Page 75 of Gulfside Girls
It was the same thing Ali had heard Henry say about Didi.
“Ididturn it out when Dad took us to Cedar Point.” It was true. Ali had done her best to be sure Blair and Faye had fun, and had Magical Moments, ala Disney, without actual Disney. Maybe Faye was right. She should have been a travel agent.
“You know, if we make all this dough the real estate agent says we’re going to make, you could get a bed and breakfast in Northern Michigan or Irish Hills or something. That’d be a cool job.”
“Ha, I’ve heard Irish Hills property is hard to come by these days. Dad wouldn’t believe how his old summer lake is turning into the Hamptons of the Midwest.”
“Right?”
“But yeah, that kind of money is potentially life-changing. I’ve been thinking a lot about life changing. Divorce, Dad gone, no job. It’s been a month,” Ali said. She had barely unpacked all the changes. She also hadn’t looked forward.
What do I want to do—other than make sure the guests coming tomorrow have a lovely first Grand Finale?
“It seems sort of weird to sell a place like this and then buy another one, I guess. Oh my gosh, is that a shark fin?”
Ali looked out to the water. “No, school of dolphins. Look over there!”
Three more fins bobbed in and out, and it became clear that what they were seeing was play not searching for prey.
“Oh wow, just wow.”
They sat in silence for a moment and let the breeze and the waves fill the space.
“I feel like my shoulders just released from my ears,” Faye sighed, “and I didn’t know I was scrunching them up.”
“Yeah, there’s a very chill vibe out on this beach.” Ali remembered the wave of calm that had washed over her the first time she was here.
“Man, let’s never leave.”
“Yeah, easy to say, but uh, ten million bucks?” The number didn’t seem real. What seemed real was breathing this air and feeling the sun on their legs.
Ali’s phone buzzed and interrupted her moment of calm. “Oh, it’s Barb Burns, that divorce attorney!”
She had alerted Barb that she was going to be formally separating from Ted but hadn’t done anything about it yet. Time enough when she got back to Toledo to get into the divorce settlement. She figured she’d keep the house, Ted would get an apartment, he’d keep his car, and she’d keep her 401K.
“Barb Burns, here.”
“Hi Barb, yes, how are you?”
Barb didn’t mince words or answer how she was. “I needed to give you a heads up.”
“What about?”
“Did you get an appraisal of the property in Florida?”
Ali had no idea why Barb would care or know about it. “Nothing formal, but it appears we’re sitting on a decent-sized real estate investment.”
“Well, I just got a document request for everything related to the Sea Turtle resort.”
“From whom?”
“Ted. He wants a formal appraisal, and it appears he’s going to claim half of whatever you get if you sell it.”
“What? He doesn’t even know about this place.”
“Hiding assets isn’t allowed in a divorce.”
“I haven’t filed yet, and I’m not hiding anything. I haven’t even got this place on the market. How does he know any of this?”
