7. Jess
Two days later, their journey was almost at its end.
Jess glanced over at Glory, who had fallen asleep listening to the nineties music on the iPod that had been growing on them both throughout the trip.
Out the window, the miles of ocean seemed endless.
She’d been tempted to wake Glory when they’d gotten to the bridges that would take them through the Keys. But after so much travel, she felt it was probably better to let the kid rest a little.
They’d spent last night in Orlando, and the motel had been a little seedier than the one in Fayetteville, with the people next door’s arguments easy to hear through the paper-thin walls.
She had assured Glory that they were safe, but she’d woken with the teen beside her in bed, something that hadn’t happened since Glory was six or seven.
Jess figured she probably hadn’t gotten much sleep. She’d tried to let her rest, but they were both up and showered early, so they got right on the road.
And now, even with the windows shut and the air conditioner on, Jess swore she could smell the familiar sea air.
I’m home,a little voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Jess loved Aynwick, her Philadelphia suburb with its tall trees and elegant houses. But there was something about the endless blue of ocean and sky in the Keys that lifted her spirits and made her feel like anything was possible.
“Whoa,” Glory murmured, sitting back from the window quickly. “What the heck?”
Jess hadn’t considered that Glory might be a little started waking up in what appeared to be the middle of the ocean.
“It’s okay,” Jess said calmly. “We’re almost there. This is the Overseas Highway.”
“The whole thing is a bridge?” Glory asked, still looking a little alarmed.
“It’s a series of bridges, connecting the Keys to the mainland,” Jess explained. “Can you imagine that there was a time you couldn’t get to Driftwood Key except by boat?”
Glory swallowed.
“There are reefs, too,” Jess told her. “Maybe we’ll go snorkeling and check it out. In the 1800s a lot of ships wrecked on the reefs. People go treasure hunting out there all the time.”
“Neat,” Glory said, sitting up a little. “It’s really beautiful. I was just a little surprised. I thought maybe we traded the car for a boat.”
“Sorry about that,” Jess said. “I almost woke you up to tell you we were here, but I figured you could use a little rest. And we’ll be spending the whole summer here, so you’ll have plenty of chances to take in the view.”
“This sure would make a nice picture,” Glory said, letting her words drift up to remind her mom she wanted her phone back.
“Nice try,” Jess said. “Though actually, we should call Alba next door to make sure there’s a key under the mat. You can use my phone to do that, and then take a couple of photos, if you want.”
“Ugh, can I just message her?” Glory asked.
“No,” Jess laughed. “You’ll be great at phone calls. Just give it a try.”
She handed over her phone and Glory held it to Jess’s face to get it to unlock.
“She’s Alba Neighbor?” Glory asked.
“Yes,” Jess said.
Glory tapped the phone and then held it to her ear. Jess could just barely hear a friendly voice on the other end of the call.
“Hi, no, it’s her daughter,” Glory said after a moment.
More enthusiastic sounds, and Glory was smiling.
“You too,” she said. “We just wanted to make sure the key was under the mat.”
Glory smiled while the lady presumable reassured her.
“Okay, we’ll see you soon,” she said.
She hung up and turned to Jess.
“The key’s under the mat,” Glory said. “She seems really nice.”
Glory turned and applied herself to taking pictures of the view.
The photos turned into selfies and Jess was selfishly happy to know they would be on her phone. Glory didn’t want her mom taking her picture every minute these days, so Jess didn’t have nearly as many photos of her youngest in high school as she did from the years before.
Jess smiled at the joy on Glory’s face. Her unhappiness was melting away. This escape was turning out to be a good thing.
“Yes, Alba’s a sweetheart,” Jess said. “I’m so grateful to her for keeping an eye on the place for us.”
Before long, their exit came up and Glory gave the phone back without being asked.
“Do you need it for directions?” she asked her mom.
“Nope,” Jess said. “I remember everything. Besides, there’s not much to it.”
But when they reached the little downtown area, she was stunned.
“Oh my gosh. It’s adorable,” Glory exclaimed. “Look at all the little stores.”
Sure enough, in addition to the colorfully painted wooden homes, there were far more shops than Jess remembered. There were also handsome lampposts and sidewalks and banners hung announcing various happenings.
“It wasn’t like this before,” Jess said, amazed. “Mom always said we were too close to Key West and too far from everything else to draw many tourists.”
“Well, something changed,” Glory said. “Though it doesn’t look super busy.”
“It’s not quite summertime yet,” Jess said. “We’ll see what happens when school lets out. But either way, it’s lovely.”
They passed a key lime pie shop and bakery, as well as a nice-looking grocery store, and the same small library and post office that she remembered from when she was a girl.
It was hard not to think about the value of the old beach house. Surely, it would be worth more when it was close to a downtown that looked like this.
And since it was an inherited property that had only been in her name, it was truly hers, to do with as she wanted. She had really only thought she could sell for enough to help with living expenses for a little longer, and the last year of Glory’s Wintergarden tuition. After all, the place hadn’t been updated in many, many years. But now she was thinking it might be worth a bit more after all.
What if I could sell it for enough to pay for all of Glory’s college, too?
Thankfully Anthem’s second-semester senior year tuition had been paid right on time back in January. Jess had called the school planning to ask for a payment plan or a parent loan and almost wept with relief when the bursar’s office told her the payment had been made by wire.
She had no idea how Silas had arranged it, or why he had remembered when he didn’t want to speak to any of them, but she was grateful that he had.
As they got closer to the old house, the downtown faded and things looked much more like Jess remembered. The lots were wide and spread out, and the houses were bigger, but without all the fancy finishes of the newly restored cottages right in town.
These houses were all what locals like to call original, though most of them had been rebuilt many times in part or in full after one hurricane or another. Their zoning was grandfathered in and many of them, like Jess’s grandparents’ place, had access directly to the beach.
After a few more minutes, they turned onto Seashell Lane and pulled up in front of the house.
“Is this it?” Glory asked uncertainly.
It was clear that the neighbor who had assured Jess she would keep an eye on the place had taken the assignment literally. She might have been watching it, but she certainly wasn’t letting Jess know that things were needed. The condition of the house made that much clear.
Paint peeled in whimsical curls from the porch columns, and some of the cedar shake was silvery and desperately in need of cleaning or maybe even replacement. A blue tarp covered the side roof of the wraparound porch, and Jess wondered how badly it must have been leaking for someone to bother.
“We’ll figure out what it needs,” Jess said bravely. “I’m sure the inside is better.”
But Glory didn’t seem to be worried. She hopped out of the car and headed for the porch, looking at the swing and the wicker chairs that faced the overgrown lawn.
Jess took a deep breath, and then got out too.
Instantly the warm, salty air embraced her like an old friend. It was sweet and clean in her lungs, and the warm breeze ruffled her hair fondly.
As she headed to the porch to join Glory, the bright colors of the wild orchids growing on the tree trunks caught Jess’s eye. Orchids had always been her favorite, and the ones she managed to grow in the greenhouse back home were lovely. But they were so much more beautiful here in their native environment, growing wild and free.
Something in Jess’s heart expanded a little at the sight of it.
Glory bent to grab the key from under the door, then handed it off to Jess when she joined her on the porch. The door was a little swollen, but it opened with a firm push.
A damp smell Jess didn’t remember greeted them. It was dim inside compared to the bright sunshine outside, but she stepped in, hit a light switch, and looked around.
“Wow,” Glory said, slipping in behind her and heading further into the house right away.
Jess paused in the big living room to take it all in. The hardwood floors weren’t lifting, thankfully, but they were sticky and needed a good cleaning or maybe to be refinished.
The furnishings were old-fashioned but sturdy looking. However, Jess strongly suspected it was their upholstery and the curtains that were making the house smell so musty. It would be work to get them aired out and clean, but expensive to replace them.
Her automatic thought was that Silas would figure out the best thing to do. And then the inevitable sense of despair landed when she remembered he wouldn’t be here to help with decisions.
I’ll figure out the best thing to do,she told herself firmly.
But when she noticed the wallpaper bubbling away from the plaster walls, the uncertainty made her stomach twist.
It hadn’t looked like this at the time of the wedding.
But of course the house had been vacant for a few years. It was clear now that was a mistake. She should have brought in a tenant or a house sitter like Uncle Brian had always done. It was just that she hadn’t wanted to be a landlady.
She was definitely going to pay the price for that decision.
Jess had been wanting to make improvements, but looking around, she realized she’d be lucky to get it back to where it had been before on her budget.
She was starting to feel seriously overwhelmed as she headed back through the formal dining room with the seashell chandelier and the big wooden table, its surface covered in thick dust.
As she was bracing herself for what the kitchen was going to look like, she heard Glory’s quick steps on the backstairs.
“Mom,” Glory yelled as she burst into the kitchen at the same time as Jess, her eyes bright with excitement. “Mom, this place is so cool.”
And just like that, the knot in her stomach untied itself.