Page 80 of Gulfside Girls
And she was darn sure she didn’t want Ted to have one dime from the Sea Turtle Resort, now or ever.
Thirty-Two
Faye
Faye’s arms were open for Ali this time as opposed to the other way around.
“I’m such a fool. I missed it. All these years, I missed it.”
Faye had opened her cottage door to an Ali in pieces. Faye had never seen Ali break down. She’d been so stoic, from the death of their father to the discovery of Ted and his grad assistant, and even when her kids went to college.
But now, she was in pieces.
Ali cried. Faye listened, and she got to comfort her big sister. Faye and Blair had relied on Ali as a stand-in for their mother. It was easy to forget that Ali was less than two years older than Faye. Blair, the baby, was so much younger. Their baby doll. But Ali was a baby, too, when all that happened.
“We all missed it. He was good at pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. I mean, if Dad had suspected, he’d have punched his lights out.”
Ali sniffled and pressed a tissue to her nose. Faye gave her space. Faye wanted Ali to feel safe, she wanted her to know shewas allowed to cry, allowed to feel what she felt. Blair knew her sister had bottled so much, for so long.
Ali sat on the little rattan lounge in the vintage cottage. There were obvious things to fix around her update, but there was also something so calming. The minute you walked from the parking lot to the property of the Sea Turtle Resort, you felt differently about the life you left.
Was that magic? Or was it the sea air?
“I need to stay here. Or at least, stay away. I don’t want to see Ted. I don’t want to step into that house. I just don’t. Is this selfish of me?”
“You don’t have to. But what do you want to do next? Just chill? Because that’s allowed, too. You don’t always have to have a plan or a goal. And no, you’re the least selfish person I know.”
“It’s just that I feel better with a plan and a goal. I just need a different one than what I’d been working toward all these years.”
“You want to make a go of this place, don’t you? I see it in you. Feel it. Saw it with the way those families hugged your neck when they left. You’re made to be here, or it was made for you.”
Ali nodded. She was pulling herself back together. Faye watched Ali think, calm her breathing, and focus.
This was her big sister. The one who had it under control. Control was returning after her dam had burst.
“It’s the least practical thing I could do—wecould do—to hang on to this place and not cash in.”
“Here’s something I’ve been learning; you need to learn it too. It’s not the money. It’s the purpose. We all need a purpose, something that makes us want to get out of bed in the morning. You know? When our kids are little, it’s easy. You’re doing it for them. Sometimes, it’s the job you love and the people you work with. But sometimes, it all seems to vanish. The reason I got out of bed and headed to the plant was to, you know, show Dad,show everyone how tough I was. That isn’t the same anymore. I was trying to prove something to everyone. But what for?”
“Yeah, I get it, but several million bucks at the flick of a pen would give you time to buy a new purpose.”
Faye laughed. That was true. “But why search when you have a purpose right here?”
“I can’t take this away from you or Blair.”
“You have given us way more than we could ever repay. And I expect you to make this work. We’ll have a nice source of income. And a gorgeous place on the water to visit. I don’t see a problem. Oh, and we’ll drive Ted absolutely bat crap crazy. See? That’s a win-win!”
Ali laughed. Good: laughter through tears was a great emotion, to paraphrase Dolly Parton inSteel Magnolias.
“You know, we can always change our minds.”
“Right, give it a go for what, a season or two? If it isn’t what you want, we bail. But before that, you need to settle.”
“Settle?”
“Settle with Ted, give him the house.”
That idea put a little bit of panic in Ali’s eyes.
