Page 44 of The Beach Shack Artists 3
Stella waited.
“I’m eighty, Stell,” Margo said. “I’ve been running the Shack since I was thirty. That’s fifty years of early mornings and late nights and trying to keep everyone happy. And I’m tired.”
“You’re also a little terrifying,” Stella said gently. “Still.”
“Good. That’s kept us afloat more than once.” Margo smiled, but there was something sad underneath it. “But being terrifying shouldn’t be the only thing holding a family business together. There should be love there. Love and spreadsheets. Meg would need both.”
Stella laughed and looked around the room again.
“You’ve been painting,” she observed.
“More than I have in years,” Margo admitted. “I forgot how much I missed it. When you’re mixing colors, trying to get the light just right... it’s different from cooking. Makes me feel like myself again.”
“Is that why you asked them those questions tonight?”
Margo nodded. “I need to know if they actually want to take over the Shack. Not just help out when it’s convenient, but really commit to it.”
“You’re testing them.”
“I’m trying to figure out what’s real and what’s just guilt.” Margo’s voice was gentle but firm. “I won’t be here forever, and I can’t force them to want this life.”
Stella leaned back in her chair, which creaked in response. “What if they don’t?”
“Then I make different plans.” Margo set down her glass and glanced out the window. “Sell to someone who’ll care about thecommunity. Use the money to buy a little studio somewhere. Spend whatever time I have left doing something that isn’t measured in coffee filters and fry orders.”
“You don’t think they can do it.”
“I don’t know. And not knowing is hard.” Margo’s eyes were tired. “They’re all grown-ups with their own lives, their own careers. Maybe the Shack is just something they help with out of obligation.”
“But what if they really do want it?”
“Then they’ll have to prove it. Not with words, but with actions.”
Stella thought about the dinner, how everyone had gotten upset and stormed off in different directions.
“They haven’t exactly been working together lately,” Stella said.
Margo smiled sadly. “No, they haven’t. But the kids—you, Bea, Joey—you’ve been holding things together. That gives me hope.”
“We’re just doing our jobs.”
“You’re doing more than that. You’re paying attention to what people need.”
Stella listened to the wind chimes for a moment, sipping on her lemonade.
“Can I ask you something?” Stella said.
“Always.”
“Why are you letting everything get so messy? I mean, you could have stopped the whole thing tonight before it got that bad.”
Margo was quiet for a moment. “Because fixing their problems for them won’t tell me if they can fix problems themselves. I already know I can keep things running. What I need to know is whether they can.”
“Even if it means watching everything fall apart?”
“Even if it means watching everything fall apart.” Margo let out a big sigh. “I won’t be here forever, Stella.”
“Why now?” Stella asked. “Why push them now, after everything?”
