Chapter Three
Updates about the hurricane in the Atlantic buzzed on the television, leaving Rosemary grappling with her situation. Though there was no threat of the hurricane here in Pennsylvania, she’d planned this trip to Whelk’s Island months ago and, depending on which of the models was right, it could be bad news for that area. It was unfortunate timing.
The storm was moving so slowly, she might be able to get to the island to visit her high school friend Kathleen and leave before it ever came ashore—or not.
Rosemary dreaded the conversation sure to arise about this with her daughter, Nina.
Since she’d moved in with Nina earlier this year, they’d had their share of differing opinions. They’d based the decision to live together on economics. Nina’s divorce left her alone with a teenage daughter in their huge house. With interest rates through the roof, it made little sense for Rosemary to purchase her own home when Nina had all that room. One household payment, one yard to take care of, and they’d help each other.
But Rosemary hadn’t considered how living under someone else’s roof would stymie her. It was different when you were on your own turf.
This morning she’d gotten up extra early to prepare a nice breakfast for her daughter and granddaughter. The last time she’d done it, she hadn’t taken into consideration that they were always in a hurry in the morning, and they’d left without touching it.
Rosemary peered through the glass window of the oven at the breakfast casserole. The cheese had blistered just right, and the smell of the salty breakfast meats peppered the air in the most delicious way.
She turned off the oven and grabbed the pot holders. Warm air wafted toward her as she took out the piping-hot casserole and set it on the counter.
“That smells amazing.” Kendra breezed into the room. “Mom never cooks stuff like that.”
Nina walked in right behind her. “I do. Sometimes. We just don’t have a lot of time for that during the week.”
“Which is why it’s my pleasure to do this for the two of you.” Rosemary grabbed three small plates and started serving the casserole. “And I know you’re in a hurry—you always are—but it’s just a few bites, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
“I’ll be the size of a house if I eat like this, Mom,” Nina said.
“You’ll burn it off before lunch. Trust me.” Rosemary watched Kendra take a bite, praying she’d like it.
“The best!” Kendra gave her a thumbs-up.
The teen shoveled the small portion in so fast Rosemary had to hold back from telling her to slow down. Nina had already voiced her aggravation about Rosemary cutting in too often with unsolicited advice.
Rosemary plastered a smile on her face. “I just want to be helpful.”
“I know, Mom. Thank you.” Nina walked over and gave her a hug. “I know you mean well.” She released her, her smile drooping. “But mostly you just make me feel inadequate.”
“Oh, honey. No. That wasn’t my goal.” Rosemary’s heart sank. It seemed no matter what she did, it was wrong, or not the way Nina wanted it.
“I know, I know. In my heart I know. I’m just…” Nina stopped and put her purse on the counter. “You know what? Let’s take five minutes and sit down and eat.”
“I’m done,” Kendra said.
“Then have seconds,” Nina said through a forced smile.
“Awesome.” Kendra scooped another serving onto her plate and plopped down at the table.
Rosemary sighed. “You don’t have to—”
“I know, Mom, but you’re right. We should appreciate your help. It’s just a few minutes. I’m sorry I kind of ruined the whole moment.”
The moment had been ruined, but Rosemary appreciated the sentiment. It was so hard to live in the shadows. She’d always been the lady of the house, and she didn’t know any other way to be, with or without Kai. I miss him so much.
They quickly ate breakfast in quiet with only the television in the background. Rosemary mentally kicked herself for not thinking to turn it off when they agreed to stay and eat. The meteorologist pointed out the various models and hurricane threats to the coast.
“Guess you’ll have to reschedule your trip.” Nina got up and put her plate in the dishwasher.
“Not necessarily,” Rosemary said.
Nina slowly turned and pulled a hand to her hip. “You can’t go with a storm on the way.”
At seventy-two, Rosemary wasn’t about to start taking orders from her daughter.
“Actually, I can.” She checked her tone, trying to keep her words kind and even. “I don’t need your permission, and with the storm moving so slowly, I can probably get there and come back before it ever makes a turn.”
Nina huffed. “Don’t be silly. There’s a hurricane barreling up the coast. It’s no time to go on a pleasure trip.”
“There’s nothing barreling.” Rosemary cocked her head, resisting raising her voice. “That storm is days away, and they don’t even know where it’s going to land. Have you seen the cone of uncertainty? The only thing the weather reporter is certain of is that he’s got our attention and bread sales are up.”
“Stop downplaying the situation.” Nina snatched her purse from the counter. “You haven’t seen Kathleen in fifty years.”
“And I don’t have another fifty to wait. I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“Why is it suddenly so important that you need to travel with a hurricane on the way?”
“It’s still just a tropical storm.”
Nina raised her hand. “I’m not arguing with you. This is ridiculous. I don’t think you should go see Kathleen. This conversation is going to have to wait. I’ve got to get to the office.” She motioned for Kendra to get up. “Come on. If you want me to drop you off, we have to go now.”
Rosemary stood her ground, not wanting to make things worse but unwilling to give in. “This trip is more than just a meetup with an old friend. I need to feel the sand beneath my feet, the salty air in my hair. I miss that. I need to do this forme.”
“You can. Just not during a storm. I love you, Mom,” Nina said. “Your time is your own. It’s not like you can’t reschedule.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“I don’t want to reschedule.” It felt like a big deal. “Why can’t you just be supportive of my decision?”
Nina closed her eyes, her jaw set. “You know what? Do whatever you want,” she said. “I know you’re going to anyway.” She grabbed her things and stormed toward the door with Kendra chasing after her.
They left aggravated and in a hurry just like every other workday.
Rosemary grimaced. That was a horrible way to start the day, but there was nothing she could do about it. She’d tried, and all she did was make things worse.
She sat back down to finish her breakfast and then cleaned up the kitchen.
Rosemary pressed her lips together, trying not to be angry with Nina. She was under a lot of stress. The divorce had left her bitter and tired, but Rosemary didn’t appreciate catching the brunt of her moods. It was a lot like when Nina was a brooding teenager—only at least back then, she had Kai to talk her down when it made her crazy.
The tension in the room lingered, a silent reminder of the unresolved conflict between them. Kai had always been the peacemaker.
“What was I thinking coming here, Kai?” If only he could answer.
She picked up her coffee cup and walked into the living room.
Nina was probably thinking the same thing right now. They’d always ruffled each other’s feathers. Kai had always said it was because they were so much alike, but Rosemary was certain she’d never been as controlling as Nina.
Moving here was proving to be a huge adjustment. It had been six months already, and it still didn’t feel like home.
Rosemary missed Hawaii, and she missed being outside on the macadamia farm. It was hard work, but it was a labor of love, and she and Kai had always been such a great team. The activity had kept them young.
She cherished those memories, but the farm was too much for her to handle on her own, and the offer had been too good to turn down. Selling the farm had been the right thing to do.
Moving in with Nina was the part she hadn’t thought through, and getting out of this without hurting Nina’s feelings wasn’t going to be easy. She couldn’t imagine what her life was supposed to be like, but it sure didn’t seem to be this.
Rosemary was busy chauffeuring Kendra to after-school activities, but Nina didn’t want her doing things around the house except in her own room. What a waste of idle time. Nina treated her like she was an old lady, and that was already wearing on her.
Rosemary had her own emotions to deal with after losing Kai and leaving Hawaii, and she was trying so hard to do the right thing by Nina and Kendra that it was making everything unenjoyable. I’m sad. I have to change this.
Restless, she picked up her phone and called her friend. “Hey, Kathleen. It’s Rosemary. I was hoping I’d catch you at home. Are you busy?”
“Just tidying up before I head out to play some pickleball with friends.” Kathleen’s voice was full of energy.
“Are you worried about the storm?”
“Not really. We’ve been through tons of them. Might be nothing but a rain event. I’ve got enough groceries to last me no matter what, and a generator to last a few days if we lose power. Nothing to worry about at this point.”
“You don’t think it’ll be a hurricane by the time it gets to North Carolina?”
“Who knows? They get everybody all hyped up, and half the time it’s nothing.”
“Then half the time they’re right?”
“I suppose that would be true,” Kathleen said. “Are you worried? If it looks like we’re going to take a hit, we’ll evacuate. We’ve done it before. Would you rather reschedule?”
“No. Not really. I’ve been looking forward to our visit. I just wanted to get your local perspective on the situation. You know how these weathermen can be.”
“Don’t I know it,” Kathleen said.
“But if now isn’t convenient, I can be flexible.”
“It’s the perfect time!” Kathleen seemed delighted. “Please come.”
“Great! I can’t wait to stroll along the shore and indulge in fresh seafood. If I eat one more frozen square piece of salmon, I’m going to turn into one.” Since when did salmon grow in squares? “I’m not sure it’s even real salmon. Doesn’t have any taste.”
“Tell me about it. We live in a generation that relies on frozen food and microwaving, air frying, and Instant Pots, which is just a fancy crockpot if you ask me. Give me old-style home cooking any day.”
“I feel the same way. I’ll make you my special macadamia-crusted mahi-mahi while I’m there. Everyone raves about it.” She’d wanted to make it for Nina and Kendra, but they bellyached so much, no matter what she offered to make, that she just let them order pizza on the nights she was supposed to cook.
“Around here, we usually grill mahi, but I’m open to trying your recipe. It sounds delicious. My neighbors keep my freezer full of fresh fish. We’ll do a potluck so you can meet everyone.”
“I can’t wait to catch up.” Even though they’d only reconnected through social media once Rosemary moved back to the mainland, Kathleen had been to every reunion and they’d had fun reminiscing about old friends. She knew who had died, divorced, and dodged bullets, as she liked to say.
“Me, too, and this is the perfect time to come,” Kathleen said. “The best shells always wash up after a storm. No matter what the weather does, we’ll have fun. Come on. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“It turns into a hurricane, and Nina will utter those words we hate to hear.”
“I told you so,” they said in unison.
“My girls are the same way,” Kathleen said. “It’s why I really like knowing they are three states away. They stay out of my business.”
“You’re smarter than I am.”
“No. Your daughter just caught you while you were aching. It had to sound like a great idea to be surrounded by your daughter and granddaughter. When I lost Stu, I was a hot mess too. I’m thankful that we had the foresight to invest in this beach cottage all those years ago. It was so hard to be in our home without him. I packed up and moved here immediately. This was my sanctuary. I totally understand why you’d want to leave the home you’d spent nearly fifty years with Kai in. Everything is a memory, and that’s painful.”
“It was. Every repair that hadn’t been done. Every project we did or didn’t complete together. He was in every inch of that farm.” Her throat tightened. “It seemed like such a great idea to move to Philadelphia, and since Nina was sort of grieving the end of her marriage, I had this fantasy that we were going to be on this uplifting journey together. You know, navigating through our emotions to move forward like one of those best-friend movies you see on television. But mostly we just bicker. It’s exhausting.”
“Don’t give it another thought. We’re old enough to do what we want, and wise enough to be safe about it. If that storm transforms into a hurricane and makes landfall on Whelk’s Island, we can take shelter and enjoy canned beans and wine by candlelight until the electricity is restored. If it looks really threatening, we’ll take a road trip inland. No big deal.”
Of course they could pivot on a dime, and she needed some adventure in her life right now. “What do you think about me coming early?”
“I’ve already got your room made up. You can come right now. You’ve got my address. What’s stopping you?”
Rosemary hesitated, but only for a moment. “Not a thing. I’m on my way.” She hung up, slugged back the rest of her coffee, and raised her hands above her head, offering a little hula swish of her hips to the heavens. “I miss you like crazy, Kai. This would’ve been way more fun with you, but I can’t wait to get on the road and share some laughs with my old friend.”
She showered, got dressed in travel clothes, and packed a suitcase in less than an hour. She could almost feel the sand between her toes.
Acid churned in her gut at the thought of calling Nina to tell her the plan. Nina would blow a fuse, and she really had no appetite for dealing with that right now. In the kitchen, she took the dry-erase marker and scribbled a note on the message board.
Gone to Kathleen’s on Whelk’s Island, then on to St. Augustine to see Patty. Weather permitting. See you in a few weeks.
Mom
She swept away in a few weeks with her fingers and changed it to soon.
Soon gave her more wiggle room. Could be sooner or later.
Silently marking things off her mental packing list, she remembered James. He was just a red betta in a small bowl. He didn’t eat much, and he required little oversight, but he did need some attention. Nina had brought the fish home as a surprise the week after Rosemary arrived. It was a welcome present, and he was beautiful. Nina thought the betta would be good company, but honestly, most days Rosemary felt like that fish looked pretty miserable all alone, and most days she did too. But that wasn’t his fault.
She rustled through the entryway table drawer for an envelope. Twenty dollars should be enough for Kendra to remember to feed James and perhaps clean his water while she was away.
Rosemary jotted down the instructions and tucked the envelope safely beneath Kendra’s pillow.
“That’s it. I think I’m ready.” Rosemary inhaled deeply, then blew out the anxiety she felt about making Nina mad…again. “This is my life. I need to live it.”
She made her way toward the door, the wheels on her suitcase chugging along the hardwood floors. She locked up, stepped outside, and loaded her belongings into her car.
With Kathleen’s address punched into her GPS, Rosemary backed out of the driveway, feeling like she’d just sprouted wings.
She donned her sunglasses and drove in silence for the initial hour.
It was a beautiful, clear summer day, and having missed the morning commute traffic, she enjoyed smooth sailing out of the city.
She found a comedy channel and settled in, laughing out loud at some of the jokes. It was just her, the radio, and the sunshine.
It was nearly a seven-hour drive to Whelk’s Island, but if she limited her stops, she could still get to Kathleen’s before dark.