Return to Gray Harbor

by Bryant, J. J.

  He sat on the floor of the now-empty apartment, save for a duffle bag, a small backpack, and a laptop computer. He looked for flights and found one leaving JFK that evening for Portland, Maine, he booked it and a rental car. With any luck, he’d be home in the late evening or very early morning. Home. There he’d said it. Maine was home, and he felt good about that.

  He decided that it was time to go; he’d grab a bite to eat at the airport. He took one last look at the apartment before closing the door. He went outside and hailed a cab. He had no idea what was next for him, but he felt like he didn’t have to rush things. He was, however, excited to get back to Maine and actually implement some of the changes at Malone’s Market that he and his family had been discussing. He also was excited to figure out what was next for him career wise ... and he was excited to see Beth.

  Chapter 14

  Michael arrived in Portland in the very early hours of Wednesday morning and went to pick out a rental car. This time he went with just a standard Chevy Malibu sedan, something Jonah wouldn’t be nearly as excited to drive. He put his bags in back and drove the hour and a half to Gray Harbor. He decided not to drive straight home. Instead, he bought a paper in town and went to the diner to kill a little time. He still felt like he needed some time to process things.

  Michael spent the morning just relaxing and thinking about what could be next. After he finished his breakfast, he wandered through the various shops in town. He decided to visit his father and tell him the good news.

  When he arrived in his father’s room, he could see a cloud had settled over James Malone.

  “Hey, Dad, how’s it going?” Michael asked cautiously.

  James struggled to speak but after several moments, said, “Tough daaya. Ti-Tired. Therapy. Fru-us-strated. Wannnt tooo goo home.” James paused and looked like he was thinking about something. “Whhhyyya rrrr yoooou here? New York?” he asked, with a questioning look.

  “It’s a long story, Dad, but it’s part of why I came here today.” Michael took in a deep breath before continuing, “I resigned from my position at Goldfarb. I decided I didn’t like the way they wanted to do business. I want to do something a little more meaningful than count money, you know?”

  With that, James chuckled.

  Michael smiled. “Well, okay, I have to admit I liked counting the money when I walked out the door yesterday, Dad. I ended up walking away with a nice chunk of change. But I’ve decided to come back here and start my own business and help with our family business, if the offer still stands to be a partner. I know I’m about thirteen years late, but I’d like to help now and I can contribute what you, Mom, and Annie will let me in terms of an investment.”

  James Malone’s face went blank for a few moments, but it appeared that he was thinking. Finally, he nodded to Michael to indicate he wanted the notebook and paper from his tray. Michael handed them to his dad and James carefully wrote out a note.

  Michael was all nerves. What if his father was upset by what he had said, or wanted him to have no part in all of this? After a few more minutes of James struggling to write his thoughts down, he motioned for Michael to grab the notebook and read it.

  Michael looked down at the note and began reading out loud, cause some of the text was difficult to make out. “I am sorry you left your job, but it sounds like it was time. Welcome aboard!! I am happy you want to invest but I want it to be fair. Each of you children gets a share so you have to calculate what an appropriate amount to invest is and let the whole family decide. Work out the details with Annie and your mother but let me know what you come up with. I trust that things are in good hands with you and the rest of the family. So does this mean you are moving back?”

  Michael paused. “Geez, Dad, that was a novel, you made me sweat!”

  James Malone smiled and Michael went over and hugged him. James said,” Sooo are you heeree to stayay?”

  “Yes,” Michael said with a grin.

  James perked up and Michael told him some of his ponderings about what was next. It felt good. These were the things Michael always wanted to be able to discuss with his father but hadn’t been able to for the past thirteen years. He wanted to make for lost time, not only with his father but also with the whole family. And with Beth. Beth — he had almost forgotten about her. He needed to call her tonight and tell her the good news! But first, he was off to Malone’s Market.

  Beth was not herself that day. Usually baking early in the morning really calmed her. Being in the kitchen alone creating something that would start off people’s day really challenged and fulfilled her. Today she just wanted to be home so she could analyze what was happening, or rather, what wasn’t happening. Michael hadn’t called. She had seen him Sunday. Today was Wednesday. Even by guy standards, it was about time he called, especially after what they had shared. She was wondering what she had done wrong. The one time she opened herself up to someone, and was open ... she shook her head.

  After breakfast service was over, Lisa arrived in her sous chef uniform ready to prep for the evening’s service.

  “Hey! How’s it going, Beth! Sorry I’m late but you’re going to love what I’ve come up with for a potential special for tonight!” She looked at Beth and it then registered that something was not quite right.

  “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

  Beth wasn’t going to unleash the whole story on her little sister. But she gave her the details of the date Sunday, including the picnic lunch, the bike ride, the walking through town, pizza — she didn’t mention the Carriage house incident. Lisa was her LITTLE sister, after all. She also told her about going to the market on Tuesday and seeing Annie, and Annie’s response. Michael clearly hadn’t told anyone in the family about Annie or their date — and he and Annie were close. That was clear and it was something Beth knew all along.

  “Huh. That doesn’t add up. He clearly likes you. And I mean Annie. Well, Annie is a rambler, so if something was wrong, she would have told you, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “And I mean, it’s only been like three days. At school, if a guy calls me before three days then I think he is too eager. But I mean, it sounds like he was eager, so why would he wait. I dunno, sis, why don’t you call him, maybe? Or like, I can find out if he’s coming back from Judy or Jonah, right? I see them at Nick’s Pizza all the time on the weekends.”

  Beth thought about it for a moment. Maybe she was being crazy. But he had to have known that you don’t do this to a woman with whom you’ve been intimate. But she wasn’t going to reduce herself to someone who let her little sister do her bidding for her.

  “No, no. You're right. I’ll call him and figure it out. You know, that’s what I’ll do right it now.”

  Beth grabbed her phone and called Michael, but it went straight to voicemail. That’s strange, she thought. Maybe his phone was dead, or maybe he had lost it. Of course then he wouldn’t have her number. Or maybe he just didn’t call? She tried to tell her brain to stop.

  She spoke clearly and left a message. “Hey, Michael, it’s Beth. I haven’t heard from you and wanted see that everything is all right? Call me.” She hung up the phone and looked to Lisa.

  “How was that?”

  Lisa looked skeptical and then said, “I think it was okay. I mean, it’s just a voicemail message after all. I’m sure he’ll call. Probably tonight,” she said with a smile.

  Beth calmed down. Yeah, he would probably call tonight, especially after her message. She relaxed a little and then said, “Okay, so enough about that. What have you got for me for the menu tonight?”

  Chapter 15

  After leaving the hospital Michael went to the market to see his Mom, Annie, Jonah, and Judy with pizzas on hand.

  He told them about everything that had happened in New York and he gave them the details of his visit with his father. They were thrilled! Michael thought after that he’d get to rest, but Annie put him to work right away to calculate shares and see what h
is investment could be so they could get bills paid, buy inventory, and get the rest of the renovations completed.

  He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to value the company, doing SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and finally came up with a number that he thought would work. The amount would allow them to add an office on the first level of the store for their father, close off the elevator shaft for time being, finish the office space upstairs, finish the basement storage area and stock it, and add a prepackaged food area and deli counter so they could feature his mother’s Lobster rolls, as well as other sandwiches. That would work perfectly for attracting more tourists who were looking for a reasonably-priced lunch they could take to go, or eat right there in the new picnic area. There were a few other things he thought they could add that Judy had found in the customer feedback box, including stocking Maine newspapers and magazines and maybe even some basic souvenirs, and designating an area for local business people to post flyers on corkboards. This could make it feel more like a community ... like a family.

  He felt good about this. He didn’t want to work for the market full time, but he could certainly put in enough hours to manage the finances. He was going to have Duffy draw up some paperwork so they could get this settled and Michael could start writing checks for the business.

  The other major occurrence of the day had been that they deciding to move forward with the plans to renovate and move his parents’ bedroom to the downstairs den and they also decided to redo the dining room to make it an office/exercise room for James. It had been used as an office for years anyway. The project would take a little time but it would be the best thing for James when he came home. They still didn’t know when that would be, but one thing was for sure. With all of the Goldfarb money Michael had from their parting, he was going to make sure James had the best medical care possible — and he thought his family just might let him without a fight this time around. When he offered to buy a new car, however, his mother balked.

  “What? They don’t make a better car than the old wagon, I am taking that thing to the grave.”

  Jonah had looked hopeful until his mother said, “I see that look Jonah, and you aren’t getting a car, either, especially not from your brother. A cellphone or a computer is one thing; a car is a whole ‘nother!”

  The evening had ended on a positive note and Michael was ecstatic. He had the day off from Malone’s the next day and he was pretty happy about that.

  He wanted to focus on himself that next day. He needed to figure out his living situation, work situation, and his personal life in general. His personal life ...

  Oh, God, he thought. It was Thursday already and he hadn’t spoken to Beth since their date Sunday and since their night ...

  He grabbed his phone and noticed he had a message. When had that happened? He listened to it and became concerned. Beth sounded terrible in her message. “Hey, Michael, it’s Beth. I haven’t heard from you and wanted see if everything is all right. Call me.”

  Oh, no. He hoped he hadn’t jeopardized things with her. Oh, God, it had been four days. He felt like an idiot. He hoped it wasn’t too late. Beth could be a little stubborn. Michael jolted out of bed.

  He ran to the bathroom and showered but skipped shaving. He dug into his duffel bag and grabbed a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt and his boat shoes and got dressed. How could he not think of her the past four days? Well, that wasn’t true; he had thought of her, he thought of her in every action he took towards moving to Maine. He wasn’t sure where they had been going in terms of a relationship, but he knew he wanted one. He wanted to get to know her better and see if they could work as a couple.

  That’s it; he was going to the Inn — okay, bad idea. It was the middle of breakfast service. He decided to go to the market to see Annie and see what she would do in his situation. He ran down the stairs quickly and was out the door in what felt like only a few moments.

  When he arrived at the market, it had its usual Thursday crowd. Not terribly busy but it was consistent. When Michael went inside he found Annie right away, clipboard in hand, marking something down.

  “Annie,” Michael said, out of breath.

  “Hey, little brother, what’s up? I thought you weren’t coming in today?” Annie barely looked up from her pad as she made notations.

  “I wasn’t but I have a problem and I needed someone to talk to. Preferably a woman, and you were the closest thing I could think of, “ Michael said sarcastically. That got Annie’s attention.

  “Ha, ha. What’s up?”

  “Annie, I think I may have screwed things up with Beth ...”

  “Huh, I didn’t know you had things to screw up yet.” She stopped looking at her clipboard and looked at Michael questioningly. “Let’s go up to my office.”

  Michael followed her up the stairs and into her office and took a seat in one of the metal folding chairs she had in front of her desk.

  “Okay, so what happened exactly?”

  Michael told her about the date during the day on Sunday and gave some, but not all, of the details of their evening. He told her about the message Beth left Wednesday night and how they hadn’t spoke in four days.

  “Annie, you must have seen her, right? Did she mention me?”

  Annie was pensive and then she had a look on her face that said, “Oh, no!”

  “Annie? What do you know?”

  “Well ... she came in Tuesday asking about you. And actually come to think of it, she was pretty decked out. That should have tipped me off but it didn’t. I was so excited to tell Beth about a new recipe Giada had on the Food Net—”

  You and the Food Network, it’s a real problem, Annie,” Michael said, trying to make light of the situation.

  “Okay, Okay, point taken. Anyway, she said something about a business lunch and an upcoming meeting. I told her that you had left for New York, actually kind of suddenly, and that I didn’t have all the details.”

  Michael was a little angry. “Why would you say that?”

  “I had no idea what had happened Sunday and in my defense, I didn’t know what was confidential about your meeting in New York so I was playing it safe and not saying anything about the specifics of your trip. You know how hard that is.”

  “So, now what do I do? Do I call her? Do I show up with flowers?”

  After playing through the various scenarios, they decided that flowers were an admission of guilt. Instead Michael should call ASAP and then head over. Michael thanked Annie for her advice and then walked outside to the picnic area near the parking lot to make the call. He dialed her number and it rang and rang and then went to voicemail. Maybe she was ignoring him. He needed to make sure he didn’t sound like he had done anything wrong in his message. After the beep, he said,” Beth! I got your message, I just got back to Gray Harbor this morning. I have so much to tell you. It was crazy in New York. I’d love to go out, or meet up this weekend or earlier, depending on your schedule. Give me a call.” He hung up. He wondered if he sounded too nonchalant. Too late now. He just hoped that they could work it out.

  So he hadn’t called her back last night. Looks like Michael was no better, and possibly even worse, than one of Lisa’s culinary school boys. What had she been thinking? He just tried to sweep her off her feet before leaving, got what he wanted, and left. Well, he nearly got what he wanted. That didn’t sound like Michael at all ... but people change.

  After all, she always thought he’d do something more creative, not become a finance guy. And well, those guys had a reputation for being real jerks. Not that there was anything wrong with finance ... it just didn’t seem to fit who she thought he was. But Beth thought, I guess I thought wrong.

  Beth continued with her day. She baked early in the morning, cooked various breakfast dishes for guests, and started to clean up. Then her phone rang. It was him. What should she do? Should she answer it? Should she not answer? Before she could make up her mind, it was too late; her voicemail must
have picked up. She stared at her phone and then listened to the message.

  So much to tell me, she thought. You could have called! Calm down, Beth, calm down, she told herself. Well, two could play at this game. She’d wait to call him, too!

  Michael decided to give it some time before he ran over to Warren inn to see Beth, to give her a chance to call him back. In the meantime, he called Duffy to get the paperwork for Malone’s Market finalized and sent to his family members. He contacted the real estate agent about his potential home in Gray Harbor. No news there yet, but when he called his agent in New York, he found out she had already found a renter.

  Two hours had passed. It was already noon, so Michael headed into town to get a slice of pizza. He went to Nick’s Pizza and ordered two slices of pepperoni and a coke. After he ate, he stared at his phone impatiently, willing it to ring — it didn’t. At one thirty he couldn’t take it anymore. He got in his car and drove to the Inn. He knew it was a bad idea, but he didn’t know what else to do; he had to see her.

  The whole way there he rehearsed what he would say once he found her. He knew that this could work if they gave each other a chance.

  He pulled up to the Inn and took a deep breath. He got out of the car and headed right for the reception area. The receptionist was an older woman, possibly Beth’s grandmother? He didn’t see the family resemblance so he doubted it.

  “Hi, is Beth Adams available, please?”

  “Sure, she’s in the kitchen. Let me call and see if she’s available. What’s your name?”

  “Michael Malone, thank you”

  The receptionist called the extension and said, “Hey, I have a Michael Malone here for Beth. Can you see if she’s available? Yeah, I’ll hang on.”

  “Beth, that Michael guy is here at the reception desk,” Lisa called out to her sister.