Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
“ W hat are you doing here?” Nell asked Lauren. “Aren’t you supposed to be home waiting for this baby to arrive?”
Nell and Brian, the two employees at Lauren’s real estate firm, were in charge while Lauren was on maternity leave. Lauren had complete faith in their ability to handle the responsibility, but there was another, more important reason for her visit.
“I’m losing my mind, guys. This baby is officially late now and shows no sign he wants to join the rest of the world. I have no idea why. I avoid watching the news or horror movies, and anything that might upset him in vitro.”
Brian laughed. “Do you think your baby knows what you’re watching on tv?”
Nell nodded. “Don’t laugh. Lauren is right. I just saw the winner of that talent show. I forget the name now, but anyway, I heard she hummed before she was born. The doctor caught it on ultrasound. He said he could hear the baby actually humming. It’s a thing.”
Lauren laughed. “I was joking about the tv thing, but that is something,” she said while looking over the firm’s website. “Looks like we’ve got several good properties listed. Great work, you two.”
Nell beamed. “Thanks, I got a few of those just this week. So, Lauren, don’t you think that you’ll be crazy busy once the baby comes? I mean, I know you’ll miss working here, but I doubt you’ll have time to think about us while you’re taking care of your family.”
Lauren nodded. “Oh, I’m sure you’re right. I think the only reason I’ve been so antsy is that I don’t have anything to do. Jeff and the girls run around taking care of everything. I swear sometimes they treat me like I’m sick, not pregnant.”
“They are only doing that because they care about you,” Nell responded. “I think you should be grateful for this time. Pretty soon, you’ll be begging for alone time. Is that what’s really bothering you, or is there something else you’re not telling us?”
Lauren hesitated, but then realized she needed to talk about what was on her mind.
She rolled her chair closer to Nell and Brian, and leaned in. “Okay, well, I might as well say it. I miss being a stay-at-home mom. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I’ve built here…what we’ve built. But I miss all the hours spent with my children…their school…their projects, just about everything. I miss gardening, showing the girls how to sew, how to bake. I miss teaching my kids all the things my mother taught me. I miss it all.”
“Is that all?” Brian asked.
Nell slapped him on the arm. “What do you mean, is that all? It’s a lot.” She turned to Lauren, “So, tell Jeff how you feel. He’ll understand. Jeff’s a great guy.”
Lauren nodded. “I know, you’re right. It’s just that he loves being a stay-at-home-dad. He’s good at it and everyone says they can’t get over how natural he is at it. We both can’t stay home. Someone needs to make a living.”
Nell looked at Brian and then back at Lauren. “Listen, Brian and I are perfectly capable of running this place. You tell us how far you want it to go, and we’ll take the business there.”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk about. I know I considered selling the business to you two, and that’s still a possibility. But, I’m just not ready to make that leap. I hope you understand. I need to completely sure it’s the right thing to do”
Nell shrugged. “Nothing was set in stone, Lauren. You were thinking out loud at the time. The important thing is first deciding what you do want your life to look like. We’ll do whatever you want as far as this place goes. Do you want to expand? Can you make the money you want with one agency or should we start looking for more properties…more opportunities for growth? Tell us what you want us to do. You can always work from home and come into the office as much or as little as you want.”
Lauren got up from her chair and pulled Nell into a hug and looked at Brian. “Oh, you two are the best. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you. Yes, I want this place to grow, and I’d love nothing better than to get more clients…maybe branch out into commercial properties too.”
“Then let’s make it happen. We’ll work around the clock if we have to. It’s probably a good idea to see if we can get more agents in here,” Brian said.
She assumed it was her latest pregnancy that brought her to this new realization. Whatever the reason, she felt blessed to have options when so many women had little choice between working from home or taking a job, or two, outside the home. She even wondered if her privilege afforded her time to find a way to help them.
What can I do that could make a difference?
She felt much better for sharing her thoughts with Nell and Brian. Now, all she had to do is tell Jeff that she needed to be more involved in Olivia and Lily’s lives, and that she’d been having nightmares about becoming a stranger to her children. She’d do whatever it took to ensure that never happened.
Thomas and Willow were fast asleep, each taking late afternoon naps. Everyone was emotionally exhausted from the funeral, and the thought of a nap sounded great to Beth.
“It’s the middle of the day. Let’s just sit outside under the sun and get some vitamin D,” Linda said.
Beth finished wiping down the kitchen island. She rubbed lotion on her hands. “Great idea. I’ll see if Gabriel and James would like to join us.”
“I saw them a while ago, but I have no idea where they ran off to,” Linda responded. “I’ll go upstairs and get my swimsuit on.”
As Linda made it to the top of the stairs, she stopped and called down to Beth. “I found them. I think they’re up in the attic.
“In the attic? What are they doing up there?” Beth asked as she joined Linda at the top of the stairs.
Linda shrugged as she pointed to the attic stairs pulled down. She climbed the stairs, with Beth following close behind. When they got to the attic, they saw Gabriel and James looking through several boxes that were put away for safe-keeping. An opened large wooden trunk in the corner was filled with an assortment of baby clothes, games and newspapers.
“Hey ladies, come join us. You should see all the great stuff Dad and Mom kept up here.”
James held up a onesie. “Can you believe we actually fit in this thing?”
Linda laughed. “Yes, I can. I do believe Willow was that little once.”
“Move over, I want to see,” Beth said.
Beth sat on the floor next to Gabriel and admired the picture in his hands. “You were an adorable baby.”
“Thank you. I think so, too,” he said.
They looked over several photos and James and Gabriel’s school report cards, handmade birthday cards the boys made for their mother and father.
There were piles of children's story books, several boxes of toys and clothes belonging to Gabriel and James. Most everything would never be looked at or used again.
“I know Dad said he didn’t want to move but there will come a time when he will, and we’ll have to get rid of most of this stuff.”
“That’s so sad,” Linda said.
Beth nodded. “It is, but like most families, it will have to be done. I wish we could talk him into at least visiting with us soon. Maybe the more he’s with us, the more likely he’ll want to stay in Massachusetts.”
Linda kept looking through the photo albums, and when she was done, she passed them on to Beth.
“Where were these pictures taken?” Beth asked, pointing to a photo of Tori and Thomas surrounded by apple trees.
“That’s our place. You’ve walked through there. It’s back where the apple orchard used to be.”
“Used to be? Last time I looked, we still had apple trees there,” Beth said.
“You know what I mean. We don’t do anything with it now, but once upon a time, it was a thriving orchard. Mom used to make jams, applesauce, and apple pies. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better apple pie than Mom’s.”
“Oh, man, we were so lucky back then,” James added. “I remember us picking the apples and helping. Mom even sold her stuff at local markets, and of course all the county fairs and events in town.”
“Why did she stop?” Beth asked.
Gabriel shrugged. “I have no idea. James, do you know?” he asked.
“No, not really. I just know that she stopped, and then when we were older they moved out to California.”
Linda handed Beth a recipe box.
“I bet the recipes are in this.”
Beth opened the box and went through the three by five cards inside. In the front was a list of every recipe. “You’re right, she’s got apple pies, peach pies, blueberry pies and lots of jams and jelly recipes. I wouldn’t throw this box away. As a matter of fact, I’d be careful about throwing anything out until we’ve all had a chance to go through everything.”
“Why don’t we take down a few of these boxes of photos, papers and recipes now? You can ask your father about the apple orchard and find out why they stopped running it. I’d be curious,” Linda added.
Beth nodded. “I agree. It’s so important to ask these questions now while your father is still alive. I hate hearing that people don’t have answers about questions of the past now that family members are gone.”
“That’s fine with me,” Gabriel said.
The four of them pushed several smaller boxes to the edge of the attic stairs. They were able to bring everything to the dining room table.
Everyone was talking, but Beth was deep in thought, and Gabriel noticed. “Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind?”
“Gabriel, why don’t we continue your mother’s work?” she asked.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I mean, we have all these acres of land, and an apple orchard that’s being left to die. Why? I do think we should ask your father about what happened back then, but I’m certain we can make it work.”
Linda and James overheard Beth’s suggestion.
“Beth, what about your law career? Do you know how much work it takes to run a thriving orchard? It’s not the kind of thing you do part-time,” James said.
“James is right. You’d have to commit to it full-time. Not only that, but you also can’t do it alone. We’d all have to pitch in and help. James and I already have a busy furniture-making business. I don’t see how we’d have the time to work the land as well.”
Linda was quiet, and Beth could see she was thinking about the possibilities.
“Linda, you haven’t said anything about this. What do you think? This is something you and I could do together. I’m sure of it. I’ve been so conflicted about going back to a career that I’m not passionate about. I’ve been looking for a sign on what I should do. I feel this could be that sign.”
Gabriel jumped in before Linda could say a word. “Could be is not exactly a guarantee of anything.”
Linda looked at Beth. “I love the idea.” She then looked at her husband. “You know how much I’ve been looking for something of my own. I love being a mother, and that comes before anything, but…”
James answered her. “But you want something more.”
Linda nodded. “Look at it this way, we’d all be together. The four of us, working to build something from the past and carry on a tradition we can hand down to Willow and any more children we have.”
Beth looked at Gabriel. “That’s true for us and our children too. Please, Gabriel. I think these papers, photos and recipes are a sign. Your mother said to James that she wanted all of us to be together. We can’t get more together than this.”
Gabriel looked at his brother, who was smiling at him.
“I guess they’ve got a point, bro. What do you think?”
Gabriel shrugged. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t fight both of them.”
Linda laughed as Beth flew into Gabriel’s arms and kissed him. “No, you can’t.”