Chapter 2
2
Jewel
As Jewel walked through her downtown gallery, the thought of being free from this place and the responsibilities that came with it, not to mention being completely debt free with money in the bank, was surprisingly exhilarating. As she closed the front door to block out a siren blaring nearby, her idea to move back to the farm felt like a dream about to come true.
For everyone. It would be a creative reboot for her. A time to do what she loved most, focus on her art. And it would allow her to be a better mother to Cooper. She was tired of being pulled in too many directions. Like she often said to herself, “I’m only one woman.” But she’d been a divided woman. Part-time artist, part-time business owner, part-time mother. With consequently very little time for a personal life.
And what about her parents? They were such good people. In their mid-sixties and about to enjoy the “good life” when her dad was diagnosed with this insidious disease. She knew she’d been a neglectful daughter. But her parents had always had their own lives to live. And they had each other. Sometimes she envied them that.
But their lives were changing. And this was her opportunity to rebuild relationships with them. Perhaps for only a small window of time with her dad. She bit her lip as she straightened an ab stract landscape on the wall. It should be easy being around Mom. They’d always gotten along fairly well. Sure, there was room for improvement in their relationship. And sometimes she felt she didn’t really know her mother. But she knew she was basically an understanding person. Mom’s work in the middle school had exposed her to all kinds of people, and she was gracious and accepting by nature. But Jewel was no fool when it came to Dad.
She and her father had a rich and colorful history of family feuds. Power struggles that began when she was about Cooper’s age and had decided to dress like a goth. She couldn’t help but chuckle to remember that relatively short period of rebellion as she thought of her own daughter. Maybe the apple really hadn’t fallen far from the tree. But, unlike herself, Jewel’s hyper-traditional farmer dad had thrown a fit over her black-outlined eyes and dark clothing. He didn’t understand her need to express herself.
Really, her dad was sweet, but he could be so stubborn and stuck in his ways. Not to mention judgmental and harsh over some things. Especially when it came to his only child. He’d wanted her to remain that sweet, wholesome farm girl forever. When she gave up the goth fad in favor of her first boyfriend, her dad had still held her at arm’s length.
But the last couple times she and Dad had talked on the phone, he seemed different. Almost mellow. To be fair, he mostly talked about his bees and honey making, going on and on about how many jars he’d collected, and circling around, repeating himself ... unless she interrupted. She’d try to be a patient listener, but she’d never been overly fond of bees or honey. Still, she was glad he had a hobby he loved so much.
She continued to scribble relocation chores onto her ever-growing to-do list. Some people couldn’t understand how a creative dreamer like her also liked to get things done, but she’d always been like that. And first on her list was to call Jess. Like her, Jess was an artist, but unlike her, his colorful glasswork pieces were starting to take hold with her clients. So much so, this gallery had become Jess’s largest venue for displaying and selling his works. For months he’d been cajoling her with the taunt he would own the place one day . A realistic possibility since his art was definitely her bestseller. She could imagine him rubbing his hands together over her news of selling and moving. She glanced around her handsome gallery. Yes, she’d invested both creativity and finances into this place, nearly starving in the lean years. But hopefully the payoff would be worth it now.
Assuming Jess was in his studio and ignoring his phone, she prepared to leave a message, but then he answered. After some chitchat, she described her Oregon plan and suddenly they were squabbling over the price of her gallery. She knew he wanted it. Badly. Finally she invited him to send her a properly written offer, which she would consider. But she reminded him, with her upgrades and the prime location, her gallery wouldn’t be hard to sell. She wanted a fair price.
“Don’t you want a friend to own it? Someone who will love and respect it like you did? Otherwise it’s like handing over your child to strangers.” His tone was on the verge of pleading, and she felt confident he was in.
“Well, there are days I would hand my flesh-and-blood child over to strangers,” she teased. “But if your offer works for me, this place is yours. Just don’t lowball me, Jess.” Then she hung up. Jess knew she was impulsive, but she hoped he wouldn’t assume she would cave to get out of here. After all, she’d invested a lot into this gallery. She ran a hand over a live edge display table, wondering if she should include this piece in the sale or take it with her. Take it! Her gallery was doing well, and Jess needed to respect that this was not a fire sale. She wasn’t washed up, and she could remain in San Jose indefinitely if she wanted to. The trouble was she didn’t want to. Not anymore. She’d had enough of city life.
She paused from loading flattened cardboard boxes into the back of her SUV, a task about midway down her to-do list, in order to call her best friend Monica. She excitedly told Monica the happy news. “And I’ll have to beg out on that dinner date with you and the girls. I plan to be gone by then.”
“Oh my gosh! You’re kidding?” Monica was clearly shocked. “I’ve never heard you mention a word about country living before. Seriously? And with your parents? On a farm? Is this really you, Jewel, or am I being punked?”
Jewel laughed. “I grew up in the country and now I’m going back. Maybe it’s a DNA thing. You know, it’s in my blood.”
“Could’ve fooled me. I thought you were pretty citified, girlfriend. And what about Cooper?”
“Change will be good for her. For both of us.”
Monica laughed like she didn’t believe a word of it. “And your gallery?”
“Jess might take it off my hands. If we can agree on a deal.”
“Yeah, of course. He must be over the moon. Hey ... what about your condo?”
“I shouldn’t have any trouble selling it. I was about to call Hayley to—”
“No,” Monica said quickly. “Don’t call Hayley. I mean she’s a good Realtor, but wait, okay?”
“Okay?” Jewel closed the back of her SUV, then returned to the gallery through the back door, pausing to straighten up some packing materials.
“Sell it to me.”
Jewel nearly dropped the items she’d gathered. “Seriously?”
“You know how I adore your place. The building, the location, the view, even your decor. Please let me buy it. You know I’m sick of renting a room from my brother and his wife. Plus, she’s pregnant now. I’ve been looking for something for over a year.”
“Yeah, but can you afford the mortgage?” Jewel always got the impression her flight attendant friend was strapped for money. Jewel made more than Monica, and her monthly home payments frightened even her sometimes.
“I think so. I’ve been saving for a down payment for ages, and I got that inheritance from my grandma. I think a fair market price, not to mention less Realtor fees, might fit into my loan approval numbers. You can at least let me try before you call Hayley.”
“Okay, I’ll wait.” Jewel made another note. “But I’ll do some price checking on comparables and get back to you, okay?” As she hung up, she couldn’t help but do a happy dance. This was all working out better than expected. Like it really was meant to be. And why not? Cooper needed a change, and Jewel’s parents needed her. And truth be told, she probably needed them too. Maybe it really would take a village to raise a child.
When Terra came to work her usual afternoon shift in the gallery, Jewel decided to act like nothing whatsoever was in the works. Terra naturally leaned toward negativity and would probably assume her job was at risk. Better to just play it cool with this young woman and hope that Jess would keep her on, if he took over.
“I have to leave early today,” Jewel told Terra. “I want to get home before Cooper for a change.” She laughed as she grabbed her bag from beneath the counter. “Gotta keep my eye on that girl these days.”
Terra just nodded with a serene expression. Cool and calm and collected. Well, until something went wrong. Then watch out. “Have a good evening. Call me if you need anything.”
When she got home, Jewel went straight to work. She was a minimalist by nature, so clutter, at least on the surface, was never her problem. But if you dug deeply enough into closets and cupboards, she looked like more of a hoarder. But she’d recently read a good rule. If you keep it out of sight and rarely use it, get rid of it. And so that’s what she started doing. Old wedding gifts, clothes she hadn’t worn in years, shoes that were ridiculous—all were tossed into boxes to be donated. And just a couple boxes were set aside to keep.
By the late afternoon, Jewel had stacked quite a few packed boxes inside the front door. The ones on the left to give away and the ones on the right to take to Oregon. She hadn’t heard back anything for sure from Jess or Monica, but it all still just felt right. Like the universe was truly lining everything up for her. And then she heard the key turning in the front door. Cooper was home from school.
“What’s up?” Cooper demanded as soon as she stepped inside. She closed the door and dumped her backpack next to the giveaway stack. “Spring cleaning?” She gave Jewel a dubious look. “You better not have touched anything in my room.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll leave that to you.”
“So what’s going on, Mom? Why aren’t you at the gallery?” Cooper’s attention was more on her phone than on her mother as she talked. “I thought you worked until six on Tuesdays. Something wrong?”
Jewel studied her daughter with suspicion. “Why? Did you have plans? Is my presence here messing things up for you?”
Cooper shrugged. “No ... of course not.” But she scowled as she typed something into her phone, holding it at an angle that prevented Jewel from seeing the screen. Probably a warning text to her new friends. Maybe they were on their way up here. Was her daughter canceling some dubious plan? All the more reason to get out of town. ASAP.
Cooper slid her phone into the back pocket of her torn jeans, then, cocking her head to one side, pursed her lips. “Something’s up. I can feel it. What’s the deal?”
“Come sit down.” Jewel led the way to the breakfast bar with Cooper trailing her like a suspicious animal.
“You’re kinda freaking me out. Is this serious?” Cooper perched on the edge of the stool and tugged at the edge of her black rocker T-shirt, something Jewel had tried to discourage her from wearing to school. Honestly, she doubted Coop even knew who the Grateful Dead were. Did she realize they were from her grandparents’ era?
Jewel sat down across from Cooper, trying not to stare at the lime-green tips on her otherwise sleek brunette hair. Jewel would’ve loved to have thick, dark hair like her daughter’s as a teen. Instead she’d been stuck with mousy brown. “Here’s the deal, Coop. I talked to Grandma today. I think she needs help with Grandpa.”
Cooper frowned. “Is he getting really bad?”
“I don’t know all the details, but I can tell your grandma is getting overwhelmed.”
“I wish they lived closer.” Cooper’s dark brown eyes looked genuinely sympathetic.
“So do I.” Jewel felt bolstered by this response. Maybe this would go over better than expected. “But they don’t. And since we can’t bring them to San Jose, we are going to join them in Oregon.”
“For a visit?” Cooper’s tone turned wary.
“Not exactly.” She braced herself. “We, uh, we’re going to move up there.”
“ Move? ” Cooper leaped from the stool with wide eyes. “Like permanently?”
Jewel simply nodded, holding on to the edge of the granite countertop as her daughter flew into a tirade. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me, Mom. Have you lost your mind? No way am I moving up to Oregon! I’ve been on the farm before, and it’s, like, in the middle of nowhere. No way can you force me to go. My life is here. In San Jose. My school is here. My friends are here. You can’t just rip me out of—”
“I can, Cooper.” Jewel stood. “I’m your mom.”
Cooper glared at her. “Well, I have a dad too. What will he say about your hauling me up there? I heard you can’t take kids out of the state when you have shared custody. My dad won’t—”
“I’ve already let him know.” Jewel picked up her to-do list and pointed to the third item and the check mark next to it: Inform Rodney about the move . “Your dad is fine with it. In fact, he thought it was a good idea.”
Cooper slammed her fist onto the countertop before letting loose with some expletives Jewel had never heard come out of her little girl’s mouth before. Then Cooper stomped off to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
“Well, that was fun,” Jewel muttered as she opened the fridge. Maybe she could distract herself by fixing dinner, except that it was slim pickings in there as usual. She closed the fridge so firmly that the bottles inside rattled. Not that she didn’t enjoy cooking, she just never had the time. Even if she did whip up something amazing, Coop wouldn’t be willing to eat with her now anyway. As Jewel reached for her phone, she doubted that even Coop’s favorite sushi would coax her out of her room. Not for a couple of hours at least. But sushi made for good leftovers. She let out a long, loud sigh as she called to place her order. Single parenting a teenage girl was not for wimps.
Shortly after their takeout arrived, Jewel heard Cooper come out of her bedroom. Had the sushi plan worked after all? Jewel didn’t look behind her as she set the bags on the counter.
“Mom?” Cooper’s voice had a slightly positive tinge to it, or was Jewel just being optimistic?
“Yeah?” She turned to her with a bright smile. “Got sushi.”
“Uh-huh.” Cooper eyed the bags, then turned to her mom. “What about Tony?”
“Tony?” Jewel folded her arms in front of her. Tony was her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Too handsome and charming for his own good and a bit of a narcissist. And yet Jewel had never fully given up on him. Even so, Tony hadn’t even made it onto her to-do list today. Was it oversight or intention? She wasn’t sure. Maybe she didn’t care.
“I thought you were pretty serious about him.” Cooper stepped closer, looking intently into Jewel’s eyes, almost as if she were reaching for a lifeline. “And I know he loves you.”
Jewel couldn’t help but laugh. “Tony loves Tony, Cooper. Sometimes I fit into his world, but never permanently.”
“It’s only because you’re always so busy.” Cooper was not giving up. “Work always distracts you.” She raised a forefinger in victory. “And what about the gallery? It’s been, like, your whole life. Are you just going to walk away from that?”
“Not exactly. I’m selling it. Probably to Jess.” Despite her daughter’s motives, she had to respect the girl for trying, for using her head and persuasion skills. Not that it would do any good. Jewel opened a white carton and sniffed. “Yummy.”
“But the gallery is your everything, Mom. You can’t just give it up. Seriously, sometimes it’s like you love that gallery more than you love me.” Cooper made her best “poor me” face. And maybe she was right about Jewel’s priorities.
“I’m sorry you felt like that, but honestly, it’s not true. You’re far more important than any gallery, Cooper.” Jewel reached out for her, but Cooper pulled away with angry eyes.
“I can’t believe you! You’re just plain selfish. I hate you!” And once again, Cooper stomped off to her room, slamming the door so hard, Jewel braced herself for a call from their neighbor, old Mrs. Curmudgeon-Cunningham. So, okay, this wasn’t going quite as smoothly as Jewel had hoped. She opened another carton, letting out more fragrant aromas of sushi, but her appetite was gone. She put it all in the fridge and picked up her to-do list and stared blankly at it. Her plan was going to work. It had to work. Cooper just needed time to adjust to the idea.
Jewel sat down on her sofa, reading the item on her list that read “get bids from moving companies.” She wondered if moving everything was really such a good idea. All her furnishings fit so perfectly here in the condo. She ran a hand over the creamy white upholstery of her contemporary-styled sofa. And where would she store these pieces on the farm? In the barn where mice and moths could attack? Maybe Monica would like to work out a deal with her. Or maybe Jewel was biting off more than she could chew. It wouldn’t be the first time.