Page 2 of The Lighthouse Sisters
Katrina’s grandfather had died a year ago. He had been nearly 90 when he had passed away, and based on Katrina’s stories about him, Raelynn assumed he had lived a very interesting and fulfilling life. She knew that Katrina missed him every day. Up until now, she hadn’t heard mention of any will. She guessed that maybe it had recently been found. Raelynn smiled. “That’s sweet that he left you something. You were always his favorite, you know.”
Katrina chuckled at Raelynn’s words and said warmly, “He never said it out loud, but I convinced myself that I was,” she said excitedly. “You’ll never guess, so I’ll just tell you. He left me his lighthouse property on Tybee Island.”
Tybee Island was the home of Georgia’s largest and oldest lighthouse. Known for its charm, it was popular with the locals and history buffs alike. Raelynn remembered a report she did on it in grade school. At the time, Tybee Island had beenone of only seven remaining colonial era lighthouses in the country.Raelynn remembered it fondly from her childhood since her parents had taken her there to see the fireworks on the 4th of July, and once, they had even attended a Pirate Fest there. It was a fond, yet distant memory. In fact, she remembered the imposing yet impressive lighthouse there, but not much else about the area. It had been years since she had ventured out there to see it.
“Oh, my goodness. That’s amazing. What a beautiful gift!” she paused. “But I guess it might bring back a lot of memories?” She knew her friend had taken her grandfather’s death hard, even though she rarely talked about it.
“Yes, but only good ones, you know? It’s nice that he left me something tangible to remember him by. I just never expected this…not in a million years.” She sounded excited again now.
“What do you think you’ll do with it? Is it still in good condition?” She had a ton of questions, her curiosity now piqued. “We should go check it out sometime!”
It sounded like an adventure in the making and Raelynn could use a change of pace. Yes, she was grateful for the two-story suburban home and her family, but she was hoping maybe to mix things up a bit. She and John hadn’t even been on a vacation yet that year. It was the first time they hadn’t traveled since Dylan was little. A short trip to the lighthouse seemed like a great time.
“I have no idea yet...I'm curious too, but I’ve been talking to Dave,” she said with a sigh. “And he thinks I should sell it.”
“Is that what you want to do?” Raelynn knew that her friend was sentimental and letting go of a property that had been in the family for years wasn’t exactly something Katrina would willingly do. She wasn’t surprised it was Dave’s idea. Raelynn was never a huge fan of Katrina’s husband.
“I think so,” she paused. “But I should talk it over with a realtor. Do you have anyone you would recommend?”
“I’m sure that John does. He has quite a few friends in real estate. I know he keeps a ledger with all his business contacts. Let me go see.”
Still holding the phone, she walked to the adjourning room and opened the hanging doors. Inside was her husband’s office. It had at one point been her personal library, but then John had gotten busier at work and needed an area to work from when at home. Raelynn had converted it for him, leaving the custom-made shelving and adding a large mahogany desk to finish off the look. It had been her favorite room in the house when it had been a library.
She found his ledger easily, since John kept his belongings tidy, and reached for it. As she did, she knocked over a folder. Bending to pick it up, she glanced at the papers that had spilled from it.
Her eyes narrowed as one word, in particular, stood out...her breath caught in her chest as she lowered herself into his office chair, papers in hand.
Divorce.
With shaky hands, she read through every piece of the document, her heart beating loudly in her chest as she did. Her husband wanted a divorce.
In shock, she picked up the phone and said to Katrina, “I’ll need to call you back.” She hung up then too shell-shocked to speak or explain. The emotional pain she felt made it hard for her to even breathe.
Twenty-three years. That’s all she could think about as she held the papers in her hand. Twenty-three years they had been together.
Still shaking, she slid the papers back into the folder and quickly placed the folder back where she had found it. She didn’t want him to know that she knew. Was there someone else? Did he not love her anymore?
Blinded by pain, she hurried out of the room and made her way to her bedroom: the bedroom she’d shared with a husband she thought had once loved her. When had that changed? She sat on the edge of the bed and tried to think of a sign, anything that would have prepared her for this, but there wasn’t one. With her head in her hands, she did the one thing she felt the situation warranted. She cried.
TWO
Raelynn stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her large brown eyes were bloodshot and swollen. They were red from crying. She didn’t know how long she had cried. An hour?
In fact, her whole body felt shaky. If she didn’t know better, she would have assumed she had a sudden, classic case of the flu, chills and nausea included. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a virus making her feel like death warmed over; it was the emotional toil of the news she had just found out. Divorce. He wanted a divorce. It was all she could think about.
Feeling sick, she had made her way to the bathroom to splash water on her face. In vain, she hoped that this was all a nightmare, and that she would suddenly just wake up. But she was already wide awake, and this wasn’t a nightmare. It was her new reality. She swallowed hard and blinked back tears. The face that looked back at her was barely recognizable. She’d never seen herself look so dejected or so hopeless before. She bent down over the sink, pushing her fine, shoulder-length, blonde hair away from her face. She turned on the faucet, and splashed water on her face again, taking in a few shaky breaths as she did.
Breathe, she told herself.Just breathe, Raelynn.
She reached for a hand towel and began to dry her face. She stopped when she saw the monogram etched in the towel, his and hers towels, Mr. and Mrs. Brookes. Her heart hurt as she traced the letters there with shaky fingers. It was a “silly” tradition she insisted on doing every year. They had been gifted towels monogrammed with their initials for their wedding. As a relatively young couple, they hadn’t had much at the time, so the personalized gift had meant a lot to Raelynn. Not to mention the gift had been from his grandparents, who she adored. She’d thought it had been a lovely gesture. And so, every year after that, Raelynn bought new monogrammed hand towels to celebrate each passing year of their marriage.This would be the last set.
Feeling sick, she let the towel drop from her hand and onto the floor. She wouldn’t need his and hers monogrammed towels anymore. Soon enough, there won’t be a Mrs. and Mr. Brookes. Holding back a sob, she left the bathroom that she had shared with her husband for many years, the irony not escaping her that they would share nothing else, besides their son, after this day. After all, he didn’t want her anymore. He wanted to get rid of her. She felt as if she had been punched in the gut. The pain was too much. After 23 years, he planned to throw everything they had built together away. She felt as if her life was ending.
She paced the floor of the sunroom for a little while, wondering what to do. She didn’t dare tell anyone. The pain was too fresh and too new to talk about. Talking was the last thing she wanted to do right now, especially with him. Knowing that John would be home soon, she grabbed her keys. She had to get out of there. Knowing what she knew, she couldn’t speak to him now. It was getting late, and he would probably wonder where she was once he arrived home, but she didn’t care. She had been the perfect housewife, always there to greet him when he got home, and where exactly had that gotten her?
Decidedly, she quickly made her way out of the sunroom, crossed over to the living room, and grabbed her car keys from the table in the entryway. She didn’t know where she was going but couldn’t stay there. She got into her car, which he had paid for, and drove away from his house. She bitterly wondered if the house was something she was technically entitled to, since she had given up everything for him. She angrily thought the least he could do would be to let her keep her home.
Feeling lonely and not knowing where to turn, Raelynn sat behind the wheel, trying to figure out her next move. She knew she could call on Katrina or Hazel, and they would be there for her, but she was embarrassed and ashamed. Her marriage was over. She was a failure. Feeling despondent, she started the car and began to drive aimlessly. She stared ahead of her, not seeing her surroundings. She drove on autopilot, driving blindly out of her neighborhood and past the city. Not far from the outskirts of the city was a hill overlooking a park, and she began heading in that direction.
