Chapter 35
Paul
Paul had just finished working with a client when Victoria walked up to him. He was texting with Jessica, standing next to some free weights, while a soundtrack designed for gym studios performed by Fearless Motivation played over the speakers.
I had such a good time.
Ditto.
And what about that shooting star we saw?
I know. Crazy, right?
“They took me back, bitch!” Victoria said.
“Say what?” Paul put the phone away.
“Yep. Got two new shoots lined up, so all is well. The old apologize-my-eyes-out trickeroo worked. What do you think of that?”
“See? A little bit of being nice goes a long way, Vic. Isn’t that the way it should be?”
“You’re right. Man. I am so glad I talked to you.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” Paul smiled. “Here to help my employees find their—"
“Hey, Paul.”
Paul swallowed as he registered who was talking behind him. He swung around, his stomach twisting. “Oh hi, Marsha.” He quickly put on a smile. “How are you?”
“Good as always.” She came up and slipped an arm around his shoulder, giving him a squeeze that he immediately stepped away from. Whatever scent she was wearing lingered too long. “How are you, sweetie?”
“Victoria just got a new modeling job,” Paul said. “Isn’t that cool?”
“Wow, fantastic.” She gave Paul a warm smile after flicking her attention to Victoria. “Ready to do this?”
“You bet.” He forced himself to return her smile.
Paul shot Victoria a sideways glance as he walked over to the Nautilus equipment with Marsha. She touched his hand and then “accidentally” leaned against him for a moment. He felt her hair brush against his skin.
“I really do love coming here, you know that,” she said, sitting down on the upper body extension machine. “After my divorce, it’s like this studio’s about all I have to look forward to. Bob’s gone now, and all I have is my schnauzer, Ed. Poor Ed, he’s not a spring chicken anymore.” She stared deep into Paul’s eyes, longingly, as if some sort of mystical treasure was hidden inside them.
In her late thirties, Marsha was in excellent shape, and Paul felt a small sense of personal pride in that. He’d worked hard with her, and he was happy for her in that sense. After all, health was wealth, right? But he wasn’t interested in buying what she was selling.
She gave him a flirtatious smile. “Want to come over sometime and have a drink with me? What do you say?”
Paul knew he needed to put this business to rest, and now was the time. His chest stiffened, and his throat turned dry. “I’m sorry, Marsha,” he said. “I’m actually seeing someone. But even if I wasn’t, I really don’t think we should turn our relationship into something other than a professional one.”
She sat there, eyes blinking. “Oh.”
“So, do you mind if we just stick to working out? You’re doing so well, and you have the momentum going, and—”
Tears began to well up in Marsha’s eyes, and the next thing Paul knew, she was sobbing, her head in her hands. For a long, brutal moment, she didn’t say anything. There were about ten other people in the studio and they all stopped what they were doing and looked to see what was going on.
“I’m just so alone right now,” she said.
Paul motioned for Victoria to come over, and she stepped up to Marsha.
“Hey, hey. What’s wrong, Marsh?” she said gently.
“Look at me. I’m boiling over in front of everyone.” She sniffled. “I’m so embarrassed.”
Victoria brought her a tissue from a box resting on a corner table, and Marsha wiped her eyes.
“It’s okay,” Victoria said. “What’s the problem, honey?”
“Him.” She pointed at Paul. “I’ve got a goddamn crush on this guy.”
“I-I’m . . .” Paul stammered.
“Paul? Really, Marsha?” Victoria flashed her a wry smile. “Trust me, you don’t even want to go there. He’s actually pretty lousy in bed.”
Paul raised an eyebrow at her. What?
“Well, you are,” she said directly to him.
“I am?” Paul asked.
“You don’t want him.” Victoria waved a hand in the air. “He’s just one problem after another. When he’s not working, all he does is watch cat videos. He’s as boring as C-SPAN.”
Marsha laughed.
“That’s not—” Paul took a breath, then he realized where this was going. “You know, you’re right. Boring as paint drying. Not interesting at all.” He shook his head.
“I should know, Marsh. We used to go out. He looks good, sure, but . . .” Victoria shook her head and scanned Paul up and down. “Not much beneath the surface, Marsh. Not much at all.”
Marsha cackled. “Cat videos, huh?”
“You bet,” Victoria said.
“Come on, Marsha,” Victoria said. “Let’s get you a drink of water, take some deep breaths, and then get you trained for the day, okay? I’m sure it’s rough being alone and all, but I really hope that coming here to the studio is helping you.”
“I think I want Victoria to train me from now on,” she said with a defiant look on her face.
Paul’s head snapped back. “Huh? Uh, sure. Whatever you prefer, Marsha.”
“We women need to stick together,” Marsha said.
“Hey, have you ever watched Patty Preston’s YouTube channel?” Victoria asked as they turned their backs on him.
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s called ‘The Allegiance.’ You should check it out.”
They walked away, arm in arm, and Paul just stood there, mouth hanging open.
***
That afternoon, Paul rushed to catch a plane back to Tampa, feeling disheartened that he’d been unable to see Jessica before he left. The ticket was expensive, but he had no choice. The pipes in his grandparents’ house had burst yesterday and the house had flooded. Gran had fallen in the kitchen trying to clean up the mess and had wound up with a broken arm.
When he arrived at their house the place was in chaos—water still everywhere. The repair company had been pulled off the job because of an even more dire emergency, leaving Pops and Gran in the lurch.
Pops was moving slower than usual and Paul immediately felt sorry for him. He wanted to be angry at the man for not being willing to move out, but the impulse quickly passed. Their feet squelched through the water as he led Paul inside. It circled in pools all over, sometimes two to three inches deep. Fortunately, Pops had known how to turn off the valve outside.
“Are the plumbers back?” Gran called from somewhere inside the house.
“It’s Paul,” Pops said.
“Oh, Paul. Son.” Her voice hitched.
He found Gran in the den, sitting on the sofa, her feet propped up, looking just as pale and as nervous as Pops. She was holding a magazine with one hand, her other arm in a cast. “Isn’t this awful?”
“I feel sick over it,” Pops said.
Paul glanced around. There was a stench in the air, and already, a mustiness was settling in. “Let me see what I can do.”
Paul went out and rented a wet-dry vacuum. He returned and started sucking all the water from the flooring. It was a long process, and by the end, he was exhausted, but at least he’d created a space his grandparents could walk around in without getting hurt.
“There,” he said, looking around after putting the vacuum back in his rental car. He felt sweaty and needed a shower. “That should be better, at least until the repair company returns.”
“Oh, Paul. Thank you so much,” Gran said, smiling at him.
“That kid’s amazing.” Pops shook his head.
Paul said, “It was a lot of water—”
“A daughter! I don’t have a—”
“ Water , Pops.” Paul raised his voice.
“You need to check your hearing aids, Ralph,” Gran said.
“My aids? Yeah. You’re right. I need new batteries. I forgot.”
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Paul went to open the door. Three men wearing “Tampa Water Damage Repair” shirts were standing there, ready to go to work. They resumed working on the project, setting up fans and inspecting for damage. Fortunately, they found nothing serious. When they departed, the house was fairly back in order—except for the smell, which hung in the air like wet clothing. They left a bill that Pops and Gran could turn over to their insurance company.
“Man, what a day.” Pops scratched his head.
“Tell me about it,” Gran said. They were sitting on the sofa, just relaxing now. Gran raised her voice. “Ralph, can you get me some Tylenol? This arm’s killing me. The doctor said I’d have to be in a cast for eight weeks. Can you believe that?”
Pops stood. “Sure, hon. Anything else?”
“We need to go out to eat. Hopefully, tomorrow things will have settled down in here.”
“Where should we go?” Paul asked.
“The Seafood House. Best damn crabcakes in town,” Pops said.
Paul followed him into the kitchen to get himself a drink.
“God, I hate seeing her in pain.” Pops found the Tylenol in the medicine cabinet, went to hand it to Gran with a glass of water, then returned to the kitchen. He continued without missing a beat. “We’ve been married almost sixty years. Can you believe it? She’s so a part of me I can hardly stand it. If I lose her, I’d go out of my mind.”
Paul’s heart fluttered. That was exactly what made him want to run and hide, made him want to fly away.
“I know it scares you, son. I know what it was like for you watching your parents die. But it shouldn’t be this way.” He shook his head. “Sometimes we lose people. And that’s hard. But that’s why we should love even harder. That’s what life’s all about. Know what?” Pops went on, pouring a glass of water for himself. “I wouldn’t give back a single moment I’ve had with your Gran. In fact, I wish I had more of them. Loving her has been the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I would have been crazy to pass up having that.”
For a moment, they both fell silent. Paul didn’t know why the conversation had taken this turn, but he couldn’t help but think of Jessica. His grandfather’s words hit home. What would it be like if he actually stayed with her? Through everything, the ups and downs, the highs and lows? Could he do what Pops had done? Could he find the courage to stay with one person?
“Look, Pops,” Paul said, raising his voice and enunciating clearly. “You really have to move. You just can’t stay here, don’t you get it? I mean . . .”
“I got it.”
“You have a roof that’s going to need replacing soon and . . .”
“I said, I got it.”
“What? What do you mean?” Paul blinked. It was as if he had the hearing loss now.
His grandfather drew a long breath. “We’ve decided, Paul. We’re moving into The Harbors after all,” Pops said, his voice quivery. “We’re going to sell this old place and hightail it out of here. Even got a realtor.”
“Seriously?” Paul felt practically giddy, and a slow smile spread across his face. Tension relaxed across his entire body. “That’s great, Pops!”
“I put on weight? What?”
“ That’s great, I said!”
Pops smiled and put a hand on Paul’s shoulder. “Somewhere between the house falling down around me and the hefty repair bills I realized, dammit you were right,” he conceded. “Also, I couldn’t stand it if your Gran got hurt again. I was just too blind to see it all. We do need somewhere else to live. This house is nothing but a money pit.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you.”
“What?”
“I said that’s what I’ve been telling you!”
“I know. I’m a stubborn mule.” He looked out the kitchen window, out to his garden. Then he turned to Paul, his face suddenly lighting up. “And get this. Last time I talked with her, that Wanda girl at The Harbors promised me a patch of land I could use for a garden.”
“That’s great, Pops.”
“In fact, they have a garden where children come every Tuesday after school. So I’d be able to teach them about gardening. And I can raise roses and hibiscus galore. How about that?”
“Wow, Pops.” Paul spoke clearly, moving closer to him so that he wouldn’t have to raise his voice. “I’m so glad you’ve finally seen the light.”
The older man looked around as he frowned. “More like I’ve seen the water. Lots of it.” He laughed. Then they both laughed, and the next thing Paul knew, he was hugging his granddad. He felt so close to the man who had raised him, trained him, made him who he was.
“See, I was willing to change. And now, are you willing to do the same?” His steady, knowing gaze landed straight into Paul’s heart.
The truth was that Paul felt a profound sense of peace after his conversation with Pops. Pops was right. Why would he willingly deny himself a shot at having something as special as what his grandparents had?
Pops and Gran were chaotic, that was for sure. But there was beauty and clarity in that chaos. And maybe that’s what love was all about.
Paul wanted to be with Jessica more than ever. He couldn’t wait to get back to Nashville to see her.