Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
To say he was relieved was an understatement, but he and Chet went through three more years of bank statements just to be sure.
There was no sign of all this money that Regina had supposedly been lending his grandmother.
As far as he was concerned, this entire issue was over.
Except, of course, he had to deal with his aunt, but he had the ammunition now, thanks to Chet.
Darren put the statements in file folders, in order, and put them away before sitting down in his favorite chair. “I’m wiped out.”
“Of course you are,” Chet said. “Do you want to stay here and rest for a while?”
“No. I want to do something. I spent all week working, and I want to spend this one day off doing something fun. There isn’t a lot in town that’s open because it’s Sunday, but I was thinking that we could go for a walk out by the bluffs.
There are great trails through the park there.
” Sitting in the house was the last thing he wanted.
Chet was going to return to New York in a few days, so no matter how tired he was, time was precious, and he needed to make the very most of it.
“Sure. I have a sweatshirt in the car that I can put on.”
“Okay, let me get a jacket and we can go.” He grabbed one from the closet, and they went out to Chet’s rental. Chet put the top down, and they rode to the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The wind and the waves crashing below dominated everything.
Chet put the top up, and they got out and headed down the bluffs toward the north.
“I used to spend a lot of time out here when Gramma was alive. This is where I came to think about what I wanted and how I hoped my life would be. Things were so bad back at home, and I was pretty messed up by the time I got here.” He led the way to a bench.
“I’m surprised this seat doesn’t still have an imprint of my butt.
I spent so much time sitting here trying to figure stuff out. ”
“And what was conclusions did you come to?” Chet asked.
Darren shrugged. “None, really. But I think that time gave all the stuff inside my head a chance to settle down. You know? Gramma was her steady, calm self, and she helped me get through everything, and she showed me that I was loved. That no matter what, there was someone in this world who loved me and thought I was important.” He turned to Chet.
“And maybe that’s what Aunt Regina is so angry about.
Maybe she thinks I replaced her or something.
Like she always thought of herself as important to her mother. I really don’t know.”
“It doesn’t really matter. Whatever reason she has or feelings that may be wrapped up in it, she doesn’t get to make things up.
Your grandmother knew what she was doing, and she wanted you to have a home…
her home. Regina has had plenty of time to make a life for herself.
It’s your chance to build your life, and she shouldn’t try to take that away from you. ”
Darren shrugged. “I know, but she feels the way she feels, and I can’t change that.”
“True,” Chet told him. “Remember, though, while her feelings may be valid, that doesn’t make them right.
She feels what she feels, but you can’t let her take what’s yours.
” He paused. “I have relatives on my mother’s side.
They aren’t part of the cookie business, and they live middle-class lives.
When my grandfather passed away, my mother inherited a share of the estate.
But she didn’t need it. So, she took a few things that meant something to her and let the assets be shared between her brothers and sister.
She didn’t try to take anything away from them.
That’s what your aunt was trying to do, take what’s yours away from you, and frankly, it pisses me off. ”
“I know. It does me too. Aunt Regina has always been sort of selfish. Gramma always got defensive whenever she came around, because it always felt like she wanted something from her. You know? Now, I think I get it.” But he wasn’t sure he was up to dealing with her the way Chet seemed to think he should.
Ultimately, it was his decision. He had to figure out how he was going to handle it.
Still, he wasn’t going to let her take advantage of him.
They continued up the bluffs, walking and talking.
Thankfully, the subject shifted as they watched the waves pound the rocks at the base of the cliff.
“Look, right out there,” Chet said, pointing.
“Those are whales. See the spouts?” They stood still, watching, and sure enough, other blows formed as dark humps glided along the surface of the water and then slipped under once more.
Darren had seen this before, but when Chet took his hand and they stood there, together, it was like the first time he was experiencing something magical.
Chet squeezed his fingers, and they didn’t move, just scanning the water, and sure enough, more whales spouted, and each time it happened, the energy between them built, and soon, Darren shook with pent-up energy.
“I’ve seen whales before when I visited Provincetown, but it’s different here.”
“That’s because these are humpbacks. See the tail breach?
That’s their signature. They spout, and then they tail slap.
They’re here from April to December.” He squeezed Chet’s hand as the ocean grew quiet and the spouting seemed to end, at least for now.
Slowly, he and Chet continued down the bluffs, the water jumping into the air as rocks got in its way.
“You’ve only got a few days and then you go back to New York,” Darren said as they reached the northernmost point on the peninsula and turned back the way they’d come.
“Yeah, I have to go. I have another project to oversee for my father as well as keep tabs on the one I just finished. I’d like to say that once these things are set up, they work well, but it takes constant monitoring and checking to make sure that things are running as expected and that product isn’t aging out.
That was the problem with the prior system.
Too many products were getting old. We’re hoping to avoid that. ”
Darren nodded and continued walking. “I understand. It’s just that it’s going to be strange.
I’ve spent months with my head down doing very little other than work, and in the past couple weeks, I’ve taken time off and had the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
And now I’ve got to go back to the way things were.
I need the money, and I have to pay the taxes and stuff on the house, so I don’t have much choice.
” He stopped walking. “I know it’s going to sound dumb, but you showed me that there is more to life than work, but I don’t know what I can do. I need the money, so….”
Chet didn’t say anything at first. “Is that your way of saying that you’re going to miss me?”
“Yes, I guess it is. I know I will.” Things were going to be so different.
“I quickly got used to having someone in my life. You know? Not many people show up and take me to lunch or for a late dinner. And you didn’t complain once.
The last time I tried to date, all he did was complain that I didn’t call off work so I could go out to a bar.
I….” He pulled Chet to him. “I’m going to miss you a lot.
You have to know that.” He refused to tell Chet exactly how he felt because there was no point in it.
Baring his heart wasn’t going to do either of them any good.
It didn’t matter what Darren did or said—Chet had to return to New York, and he needed to go back to his life and figure out a way to move forward without working himself to death.
“I’ll miss you too,” Chet said. “I came out here to put my feet up and get away from everything at home. I didn’t expect to meet you—to meet anyone—while I was here.
So now….” He sighed. “I have to go back and figure out what I want to do with my life. I can’t turn my back on the family totally, but…
.” He sighed again. “I have to figure out how to make something for myself. And I owe you for that.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Darren told him.
It had only been a few weeks, and yet Chet had touched his heart.
Darren knew it, and once Chet returned to New York, it was going to be lonely.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. He had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that there could be so much more between them. “Sometimes, life just isn’t fair.”
“I know,” Chet said, holding his gaze. “And yet sometimes, we have to do what we have to do. It sucks, but there isn’t much we can do about it.”
Darren knew that Chet had plenty of money and that if he wanted, he could stay.
Part of him wished he would, but was it realistic?
They’d known each other for two weeks. Yeah, it was going to hurt when Chet left, but that was how it was.
They’d had some good times together, but that was all there was to it.
“I know. Gramma used to say that the definition of unhappiness is wanting something you can’t have.
” And he refused to fall into that trap.
Chet nodded. “Come on. We still have the rest of the day, so we’re going to make the most of it.”
He tugged Darren back toward the car, and they got inside before heading through town and out on the road heading south.
At the bridge over the river, Chet made the right turn and continued down along the coast with the top down and the rugged pacific coast off to the right.
Chet turned on the radio and found a satellite station playing seventies music, because what was more cheerful than a bouncy disco beat?
And worse, both of them sang along with ABBA…
badly. But it didn’t matter—the wind in his hair, Chet’s hand on his knee, and the music all combined into something magical that he would hold onto for as long as he could.