“He suffered a massive stroke around nine o’clock last night and never regained consciousness.” He looked first at Sam, then at Faith. “I’m so sorry. I know how much Mack meant to both of you.”
Sam noticed a car pulling up alongside the curb out front. “Considering the circumstances, I guess we should close the shop.”
“I can’t tell you how to run your business,” Bill said. “But your mother is hoping you will stay open. In fact, Jackie has taken her home to shower and change. Lovie insists on coming to work this afternoon. She says that once word gets out about Mack, his friends will gravitate here to pay their respects.”
Sam thought that was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard, but it turned out to be true. Lovie arrived within the hour, and for the rest of the day, a continuous stream of patrons came to Sweeney’s—the usual Saturday traffic of vacationers headed to the beach mixed with locals stopping by to pay their respects to Captain Mack Bowman’s adopted family. Mack’s closest friend, Noah, arrived shortly after Lovie and stayed until well past closing. Sam fought off exhaustion, using her mother as a role model of strength. Lovie accepted condolences with a gracious smile, never shedding a tear or exhibiting a sign of weakness. Sam could see Jamie was suffering, but she never got a break from waiting on customers to reach out to him.
Even after six o’clock, when they closed the market to the paying clientele, the townsfolk continued to come. Jackie, Bill, and the twins arrived, followed by Mike, Bitsy, Eli, and Moses. Mack’s fishing buddies showed up reeking of their day’s work. And the marina employees ventured across the street in waves. Faith opened bottles of wine while Sam passed the trays of hors d’oeuvres that Jamie helped Annie prepare—mostly tuna and shrimp salad served on Bremner Wafers.
“How’re you holding up?” Jackie engulfed Sam in a hug, a rare show of affection from her older sister. “It’s been a difficult thirty-six hours for you. Have you had a chance to talk to Jamie about Allen yet?”
“I told him last night as soon as I got home. He didn’t take it well at first, but he seems to be adjusting. He and Annie have been awfully secretive today. I’m glad they’re bonding. I just don’t want him to confuse the two issues—the excitement over finding out he has a half sister and the discovery that the father he’s never met has cancer and needs part of his liver to survive.”
“Poor Jamie. That’s an awful lot to process at once.”
“It is, especially when you add Mack’s death to the mix. The old man was like a grandfather to Jamie. To all the Sweeney cousins.” Sam gestured at the twins.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone.”
“Neither can I,” Sam said. “Mom seems to be processing Mack’s death, but I don’t think she should be alone tonight. I would offer to have her stay with me, but I need to spend some time alone with Jamie.”
“I’m one step ahead of you. I asked her to stay with us indefinitely. Her townhouse is going to feel empty without Mack. He was such a positive influence on her. He kept her grounded. I don’t know how we would have made it through this past year without him.”
“I think she’ll be fine as long as we keep her busy. We don’t want what happened before to happen again—when the market was under renovation and she went a little cuckoo with too much time on her hands.”
Twenty-Seven
Faith
It was nearing eight o’clock when Mack’s attorney showed up at their impromptu visitation. Craig Smalls pulled Faith and Sam over to the corner away from the crowd.
“I realize this isn’t the most opportune time for this discussion. But considering that funeral arrangements will need to be made, and since you all are the closest thing Mack has to a family, I wanted to apprise you of the terms of his will.”
“I don’t understand,” Sam said. “Why us? Why not our mother?”
“Because Mack named the two of you the executors of his estate. Mack lived well below his means.” Smalls paused, choosing his words carefully. “He wasn’t a wealthy man by any stretch of the imagination, but he inherited a sizable sum from his parents. He hasn’t spent a dime of it with the exception of the money he used to buy the property where he keeps his houseboat. Which, alone, is worth several hundred thousands of dollars.”
“Wait, what?” Sam shook her head as if to clear it. “I never knew Mack had money.”
“He never wanted anyone to know. Because he was an only child, with no children of his own, this is the end of the road for the Bowman family.”
“What will happen to the money?” Faith asked.
He looked at Faith. “Your mother will inherit half of it, and the rest will be divided between your sisters and you.”
Sam and Faith stared at each other in disbelief.
“We can talk about the logistics next week after the funeral. The important thing now is to make the arrangements. Mack has left very clear instructions that he wants his body cremated and his ashes spread on the water. He left it to Lovie to pick the right spot.”
“Some of the folks here tonight suggested to Mom that we have a brief service followed by a fish fry out at Mack’s place,” Sam said.
Smalls smiled. “I think Mack would like that.” He handed business cards to Sam and Faith. “Have the bills sent to me. I’ll make sure they get paid.” He surveyed the room as the crowd gathered. “Mack was quite a guy. Prospect will not be the same without him.” He looked back at Faith and Sam. “I’ll be in touch soon, and I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
Once Smalls had gone, Bitsy skipped across the showroom to Faith. “Who was that man, Mama?”
“Oh, he was just a friend of Mack’s.” Faith stroked her daughter’s matted hair. “Did you and Mike work on your playhouse today?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, bobbing her head up and down. “We dug a big hole in the ground, and Mike’s friend filled it with cement.”
“Wow!” Sam said. “That sounds like some playhouse.”
“Bitsy came up with the floor plan all on her own,” Mike said, joining them. He removed a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Faith and Sam. Using crayons, Bitsy had colored an elementary house in yellow with two windows, a door, and window boxes with pink flowers.
“I can’t believe you poured a concrete floor,” Faith said.
Mike shrugged. “One of my patients owns a concrete company.”
Staring up at her mother, her hazel eyes wide, Bitsy asked, “Why did Mack have to go to heaven, Mama?”
Faith lifted the little girl into her arms. “God called Mack to heaven to help him do angel work for him.”
“What kind of angel work?”
Faith touched her daughter’s nose. “Important stuff like guarding over you.”
“You mean, so Daddy can’t get me anymore?”
The color drained from Faith’s face. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
“You have lots of people watching over you.” Mike tickled Bitsy’s belly button with his finger. “In heaven and down here on earth, like me.”
Bitsy giggled and squirmed but quickly grew serious again. “Jamie and Annie aren’t being very nice.” Her lip stuck out in a pout, she pointed at her cousins across the showroom. “They’re over there in the corner telling secrets.”
Faith exchanged a knowing look with her sister.
Sam said, “Your cousins love you, Bits Babe. They would never hurt your feelings intentionally.”
“Sometimes your cousins need to talk about big kid stuff, just like I talk to your aunts about grown-up things. It’s the kind of stuff that isn’t appropriate for little ears like yours,” Faith said, nibbling on Bitsy’s earlobe. She spotted Jamie and Annie making their way through the crowd. “Here they come now, to check on you.”
“Aww, Bits, what’s the matter?” Jamie tugged on his young cousin’s sandal. “I know you’re sad about Mack. We all are.” He turned to Sam. “I know this isn’t exactly the best time to bring this up, but Annie and I were wondering if yo
u would go with us to Charleston tomorrow to see her dad.”
Faith watched her sister closely. If this request came as a surprise, Sam didn’t show it.
“I don’t think we’ll have Mack’s funeral until Monday, so I don’t see why not,” Sam said.
Annie rested her head on Jamie’s shoulder. “He’s agreed to get tested to see if he’s a match.”
“Get tested for what?” Bitsy asked.
Faith and Mike exchanged looks, and he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders.
“Jamie is going to get tested to see if his blood matches Annie’s,” Faith answered. “Turns out they might be brother and sister.”
“Which makes Annie your sort-of cousin.” Mike gave her little pink sneaker a tug. “Isn’t that cool?”
Bitsy’s face scrunched up in confusion. She opened her mouth and inserted her thumb, burying her face in her mother’s chest.
“I’m proud of you,” Sam said, squeezing her son’s shoulder. “One step at a time.”
“Can Annie stay at our house tonight?” Jamie asked. “We want to leave early for Charleston in the morning. Besides, we have a lot to talk about. I can run her out to the farm now to get her stuff.”
A flash of disappointment crossed Sam’s face, but she quickly recovered. “I guess that will be fine. But come straight back. I’ll be ready to go home as soon as our guests leave.” Sam cleared her throat, nodding her head at Bitsy.
Taking the hint, Jamie asked, “Do you want to ride with us, Bits?”
Biting down on her lip, she nodded. Jamie turned his back to her and she grabbed hold of his shoulders, jumping on for a piggyback ride.
“Looks like Annie is here to stay,” Mike said, once the kids were gone.
“Yep.” Sam sighed. “And somehow I need to get used to the idea that my son has a half sister.”
Faith pulled her sister in for a half hug. “I know, honey. This can’t be easy for you.”
“I was hoping for some time alone with Jamie tonight,” Sam said. “I’ll have to settle for a cup of green tea and a long soak in the tub since wine is out of the question.”
Faith motioned toward Eli, who was engrossed in conversation with Lovie across the room. “I don’t understand why you have to settle for anything when you can have that hunky man, who obviously adores you, holding you in his arms tonight.”
Mike chuckled. “I don’t want to overstep my boundaries as brother-in-law here, but I have to say, I agree with my wife. Eli is one of the good guys. I’d hate to see you let him go.”
Twenty-Eight
Jackie
When Jackie heard someone stir during the night, she assumed it was her mother and got up to check on her. She found Lovie sitting at the breakfast room table staring out the window into the dark night.
“Are you having trouble sleeping? Let me make you some tea,” Jackie said, popping a Pure Camomile K-cup into her Keurig. When the machine finished brewing, she added a drop of milk and a pinch of sugar the way her mother liked it.
“Thank you, honey,” Lovie said when Jackie slid the mug in front of her. They sat in silence for a minute while she sipped her tea. “You don’t need to fuss over me. I know you girls are waiting for me to collapse, but that’s not going to happen as long as I keep busy.”
“We’ve all suffered a great loss, Mom, and we should grieve together. Expressing our sorrow over losing someone we love is not a weakness. It is part of the process of healing.” Jackie reached for her mother’s wrinkled hand. She rubbed Lovie’s knuckles, gnarled from years of hard work. “Pampering you makes us feel better. You’ve done so much for us over the years. Let us do this one thing for you in return.”
Lovie tugged her hand free of Jackie’s. “I know how this will go. Tonight you’re offering me a cup of tea. Next week you’ll be moving me to a retirement home.”
“Please don’t bring that up again, Mom. I learned my lesson last summer. If you move anywhere, it will be into my guest cottage. And only on your own terms.”
Lovie appeared hopeful, as though she liked the idea, then her face fell. “I couldn’t possibly do that. What would I do with all my things?”
“Put them in storage. Or leave them in your townhouse. You wouldn’t have to make a permanent move. Just until you felt better.” Jackie got up and poured herself a glass of milk. “For the record,” she said when she returned to the table, “I thought I was doing the right thing by taking you to visit the Hermitage. You were so confused back then. A different person than you are now.”
“I know what you’re thinking.” Lovie set her mug down. “You’re thinking I’ve been better off this past year because I’ve had Mack in my life.”
Jackie wagged her finger at her mother. “Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Mom. It’s true. I think you’ve been in a much better frame of mind since you started seeing Mack. But that’s because you were happy. And not so lonely. Contrary to what you believe, none of us is waiting for you to go off the deep end now that he is gone. But there is nothing wrong with us fussing over you. You don’t always have to be the strong one. You can lean on your family for a change. We’re here for you.”
“I already miss him so much. I feel this ache deep down inside, and I know it’ll only get worse. I’m afraid to face my life without him. The only thing I know to do is stay busy so I don’t have to think about it.”
“Until it’s four o’clock in the morning and you can’t sleep.”
Lovie smiled a sad smile. “When I can’t sleep at home, I refuse to lie in bed tossing and turning. I get up and make good use of my time. Do you have any silver that needs polishing?”
Jackie laughed. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t ask you to polish it.”
“I used to bake brownies for Mack during the night when I couldn’t sleep.” Lovie smiled at the memory. “He would eat them for breakfast with a big glass of milk. His presence is in every corner of my home.”
“All the more reason for you to move into my guest house. If only for awhile.”
Lovie sniffled. “Isn’t Annie living in your guest house?”
“Not indefinitely.” When Jackie had volunteered the guest house to Annie, she’d been thinking in terms of weeks, not months. Now, knowing that Annie’s father might die and that Jamie was her only other family shed a new light on the situation. While Jackie had grown fond of the girl, appreciated her resourcefulness and companionship, she wasn’t ready to foster a teenage girl on a permanent basis. Especially now that she was so close to empty nesting. She had plans—for her husband to apply for a position at MUSC and to renovate Clara Graves’s house. Not that she wanted to see Clara go. She would miss the charming lady. But she knew the upkeep on such a large house was taking its toll on Clara’s old bones, and she feared she might have another fall.
Jackie patted her mother’s arm. “We don’t have to make a decision about this now. Just think about it. It would be nice for the twins to have their grandmother around, especially during the school year while I’m in Charleston.”
“In other words, you’re looking for someone to do the cooking and cleaning for your family while you’re off gallivanting around in Charleston. You need someone to take Faith’s place as their stand-in mother.”
Jackie pushed back from the table. “The twins are almost seventeen years old. They hardly know when I’m in the same room with them. They need someone to buy groceries and make dinner for them every now and then. And to hand out twenty-dollar bills, which is their father’s responsibility. I’ll remind you that Faith lived here for free while she got back on her feet after her breakup with Curtis. She helped me out, and I helped her out in return. It was a win-win situation for both of us. I was trying to do something nice for you, Mom, by offering you a place to live while you mourn your loss.”
Lovie stared up at Jackie, her face set in stone. “And I’m trying to tell you that I don’t need your help.”
I’m a fifty-one-year-old woman, not a disobedient child caught with her ha
nd in the cookie jar five minutes before dinner. Why is it my mother can zap my self-confidence with one cock of her penciled-on eyebrow?
“Fine, then.” Jackie rose. “Enjoy your tea. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Jackie bypassed the master bedroom and went straight to Bill’s study down the hall where he’d been sleeping on his pullout sofa bed for the past nine months. Without knocking, she opened the door and nudged him to move over on the lumpy mattress. She crawled under his thin blanket and spooned him from behind. She kissed his bare shoulder, and then his neck and ear.
He woke slowly at first, but then came to life when he realized what was happening. He rolled over, facing her. “Does this mean…”
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body close. “I think you’ve suffered enough.”
“No, baby.” His voice was husky in her ear. “I haven’t suffered nearly enough.”
Twenty-Nine
Sam
No one spoke a word on the ride home from Charleston on Sunday afternoon. Jamie slept in the backseat while Annie stared out the passenger window, wiping at her eyes and sniffling. Sam was afraid to ask, and neither of them seemed willing to volunteer a report of their visit with Allen. Judging from their despondent demeanors, she guessed that things had not gone well.
She had refused the opportunity to see Allen, having already heard everything she needed to hear from him. She stayed in the waiting room while Jamie and Annie went back to ICU. Jamie wasn’t gone long, and didn’t have much to say when he returned. They went down to the lab together for the preliminary tests that would determine if Jamie was donor material. After a simple blood test, Sam wasn’t surprised when the oncologist intern, an arrogant kid not much older than Jamie, declared him a potential match.
“We’ll need to conduct several other tests to be certain,” the boy doctor said.
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