Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Since Zion had already riffled through my paperwork and apparently stolen some contraband calories, I didn’t figure he’d make a return visit to our cabin to snoop, so I headed to the SUV and retrieved Gertie’s second handbag.
This one weighed considerably more than her entire suitcase, which gave me pause, but I refused to open it.
If I knew what she had in there, then I became responsible for what she might do with it.
As long as I could plead ignorance, I was solid, which meant Carter was solid.
Gertie poked around in the bag for a bit, nodding and smiling, and snapped it shut when Ida Belle leaned over to take a peek.
“This is my mission,” she said. “You just worry about playing lookout for Fortune.”
“Stuff that under the mattress just in case anyone comes looking,” I said. “We have to hurry or we’re going to be late for yoga class. I can’t believe those words just came out of my mouth.”
We headed for the lake, Gertie still going at a slower pace, this time claiming it wasn’t an act.
“I talked a good game, but that tumble with Zion tweaked my knee all over again,” she said. “And just when Nora’s latest brew was kicking in.”
Ida Belle flinched but neither one of us asked any questions.
Nora’s concoctions were often potent and rarely legal.
It was better not to know. We were the last ones at the lake—no surprise there—but Sapphire was nowhere in sight, which was surprising.
Zion was standing in the midst of the Barbies, smiling and chatting as if his angry wife wasn’t lurking behind a bush with a sniper rifle, and I wondered if he’d managed to calm her down or she’d decided that leaving was the best option.
Either worked for me. Angry wives were not in my playbook, and we were at the two-minute warning.
“Ladies,” Zion said as we approached. “I hope you enjoyed the smoothies.”
“You know I didn’t,” Gertie said. “But I don’t go anywhere without my own groceries. People eat too many odd things these days. All that health stuff when it doesn’t make a bit of difference. When your number’s up, it’s up.”
“I think the goal is to have a better quality of life before your bingo card expires,” Zion said. “But we all have our own ideas about what that looks like.”
“Mine looks like refined sugar, Cheetos, and cheap wine,” Gertie said.
“Then let’s start with some gentle stretching that’s good for digestion,” Zion said. “It will help process all that sugar and that will lead to better sleep.”
“I sleep eight hours a night and take two hour-long naps a day,” Gertie said.
“That’s prayer time,” Ida Belle said.
“So I prayed for more sleep and God answered.”
“Everyone start with your feet shoulder-width apart,” Zion said, trying to get control of his class.
We all turned our attention to him, and he took us through some very basic yoga positions, offering modifications for Ida Belle and Gertie. I didn’t have problems with any of it, of course, and Zion gave me an appreciative nod.
“You’re doing very well, Sister Britney,” he said. “You have excellent balance.”
“That’s because she hasn’t been hauling double-Ds around for thirty years,” Gertie said.
“Those Ds have been sitting in your lap for thirty years,” Ida Belle said. “You’ve been hauling ’em for at least sixty.”
“Thank you,” I said to Zion. “I’m really enjoying this, which I’ll admit, surprises me. I think I will continue some of these exercises and stretches when I return to the convent.”
Zion looked pleased. “I can print out some of the poses we’ve done so that you’ll have a reference if you’d like.”
“That would be wonderful. I know they say everything is online these days, but we only have one computer and time is limited. Mostly the nuns just use it to email family.”
The Barbies all stared.
“You don’t have smartphones?” Pink asked.
“The Mother Superior has some that she lends out when sisters are going to be away from the convent for errands or events,” I said. “But they’re only to be used in case of emergency. We don’t have our own personal devices.”
“We’re in the world not of the world,” Ida Belle said. “And the internet is all about the ‘of’ part. It’s better if we don’t dwell there.”
Zion nodded. “Probably better if all of us didn’t dwell there, but this is where the rest of us are today, I’m afraid. I’ll print those out and then you’ll have copies so you don’t have to try to remember everything.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind,” I said.
Zion looked around the group. “Dinner is in an hour.”
“I hope it’s not one of those smoothies again,” Gertie grumbled.
“I’ll be serving grilled red snapper and asparagus with fresh fruit for dessert.”
“I could probably make do with that,” Gertie said. “Is there booze?”
“We want to cleanse our bodies,” Zion said. “Alcohol is problematic for the body and the spirit.”
“Bull crap,” Gertie said. “We drink wine in church. If it’s so bad for us, why are we doing it there?”
“We’ll have mineral water,” Zion said, not even trying to argue a completely valid point.
“I’m hitting the shower,” Purple said. “This humidity is killer. I don’t know how you ladies are handling it in those long robes and with your head covered so it can’t even breathe.”
Ida Belle nodded. “It is a bit like being in a sauna all day.”
“It’s torture is what it is,” Gertie said. “If the church wasn’t run by men, we might get a fair shake.”
“No one’s holding you hostage,” Ida Belle said. “Shed your robes and launch into society.”
Gertie stared at her as if she was crazy. “That crowd is on a bullet train to hell. I sometimes wonder where you get your ideas. We took vows before all these modern ideas invaded the church.”
She shook her head and went limping off. Ida Belle sighed and followed suit. I gave the Barbies a wave and set off after them. The Barbies headed toward their cabins in the other direction.
“Sister Britney,” Zion called, and I turned around.
He held up my hand towel. “You forgot your towel.”
“Oh! Thank you.”
I went back to retrieve the towel I’d deliberately left behind and he met me halfway.
“I’ll walk back with you until the path branches if you don’t mind,” he said.
“That would be fine. I really do appreciate your offer to print those yoga positions. I know Sister Gerianne is a bit of a trial at times, but I think they did a good thing by bringing me here. I’m not as stressed as I was when I got here.”
“That’s good to hear. So have you made a decision on what to do with your aunt’s property?”
I sighed. “No. Not completely. I know I can’t sell it, and I can’t run it.
I really don’t want to hire a management company because then it still all comes back to me, but one of the other ladies at the retreat was talking about her job in real estate, and she mentioned something about leasing.
I don’t know that it’s the kind of property I could lease out in its entirety, but it’s something to explore, right?
Maybe someone retired would want to live there and run it, although I suppose corporations are more likely to have the funds. ”
He nodded, barely able to control his excitement.
“You might consider splitting profit with someone instead of a fixed lease. They’d be responsible for the maintenance, taxes, and insurance and the like, and they’d do all the on-site work of getting and servicing clientele and work out an equitable split of the profit. ”
“Do you think someone would be interested in such an arrangement?”
“I think the right person would. And such a setup would allow for someone without a ton of resources to take on a passion project if they didn’t have a set amount of lease fees to make every month.
That way you’ve got someone with a vested interest in making a profit and maintaining the property as it affects their bottom line as well. ”
“That makes a lot of sense. I’d much rather have an arrangement with an individual or a couple than a corporation. My aunt made sure guests were treated like family. It never felt impersonal. I’d like that to remain the same.”
“I think the personal touch is invaluable. Obviously, my entire business is about catering to individual needs. In a group setting, of course, but by keeping groups small, I have the ability to modify things as needed to assist with any guest’s special requirement.”
I laughed. “Like Sister Gerianne and her knees.”
He smiled. “Sister Gerianne presents a few challenges, but I can tell she cares deeply about you if she’s willing to go this far out of her comfort zone.”
I nodded. “The sisters are like mothers to me. Well, grandmothers might be more appropriate, but don’t tell them I said so.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” He was silent for a bit. “I wonder…no, never mind.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s too much to ask.”
“I can’t imagine what I could do for you, but if there’s some way for me to repay your kindness, I’d gladly offer it.”
“I guess I was just thinking that your aunt’s property would make a lovely retreat.
The ocean has healing power, you know. And a warm setting would provide an escape for people with many ailments, arthritis especially.
It’s much harder to fill slots locally during the winter.
I offer indoor classes as well, of course, but it’s not the same as being one with nature. ”
“I can see that. I never really thought about a retreat. I just figured it would continue as vacation cottages as before, but after seeing what you do here, I can picture it. It would be nice to have a yoga class right there on the beach or meditate at sunrise.”
“I think it would be very healing.”
I pursed my lips and scrunched my brow as if in thought. “So how would that work? Would we just do a contract, and you’d run the retreat for a percentage of the profit? What would happen to this place?”