth with his finds. She was still franticly looking on the ground. He bent down beside her and handed her the magazines.
“Here, I found eight more, and I thought if you’re making bags for guests that maybe these little maple candies might be nice, too.” He placed them in her basket and looked at her.
Beth was relieved, she hadn’t even thought of checking the checkout counter. She never bothered because all she ever noticed were the copies of People Magazine and US Weekly. She was glad Michael found them but also annoyed. She was hoping to avoid him entirely. She got up and so did he.
“Well thanks, Michael, I appreciate it,” she said cordially.
Michael looked taken aback. Despite how the previous night had ended, he thought they shared something. And although he was nervous, he wasn’t going to give up.
“So, um, Beth, I was wondering. I know you’re pretty busy this weekend, but would you like to have dinner some time, or lunch? Maybe Sunday night?”
“Michael, I like you but I just don’t know if it’s a good idea. You’re leaving Gray Harbor soon and I’m not really looking for a fling...” She let her voice trail off.
So that was what she was worried about, he thought. “How about dinner as friends, then? I really enjoyed chatting with you last night. At the very least, I’d like to continue to catch up, maybe even get some advice from you on what it’s like being a business person in Gray Harbor. Let’s just call it a business lunch instead, then, how about that? Can I pick you up at one o’clock Sunday?”
She looked like she was thinking it over, but he could tell she wanted to say yes. “Okay, fine, but only because it’s a business lunch and we’re meeting as friends.”
His confidence restored, he smiled and said, “Of course, I’m looking forward to it. Good luck with your guests, I’ll see you Sunday!” He waved as she walked away towards the checkout.
He quickly looked at his watch and sa
w that it was almost time to go babysit. He ran to the checkout and made his purchases, then headed for the car. He had promised to be at his sister’s house by five and he didn’t want to let Annie or Tom down. They needed the night alone and he needed the chance to get better acquainted with his nephews.
Chapter 10
Michael was in awe of his sister. How did she do it every day? He had spent five hours with her three sons and was wiped out. After he arrived at Annie and Tom’s home, Tom showed Michael the ropes, pointing out where everything was from snacks to toothbrushes and pajamas.
Tom was a cool guy, thought Michael. He was quiet and reserved but you could just tell he had a sense of humor. Tom was on leave due to an injury. He had broken his arm in a ‘silly accident’ while training his plebes down at a boot camp in Portland. Tom said he was thinking of taking it easy and maybe becoming a recruiter so he could finish out his remaining two years with the Navy before retiring and then moving on to something else. But as Tom said, right now he was focused on being a father and a husband, and as fun as the Navy was, he said nothing could be more fun than hanging out with his three sons.
Fun? Michael thought that the night of babysitting certainly wasn’t fun. Okay, well, that wasn't entirely true; he did have fun with the kids, but he also realized that three boys was a lot of work.
He got reacquainted with his nephews when he got there and each of them gave him a tour of his room. Then they ordered pizza and played video games and drank sodas until the pizzas arrived. Michael learned the error in his ways after dinner, when they were all hyped up from so much caffeine. He gave piggy back rides, helped make model planes, watched pieces of each of the movies he brought till they got bored, and basically ran around like a madmen. At around nine thirty they all started losing steam, so Michael put them to bed. Finally it was quiet. He could hear himself think.
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