Page 108 of Lies and Lullabies
Still smiling, I called Vivi. “Sweetie!”
A minute later, my daughter appeared in the doorway, her turquoise eyes squinting with a question. “What?”
“Do you think you can draw Purple Kitty?”
“’Course.” She shrugged. “Why?”
“Daddy would like it.”
Vivi considered this for a moment. “I gotta find my purple crayon.” She spun on her heel and marched off again.
Chuckling, I watched her go, then turned back to my own letter.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Kira
I hung three wet towels over the rails of the new deck. With Vivi and Adam out of the house for a little while, I had a few moments to myself to prepare for the onslaught of our guests. It was hot for June, and the deck boards warmed my feet as I crossed to the sliding glass doors.
Inside, I did a scan of the living area. Things were still a bit unfinished—the window trim around the new skylights had yet to be painted, and a sawdust smell lingered from the renovations. But Jonas had only purchased the B&B a few months ago, and it was really quite surprising how much the contractors he’d hired had accomplished already.
I fluffed the pillows on the brand-new sofas, then headed into the kitchen where the real work had been done. Mrs. Wetzle’s old kitchen had been gutted and then filled with surfaces and appliances that seemed too fancy for Nest Lake, Maine.
In fact, the purchase of a summer place seemed awfully extravagant. But Jonas had retooled his summer schedule in a way that allowed us to spend some blocks of time here. Like, this week we’d have four days together, with the band members as our guests. After, the band would play a couple of New England cities and then take more than a month’s break. This summer’s tour had been concentrated into a few short bursts, with lots of time for family.
Even so, I thought the purchase of Mrs. Wetzle’s home was indulgent, especially when my father’s house was practically across the street.
“I want it to beourplace, so I can have industry people visit if I need to.” He’d chuckled as he’d added, “But I’m going to send them the directions before they agree to come. You know—fly to Maine and drive an hour and a half. If they still think the meeting is worthwhile after they figure that out, then they’re free to come.”
“You are a very clever man,” I had said, patting him on the chest. “But it hardly seems worth all the money you’re putting into it.”
“Sweetness, Nest Lake is my favorite placein the world. And the B&B is for sale at a dirt-cheap price. Would you rather I dropped five million on Maui?”
“Heck no.”
“So you see what a practical man I am?”
At first we’d had quite a few arguments about money, until Jonas had laid it all out one afternoon. “I have a lot of it,” he’d said. “And I never had anyone to spend it on before. I didn’t blow it on a lot of bling like some guys, okay? And Kira, I’m in a hurry to enjoy it a little. You can’t take it with you.”
“I know,” I’d conceded.
Jonas had also bought an apartment in a fancy Boston high rise. He’d wanted a house, but the apartment building had doormen and security, twenty-four seven. It also had an underground parking garage, which foiled the paparazzi. Vivi and I had moved in with him in January, after Adam had been finished with radiation, and Jonas had been finished with all his overseas obligations.
Since I’d been able to go to school full time this year, I’d finally finished my degree. Then—and this felt a little weird—I didn’t bother looking for a job. Not yet, anyway.
“Get a job if you want a job,” Jonas had said when we’d talked about it. “But don’t get one for money. Vivi is only five, and you can’t get these years back. So if staying home with her is what you’d prefer, then do it. Or, if you want to work, we’ll hire a nanny.”
“That would cost nearly as much as I’d make,” I’d pointed out.
Jonas had just shrugged. “Do what makes you happy. Because money isn’t an issue right now.”
It was the first time in my life that was true.
Walking into each of Mrs. Wetzle’s guest rooms, I checked one last time to see that everything was in order.
Hopefully I’d soon stop thinking of this place as Mrs. Wetzle’s.
