Chapter 11 #2
“God yes. I was terrified I’d never see you again, and the last thing I said to you was so awful.”
“I was upset about that at first. But I realized where it was coming from and decided to forgive you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I was about to track you down on the phone when we were hit.”
“Were you?”
“Uh-huh. Would you have taken the call?”
“God, yes. All I wanted was the chance to apologize.”
“It’s all good, sweetheart.”
“My grandmother was praying for you, too.”
He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, wincing from the pain of breathing. “Tell me about her.”
“Her name is Bertha, and she’s the captain of the Big B lobster boat.
She’s been lobster fishing since she was in her thirties when her husband died in an accident on an earlier boat they owned.
She had six children and needed to earn a living, so she took over his lobstering business and made it into a big success. ”
“Wow, she sounds amazing.”
“She’s my favorite person in the whole world. I lived with her off and on while I was in high school.”
“How come?”
“My family kind of sucks.”
“How so, other than the thing I already know?”
“Where to begin…”
“I’m here all night.”
“Why aren’t you sleeping? You must be exhausted.”
“Because I don’t want to miss a second with you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Tell me why your family sucks.”
“There’s this business, you see… Founded by my grandfather and grown to incredible new heights by my father.”
“I read about Ballard Boat Works after we first met. It looks impressive.”
“It is impressive, but there’s been a dark side, too. My grandfather and his brother had a falling out over the direction of the company. My great-uncle quit the business and the family. The two brothers never spoke again.”
“That’s sad.”
“It sure is, and it happened again with my dad and two of his brothers.”
“Oh damn.”
“They forced him to buy them out of the business, which crippled my parents financially for a time when I was in about eighth grade. He’s never spoken to them again, and we’re not supposed to speak to our cousins, but one of them, Renata, is my childhood best friend.
We’re still close even though we’re not technically allowed to be. ”
“Wow, that’s crazy. Does your dad know you’re close to her?”
“I think so. He’s never said anything about it. I’m sure he knows there’s no point to getting in the middle of that. We don’t care what he or her father have to say about it. The sad thing is that I can’t see her when my parents are around, though. Makes things complicated.”
“I’d say so. Who were your other close friends growing up?”
“Jessie and Ellery.”
“Where are they now?”
“Still in the Bar Harbor area. Jessie cleans houses, including my grandmother’s. She lives with her longtime boyfriend, Doug, who’s battled opioid addiction. That’s been brutal. They’ve all but bankrupted themselves trying to get him clean.”
“Is it taking?”
“For now, but she walks around on eggshells where he’s concerned.”
“I’ll bet. One of the attorneys that works with me went through a hellish ordeal with opioids after he broke his leg playing rugby. I sent him to rehab four times before he finally kicked it. But I still worry about him.”
“You sent him to rehab?”
“Well, yeah… He couldn’t swing it with a wife and two kids in daycare and a mortgage.”
Kara kissed his cheek. “My hero.”
“Oh, stop it. What about Ellery?”
“She runs a breakfast-and-lunch spot in Bar Harbor. Best food you’ll have anywhere, but she struggles to stay afloat.” Kara stopped herself. “Bad metaphor in light of recent events.”
He started to laugh and then groaned. “If you care about me at all, do not make me laugh.”
“So sorry.”
“Sure you are. Is Ellery married?”
“Yes, her husband, Pete, is a lobster fisherman. He lost a finger on the job last year, which has been tough. They have two kids, Annabelle, who’s four, and Keaton, who’s two. I’m Annabelle’s godmother.”
“That’s very sweet.”
“I’m not sure why they picked me. I hadn’t been to church in ages by then.”
“They picked you because you’re a good person who cares about the people in her life.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know you, Ballard. Don’t act like I don’t. So the grandmother you’re close to, is she maternal or paternal?”
“Maternal, although she’s never forgiven my mother for marrying my dad.”
“Sounds like there’s a story to that.”
“Definitely. She said she raised my mother to be a normal, productive member of society, but she went high society when she married my dad and has never looked back.”
“Is that true?”
“Kinda. She likes the finer things in life. My grandmother says my mother has this vision of who her family is when the reality is nothing like her deluded version.”
“What do you mean?”
“She subscribes to the image of us in matching outfits from the family photo twenty years ago. We were never that family. We’re much more like the family in which my sister took off with my boyfriend and then married him at the fancy wedding thrown by my parents.
Several of my brothers have been in and out of trouble.
Other brothers refuse to have anything to do with the business.
Kolby is a mailman. He says he’s the happiest mailman in Maine because he never has to deal with family bullshit anymore. ”
“Tell me all their names, how old they are and what they do.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather sleep than talk about my dysfunctional family?”
“I’m very sure.”