A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street #8)(96)

“Today?” she asked. “Can’t we do it later in the week?”

“Ah, sure.” He was clearly disappointed.

“Could you tell me what it is?”

Grant cradled his mug of coffee. “It’s a house, a lovely one that’s been on the market for a while. The owners are ready to bargain—and so am I.”

Thirty-Two

Bethanne didn’t really want to see this house Grant was so excited about. She knew from the years they were married that he’d dreamed of one day buying a home on Lake Washington. Waterfront property was highly sought after and, in a word, expensive.

By Wednesday afternoon, Bethanne regretted ever having consented to this. She hadn’t been back in the office long and had barely had time to do more than answer emails and catch up with a few pressing items that required her immediate attention. Julia Hayden had done a masterful job but there were a number of decisions only Bethanne could make. Her day was harried enough without this appointment.

He phoned at noon to confirm their meeting time. She almost told him that he should arrange the viewing for another evening. What changed her mind was how excited he seemed. She hadn’t heard that kind of enthusiasm from him in a very long while.

A half hour before she planned to leave, Annie wandered into her office. “Has your day been as hectic as mine?” her daughter asked.

“Yes,” Bethanne said, glancing up from her computer screen.

Annie sat down in the chair across from her desk. “Did you and Dad get together last night?”

“We did.” Grant had taken Bethanne to an old favorite of theirs. Zorba’s was a family-owned Greek restaurant where they used to dine every year on their birthdays. Bethanne enjoyed Mediterranean-style cuisine, and so did Grant. Back then, it had been a real treat to splurge on a couple of special nights.

As Grant’s career advanced they were able to dine out more often and they’d expanded their repertoire of restaurants. Bethanne hadn’t gone to Zorba’s since the divorce. Their meal on Tuesday evening had been pleasant and, not surprisingly, led to reminiscences of previous dinners there. The original owners, whom they remembered fondly, had retired and their children now ran Zorba’s. While the recipes were the same, or so they were told, the food didn’t taste quite as good.

“Dad said he was taking you to your favorite place.”

“We had several favorite restaurants.”

“You can’t throw away all those years, Mom! You just can’t.”

Bethanne didn’t comment. Instead, she changed the subject. “Did your father mention that he wants us to see a house this afternoon?”

“Yeah, I think that’s great, don’t you?”

Bethanne was a little startled by her daughter’s reaction. “I’m not selling the house, Annie. I told your father that when he brought up this idea, but he insisted I at least look.”

“It doesn’t cost anything to do a walk-through, does it?”

Bethanne knew Andrew would appreciate her feelings about their family home. And she’d expected Annie to display some emotion regarding it. Annie had been four when they’d moved there and Bethanne doubted she had any memories of the apartment they’d lived in before that.

“Dad emailed me pictures of the Lake Washington house, and, Mom, it’s really beautiful.”

Over dinner at Zorba’s, Grant had shown her brochures for cruises to the Greek isles, a trip they’d once anticipated for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Only, there hadn’t been any anniversary and no trip. Bethanne had scanned the flyers while sipping a small glass of ouzo. The implication was that if they did remarry, they’d take one of these cruises—a second honeymoon.

Everything seemed to be moving so quickly. Too quickly for Bethanne. Grant was obviously trying to give her reasons to reconcile. He’d always been persuasive, a deal-maker, and he was using all his skills to sway her decision.

“Your father’s trying too hard,” Bethanne felt obliged to tell her daughter. “It isn’t material things I want. There’s so much more involved here.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “Mom, Dad’s afraid.” She hesitated briefly. “Were you on the phone with Max the other morning when Dad came by?”

“What makes you ask?” She’d been careful not to let Grant know she was speaking to Max. He might have overheard but she doubted it.

“Dad said he thought you might’ve been.”

Bethanne didn’t respond.

“It really threw him after the week in Florida.”

“Oh?” So all this house business had to do with Grant’s insecurities. But until Andrew’s wedding, her decision was on hold. Her first priority was seeing their son happily married. Only then would she address these uncomfortable issues.

“The cruise, the house—it’s all a bit much,” she said.

Annie smiled. “Dad means well.”

Bethanne nodded. “I know.” She kept thinking about their meal at Zorba’s. The recipes were the same as they’d been years ago, but the experience wasn’t. Grant had wanted to recapture the past and his attempt had fallen short. Neither of them had acknowledged it, though. It might not be a good analogy, but Bethanne feared the same thing would happen with their relationship. Even if they both wanted a reconciliation to work, it might not. Too much time had passed. They no longer had the same interests or, she suspected, the same values. Bethanne liked quiet evenings at home, reading and knitting. From what Grant had told her, he often went out nights, to network, meet with clients and make connections. She, too, was required to spend a certain number of evenings at work-related occasions, but more and more she preferred to be by herself or with family and friends.