Hand-Me-Down Love

by Ransom, Jennifer

  “Did things work out for you like you wanted them to.”

  “Yes, they have.”

  “I’m happy for you, Sean. I really am. I miss you. Good luck.” She hung up before Sean could reply.

  “What happened?” Marla asked. “Did somebody die?”

  “Yeah, that old guy I used to talk to at the bar. He was eighty-eight. I never knew he was that old.”

  “I’m sorry,” Marla said.

  “He had a lot of stories. I liked listening to him.”

  He stood up. “Let’s go to bed.” Marla followed him willingly, with Cody and Lucy at their heels.

          

  “Michael’s here to see you,” Jada said. Marla and Sean were in the courtyard working on an old kitchen cabinet that needed a total overhaul. Sean was removing the hinges and Marla was putting them in a plastic bag to use later if they were any good. They looked at each other. It had been several days since the unfortunate incident with Michael.

  “Go ahead,” Sean said. “I’ll be right here.”

  She walked over to Michael, who was standing by the front door.

  “Hey, Michael.”

  “Hey. Could we go somewhere and talk.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is he here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can we step outside then?”

  She nodded and followed him out the door. The August day was hot and humid.

  “I don’t understand what you’re doing,” Michael said. “I thought we had something going.”

  “I thought so, too. I never would have gotten involved with you if I’d thought differently. I thought I was over Sean.”

  “Sean. That’s his name. I couldn’t remember,” he said. “It seems weird to me. I know I said that the other day.”

  “Yes. I’m sure you won’t be the first.”

  “I was pretty upset. The bottom dropped out on me.”

  “I know. I feel terrible about that because I know what a good person you are. I care about you a lot.”

  “But not in that way, huh.”

  “No. I was going to tell you as soon as you got back. Sean wasn’t even back here then, but I was going to tell you because I knew I couldn’t love Sean and be with you. Even if Sean wasn’t here.”

  “I’ve lost you twice.”

  “I’m sorry, Michael.”

  Sean walked out of the front door then. “You okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  Michael looked over at Sean. “You’re a lucky man,” he said, and then he walked away, around the corner.

  “We need to talk to my parents,” she said. “Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  “I’ll call them tonight.”

  “It’s going to be all right,” Sean said as he hugged her.

  “Actually, I think I’ll call my mother right now,” Marla said. “We need to get this over with.”

  She went back inside and picked up her phone she’d left on the desk.

  “Mom?”

  “Hey, honey,” Cynthia said. “I haven’t heard from you lately. Is everything all right?”

  “Everything’s fine, Mom. I was calling to let you know Sean is back.”

  “He is? That’s great!”

  “He’s staying over here with me, like before.”

  “Okay,” Cynthia said.

  “We’d like to come over and talk to you and Dad about something. Can we come by tonight?”

  “Yes, of course. What is this about? Is it bad news?”

  “No, not bad news. I’ll tell you tonight. We’ll be over at seven.”

  She walked out to the courtyard. “We’re going over there tonight,” she said. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “I’m ready, Marla. I can handle it.”

  “I’m nervous,” she said.

  “I know.”

  After the shop closed, Sean and Marla took showers to wash off the sweat from a day spent in the heat. They drank a glass of wine before going out the door.

  The white Victorian had been in Marla’s mother’s family since the early eighteen hundreds, when a great great great and maybe another great grandfather had built it. A huge oak tree more than two hundred years old shaded the house. Azalea bushes framed the foundation, though they were not in bloom in the heat of late summer.

  Sean and Marla got out of his truck and walked to the carport door.

  “This is it,” Marla said.

  “Let’s go.”

  Marla could see her mother through the window, standing at the sink. Cynthia saw them and opened the door. She hugged Marla and then turned to Sean. She held out her arms and he hugged her. “We’ve missed you,” Cynthia said.

  “I’ve missed you, too,” he said.

  “Your dad’s in the living room. I’ll get us all a glass of wine and be right there.”

  Bob stood up when Sean and Marla walked in. He gave Marla a hug, then shook Sean’s hand. “Good to see you, son.”

  “Good to see you too, sir,” Sean said.

  Cynthia came into the room carrying a large tray of filled wine glasses and a plate of cheese and crackers.

  “Let me help you with that,” Sean said, standing and taking the tray from Cynthia.

  Finally, they were all settled with a glass of wine.”

  “What did you want to talk about?” Cynthia asked.

  Marla looked over at Sean, who looked back with encouragement.

  “There’s no way to say this but straight out,” Marla said, looking at Cynthia, then Bob.

  “Sean and I are together.”

  “What do you mean?” Cynthia asked, carefully placing her glass of wine on the coffee table.

  “I mean we’re together. We’re in love with each other.”

  “When did this happen?” Bob asked from his chair, which seemed very far away from them.

  “Right after Christmas,” Sean said. He wasn’t going to make Marla handle everything all by herself.

  Bob and Cynthia didn’t speak at first, and it was an uncomfortable silence.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Sean?” Bob asked. “You’re telling me that you didn’t even grieve Meredith for a year before you got with someone else? Someone who is very likely a substitute for Merrie?”

  “That someone else is your daughter, sir. Your other daughter.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” Bob said. “But I can’t have you use Marla like this. It’s not fair to her or anyone else in this family.”

  “I’m not using Marla,” Sean said firmly. “I love Marla.”

  “Dad, he’s not using me. We fell in love with each other.”

  “If you’re so in love then why did you leave?” he said to Sean. “You were gone for a long time.”

  “Yes, I was gone for a while. I left to make sure that my feelings for Marla were genuine. We both felt that we should be very certain about our feelings.”

  “Sounds like you ran away to me,” Bob said. “Like you ran away from everything else after Merrie died. Making Marla do all your dirty work. Maybe you don’t really know what love is. Maybe you’ve got it confused with gratitude. Or helplessness.”

  Sean couldn’t believe how badly this was going. He had expected resistance, but not this. Sean realized that Bob had been angry for a while at the way he had handled his business after Merrie died.

  “I think we should go now,” Marla said looking over at Sean.

  “No, not yet,” he said. He turned back to Bob.

  “Losing Meredith was the worst thing that ever happened in my life. In all of our lives. I’ll always love her. If she hadn’t died, I’d still be with her right now and forever. But she did die, and I was a basket case. I don’t think I would have survived if it hadn’t been for Marla. She saved my life.”

  Bob started to speak but Sean cut him off. “With all due respect, sir, why can’t you understand why I would love Marla? She and Meredith came from the same fa
mily, the same parents. You and Cynthia. Why wouldn’t I love Marla? I’m not going to find anyone better than her. I’m not even going to find anyone equal to her.”

  Cynthia walked over to the couch and sat beside Sean. She placed her hand on his arm. Bob glared at Cynthia, then at Sean.

  “Look, I know this is hard to understand. I know that a lot of people will think our being together is wrong. They’ll probably think we started something a long time ago. But I can’t help what they think.”

  He turned to Cynthia and hugged her. “Thank you,” he said.

  “I love you,” she said back.

  Sean stood and Marla stood with him. “Now we can go,” he said.

  “Before we go, I want to give y’all something that Meredith wrote before she died,” Marla said. “I just found it recently.” She pulled the copy of the diary entry out of her purse. It was folded in half. She handed it to her mother, then gave her a hug.

  “Goodbye, Dad. I love you.” Bob still sat in his chair, staring at the wall. He didn’t look at them.

  When they got back in Sean’s truck, Marla broke down into tears.

  “Come here,” Sean said, gathering her in his arms.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Cynthia watched Sean and Marla walk out to the truck. They got in, but they didn’t drive off right away. She could only imagine how Marla was hurting at the way her father had treated Sean. She was angry at Bob, but she also knew him very well. Better than he knew himself. He would come around.

  As she stood at the window looking out, she thought about Meredith. When she was born she was completely bald with the biggest blue eyes she’d ever seen. By the time she was two, Merrie had a full head of shiny blond hair. She was always laughing and learned to talk very early. She loved words and she used them to play jokes on people. Merrie loved to play jokes.

  Cynthia didn’t know how she had survived watching her baby girl die in that hospital bed in the sick room. It nearly killed her to be so helpless. To not be able to make her little girl well. Isn’t that what mothers do? Make their children well?

  Sean’s truck finally pulled out of the driveway. Cynthia walked into the living room where Bob was still sitting, staring at the wall. He blinked when she came in and looked at her.

  “To think I trusted him with my daughter. I wish I’d never hired him.”

  “You trusted him because he was trustworthy. Is trustworthy,” she said. “Why do you think Merrie loved him so much? Because he’s a good person. And that’s why Marla loves him, too, whether you like it or not.”

  “I know you’re on their side,” he said.

  “You’re damn right I am. Can’t you see how much they love each other? Do you have any idea how hard it was for them to come over and face us? You? They were hoping for our blessing.”

  “They’re not getting that from me,” he said harshly.

  “Well, they’re getting it from me,” she said. “I’m not willing to lose another daughter, and you shouldn’t be either.”

  Cynthia left Bob to stew in his own juices and walked into the kitchen. She sat down at the table and unfolded the piece of paper Marla had given her. Her sweet little girl’s handwriting was so weak, it stabbed Cynthia in the heart. When she had finished reading it, she folded it back up and put her face in her hands and cried.

  Bob walked in while Cynthia was crying. “What is it? What’s in that paper?”

  She handed it to him.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Do you wanna go out tonight?” Sean asked Marla. She was sitting at the desk in the shop, going over receipts. In the days since they had gone to her parents, she had been quiet. There was sadness in her eyes. He asked her once if she regretted it. “Not one bit,” she had said. He believed her. She needed some time to deal with everything.

  “Like where?”

  “We could go to Steamboat Joe’s. That’s always been a good place for us.”

  “Okay. I guess so.”

  “Or we can stay home and I’ll grill some steaks and shrimp. How about that?”

  “I like that better. Let’s do that.”

  “I’ll go to the store then,” Sean said. “Be back soon.” He walked over and kissed her. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Marla. I feel responsible for splitting your family apart. I never thought that would happen.”

  “No,” she said emphatically. “It’s not your fault.” She kissed him goodbye and decided to call it a day. She called Cody and Lucy in from the courtyard and they all went upstairs.

  Later, when he was grilling the steaks on the balcony, Marla came up behind him and put her arms around him. He reached back and stroked her arm.

  “These are almost ready. You got the salad and baked potato?”

  “They’re ready.”

  While they were eating, Sean broached a subject he’d been thinking about for a few days, well, ever since they’d talked to Marla’s parents.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said.

  “About what?”

  “About our moving away from Bay Point. Maybe it’s too hard to stay here.”

  Marla stopped chewing and put her fork down. “Move away?” she said. “But I love Bay Point. This is where I’m from. It’s my town. My parents are here.”

  “I know. It wouldn’t be far away. Just a little way, so you could still see them anytime you want. I was thinking Daphne.”

  “Daphne? I don’t know.”

  She picked up her fork and started eating again. Sean knew her well enough by this point to know that she was thinking about what he had said. It might take her a few days, but she would think about it.

  That night in bed, Sean held Marla close and kissed her.

  “I know we’ve never talked about this,” he said. “But do you want to marry me?”

  “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  “I’m asking,” he said. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes.”

  He kissed her again.

  “I know it’s hard to think about leaving Bay Point, and we won’t even think about that if you don’t want to.”

  “I’m thinking about it,” she said.

          

  Marla called her mother the next day, as soon as she got up.

  “Mom?”

  “Hey, honey.”

  “Sean asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

  “Congratulations. I know you’ll be happy together.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  It was hard to say the next part, but she did. “We’re also talking about leaving Bay Point.”

  “Is it because of your father?”

  “I guess so. It’s too hard to stay here if he won’t give us his blessing. It’s going to be hard enough with everyone else in town, but without his blessing. . .”

  “I don’t want you to go,” Cynthia said.

  “I know. I don’t want to leave you and Dad either.”

  “When are you getting married?”

  “We haven’t really talked about that. But it’ll be soon, I think. We sort of feel like we’re against the world right now and getting married will make us solid.”

  “I get it,” her mother said.

  After she hung up from her mother, Marla walked down to the shop, and Sean went with her. Jada and Derrick were outside finishing up some furniture for the Labor Day sale. Sean went out to help them while Marla worked on the books. It was a good business and she didn’t know what she would do to make a living if she and Sean moved away. They hadn’t talked about that. She knew Sean could never be a banker again. What would they do?

  Late that afternoon, as Jada and Derrick were getting ready to leave, Marla said, “Guess what?”

  “What?” Jada said.

  “Sean and I have decided to get married.”

  Jada burst into tears.

  “Well, it’s not that bad,” Marla said, laughing.

  “No, I’m just so happy for both of you. I know things
haven’t been easy.”

  She and Derrick both walked over to hug Marla. Sean came in the back door.

  “What’s this?” he said. “Am I missing a group hug?”

  “Congratulations, man,” Derrick said. Sean smiled and joined the group hug.

  “Let’s go out and celebrate this weekend,” Derrick said as he and Jada walked out the side door. “On me this time.”

  “I think they’re our best friends,” Sean said after they left. “I’m glad you told them. It makes me know you’re happy about it.”

  “Of course I’m happy about it.”

  “I know you wish the circumstances could be different.”

  She heard the front door and Marla realized she hadn’t locked it for the day yet. Her father walked in. He had only been in her shop a few times, even though he owned the building. She took Sean’s hand and together they walked to the front.

  “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hey, honey.”

  “Hello, sir,” Sean said.

  Bob put out his hand to Sean. “Hello, son.”

  Sean shook his hand. Marla was going to start crying, she knew it.

  “Your mother called me today to tell me that you’re getting married.”

  “Yes,” Marla and Sean said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

  “She also said you’re thinking about leaving Bay Point.”

  “That’s true,” Sean said.

  “I guess it takes a house to fall on me sometimes. I’ve been thinking ever since y’all came over and ever since I read what Merrie wrote. Thinking a lot. And then today your mother called me with the news.”

  Sean and Meredith waited for him to finish.

  “And I want to say I’m sorry to the both of you.”

  Marla had never heard her father say he was sorry in her entire life.

  “I was wrong to say those things to you, son. I understand now that you really do love each other. And if it means anything to you, I’m giving you my blessing. But on one condition.”

  That was her father, always making deals.

  “What’s that, sir?” Sean asked.

  “That you not move away from Bay Point, at least not because of anything I’ve done. It’s killing Cynthia. And I don’t like it, either.”