6. Chapter Six
W hen Michael found out I was in town, he showed up with a bottle of our favorite whiskey and takeout from our favorite restaurant. The bottom of the bag soaked in grease told me the double bacon cheeseburgers were going to taste delicious. The video call with Annie and the kids a few hours earlier had me in a shit mood. Not because they said or did anything wrong. But because it was another painful reminder of how much Annie did that I took for granted. Her ending the call without a word to me stung, but I deserved it.
Michael set the bag on the small patio table. “Plates? Or can we eat like bachelors, right out of the bag with a napkin?”
Meredith and Michael divorced three years ago. Well, technically, they separated three years ago. It took almost a year and a half for it to finalize. I stood and walked toward the sliding door. “I’ll grab paper plates, glasses for the whiskey, and water for each of us.”
While we enjoyed the greasiest burgers on the planet, we caught each other up on our lives. “I’m sure you know that I’m still living in the apartment over my mom’s garage. It was a temporary solution to my housing needs during the divorce, but being close to Mom allows me to keep an eye on her and help out. A studio apartment at my mommy’s house isn’t at all where I pictured my life at 57, but at least it’s a choice. I can afford to rent or even buy something, but I don’t want to leave her. And she’s too stubborn to move into one of the senior apartments in the area.”
As I dipped my fry into the ranch, I nodded in agreement. “I get it. My parents are around the same age, early 80s. I’m not sure I’d want either of them living on their own. We’re in a different situation, and they have household staff. So maybe it would be okay. But it’s nighttime. I’d worry about more than anything.”
“Exactly. I don’t want to live in the house with Mom, but I like being there and checking in each day. She doesn’t drive anymore, so we sold her car. Now she’s giving me shit for the second parking spot being empty all the time, and how ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it.’ Which is not the conversation I ever expected to have with her.”
I snorted as I attempted to swallow my food without choking. “Never would have expected Viola to say that. So, I take it you’re not dating.”
He shrugged. “Not really. It’s weird. I basically know everyone who is here year-round, and Mer and I were together since high school. Girl code is in play for anyone who knows her, and it’s awkward as fuck to try to date anyone anyway. I either know their siblings or their kids. The biggest issue is no one compares to her. No one knows me the way she does. I’m not sure anyone else will fit next to me the way she does.”
Michael and Meredith were high school sweethearts. Technically, junior high, from my understanding. The summer I met them, they were already engaged and planning their wedding for after Michael graduated from Portland State. When I got home from a three-game away series and found out Meredith was in our guest room, I didn’t think anything of it. She had visited countless times over the years. It wasn’t until later that night, when Annie crawled into bed next to me, that she clued me in on what was happening. Meredith had reached her last straw. She told Michael she was visiting Annie for a few weeks and expected him to be out of the house when she returned to Seaside. The few weeks turned into two months. When she returned home, I told Annie I’d never let that happen to us. Now, three years later, we were at a similar crossroads to where they’d been at one time. There was no way I was going to let our outcome be the same.
The final line of Annie’s letter came to mind. When we return, we either come back recommitted to our life together or ready to meet with a divorce attorney.
As we finished our meal, I looked across the small table at the man who, other than my brothers, was my best friend. “I need your help.”
He shoved the burger wrappers and napkins into the paper sack. “What’s up?”
“I fucked up. And I need the biggest grovel, grand gesture, apology ever.”
He stretched his long legs out in front of him. “What did you do?”
“Instead of retiring, I accepted the offer to run my family’s new foundation.”
He grumbled as he sipped his whiskey and shook his head.
“That’s not all. We’ve been going to therapy, and I not only forgot about our standing appointment, I ignored the calls and texts because I was in a meeting.”
“Well, that explains why you’re the first in your family to arrive in Seaside. I knew something was going on because that has never happened.”
“So, I’m not done.”
His wide shoulders settled against the chair’s cushions. “For fuck’s sake. What else could you have done?”
“At the end-of-season dinner, Annie told us her plans to meet Mer in Ashland, but I wasn’t paying attention. I did the smile, nod, agree thing that I do when I’m tired and not focusing. I panicked when I couldn’t get ahold of her, and she wasn’t here when I got to town, even though she had left before me.”
Michael’s fingers scraped down his beard. “Mer and I aren’t married anymore, and I even knew neither of them would be reachable unless you called the hotel and only in an emergency. This is the first year neither of the girls will be with them for their Shakespeare Festival tradition.”
Well, if I didn’t already feel like total dog shit, I would have now. An ex-husband shouldn’t know more than someone who was married to the love of his life. “Well, now you know why I need help.”
“What are you going to do? No offense, but this isn’t something you can open your wallet and fix. Anne Marie has never cared about the money. She fell for you when she thought you were just a minor league hockey player earning extra money working at a summer camp. I’m pretty sure finding out about your silver spoon upbringing freaked her out, but by the time she knew, she was all in.”
I was well aware my wife couldn’t care less about the money. She made it clear the two of us were going to earn everything we had through hard work, even though I worked for my family’s company. Outside of agreeing to my parents’ request to pay for school for our children and provide a driver for each of them so they didn’t have to take public transportation, we had paid for everything with the money we earned working. Like me, our children each had a trust fund from my parents that was to be used to buy a home, pay for school, and set up a business venture. “I did do a small open-my-wallet gesture by clearing her wish list at the bookstore. Then I wrapped each one and put them on a brand new bookshelf today. I numbered them and put numbers on slips of paper in a jar. Each paper is folded like a book. She’ll grab a paper from the jar and that’s the book she reads. Other than that, my apology isn’t something with money.”
“Well, that’s a hell of a start for a bookworm. What’s the rest of the plan?”
“Recreating memories. She keeps a journal with all her Seaside memories. I want to recreate some of them. Specifically, the ones of the two of us over the years. Which is where you come in. I’m going to need things like picnic spots set up and art supplies magically at the beach. It’s a big ask. Are you up for it?”
“Just tell me what you need, where, and when. I’ll make it happen.” He took a sip of water. “Can I ask you a question about not retiring?”
“Ask me anything.”
“I’m assuming this means you and Anne Marie aren’t moving to Seaside, as you’ve always planned once you retired.”
“Right.”
“So, where are Amber and Wyatt going to live? She’s always planned to buy the house once you retire. Now that they’re married, I figure they’re going to want a bigger place than that apartment.”
My mind wandered back to the video call this afternoon when I mentioned my offer to use the family credit card wasn’t like I was offering a house. No wonder I felt daggers stabbing me through the phone from Annie. Until now, I’d forgotten about the agreement with Amber. When we retired and moved to Seaside, Amber was going to buy the house and move in. I’m sure she and Wyatt had been planning on that since Annie and I had started mentioning future retirement plans. Just when I didn’t think I could be a bigger asshole, I realized I hadn’t just messed up with Annie. I’d screwed up with Amber. I finished the last sip of whiskey. “So, my wife’s not the only one I need to apologize to. Let me save my marriage. Then I’ll figure out how to fix this with Amber and Wyatt.”
When we first spent summers together, Michael and I both worked at the hockey camp. I was one of the instructors. He worked in registration and was our site manager. Each summer, we had to set a goal. Apparently, my best friend was bringing back the tradition. “What’s your goal?”
“To save my marriage.”
“How long do you have to do it?”
“One summer.”
“How are you going to do it?”
“Work hard every day, not give up, and stay focused.”
He handed me a flat rock from the bowl where Annie leaves everything so it’s ready whenever inspiration strikes. “Instead of writing it on the breakroom wall, use this. You know the drill. Summarize your goal in five words or less.”
I picked up a teal paint marker from the mason jar next to the bowl. As I shook the marker, I thought about how to word the goal. As soon as I had it, I opened the marker and wrote ‘One Summer to Save Us.’ Then I decorated the rock with lilacs because they’re Annie’s favorite flower. As I painted the purple flowers, I nodded toward the bowl of rocks. “They’re for everyone. Maybe putting it into the universe would help with whatever you’re mulling over there.”
He took a rock and chose a few markers. “Couldn’t hurt.”