Page 203 of Sing with Me

“We were thinking through July, but I can leave the kids there and go to Atlanta if we want to have a face-to-face meeting. I can fly back and forth between Houston and Atlanta in July,” Riley said. “However, we have a catch…”

“Uh-oh.” Diehl glanced over at Dad.

“Let’s hear it,” Dad said.

“Petra will be a senior at Seaside Academy this fall,” Riley said. “I hate to take her out of there and move her to Atlanta, you know? I’ve already enrolled both of them—and paid in full—for the fall semester, so once school starts in August, I can’t commit to anything until the end of the school year in May.”

“Right. I forgot.” Dad thought for a minute. “Now I vaguely remember Rose saying something about a graduation party. She talks a lot and sometimes I miss important dates.”

“I’m sure she’ll remind you. Rose is our calendar girl.” Riley laughed. “The bottomline is that I don’t want Petra’s life disrupted. She’s trying to make college decisions, is busy with her dual enrollment classes, and her senior class has lots of events going on. It’s almost like she has to find time to study. I can’t add a big move to her plate right now.”

Dad turned to Diehl. “What do you suggest?”

Diehl quietly asked God for wisdom. “What grade is Zach?”

“Entering eighth,” Riley said. “When Petra goes to college one year from now, Zach will enter high school.”

“Next summer is your best transition time,” Diehl said.

“Looks like it. How about you?” Riley asked.

“I’ve already registered my kids for school in Atlanta, but if I can move to St. Simon’s by July, I can transfer them to Seaside Academy in August when school starts.”

“So you’re thinking of moving Brooks Properties to St. Simon’s?” Riley asked.

“If possible.” Diehl closed his iPad cover.

“Then you need to know that they changed their deadline to June 30.”

“What? They used to have rolling admissions.”

“The website is outdated. Get on their mailing list if you don’t want to miss the deadline.”

“Thanks, Riley. Appreciate that information.” Diehl thought about it. “So we have a dilemma. I want to move my kids to St. Simon’s this summer. Riley can’t move back to Atlanta until next May.”

“Looks like I’m the variable here, which might work out,” Dad said. “I think I need to be here to get the best deal for Brooks Manufacturing.”

“So you’ll put it on the market?” Riley asked.

“We’re a family business so I decide what goes and what stays,” Dad said. “Since nobody wants to handle manufacturing—why on earth did I let Parker expand there?—we’ll sell it and split the profits across the three remaining subsidiaries.”

Diehl nodded. “Hopefully we can sell Brooks Manufacturing soon.”

“While keeping Brooks Transportation running in Atlanta until Riley moves here,” Dad said.

“I can shadow you,” Riley said to Dad. “Hopefully I’ll learn the ropes in eleven months.”

“Eleven months,” Dad repeated. “Let me ask Rose if she’d like to stay in Atlanta that long.”

“I’ll sweeten the deal,” Diehl said. “You can stay in my house rent-free. If you bring Chef Pierre with you, Mom can still have her Christmas dinners. Isobel designed the house for entertaining, as you know. Mom doesn’t have to fly everyone to Brooks Cottage, and thereby saving you money.”

Dad laughed so loudly even Diehl was startled. “Since when does your mother save me money? If she saves it in jet fuel, you can be sure our parties are going to get more lavish and over the top.”

“Well, if my house is too small for Mom’s dinners, then she could always rent bigger buildings in town, like the historic Swan House or the giant Atlanta Aquarium,” Diehl said. “It’s only for eleven months. School will be out in May, and then Riley will move to Atlanta, right? When she does, you can finally retire to St. Simon’s.”

Even as he said it aloud, something still didn’t feel right to Diehl. He couldn’t put his finger on it. It seemed that the more prudent thing to do was for him to stay in Atlanta until May, when he and Riley would swap cities.

Dad could come and go as he pleased. That would take pressure off him and Mom.

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