Page 36 of Happy Harbor
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“My momma was a character. I sure do miss her already.”
“You didn’t even come to her funeral,” Josie said, staring back out at the street.
“Yes, I did, Josie.”
“I didn’t see you there, and trust me, I looked,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Well, then, my disguise worked. Did you see a woman near the back with a pair of large sunglasses, a long flowery skirt, and a big hat?”
Josie had seen the woman, and she’d thought her outfit was completely inappropriate, which is why she hadn’t approached her. “That was you?”
“Yep. I knew if I looked strange enough, you wouldn’t introduce yourself. I slipped away before the luncheon.”
“Why? So you could blindside me later at the restaurant?”
Diane sighed. “Why must you think the worst of me any chance you get?”
“You have to ask me that?” Josie said, rolling her eyes.
“I didn’t want our first meeting in a decade to be in a group of people because I knew how you’d react to seeing me. So, I waited until I knew we’d be alone at the restaurant.”
Josie would never admit it out loud, but her logic made sense. If she’d seen her at the funeral, not knowing she’d been in Nana’s life secretly for years, she would’ve made a scene and ruined the service. In a way, it was kind of sweet that she let Josie have that time to grieve without making it about herself.
“Look, you know how much I loved Nana. I want to honor her memory and do what she asked. Plus, I don’t want more mimes being created because I left before the six months.”
Diane giggled. “I remember when I took you to the circus when you were a kid, and they had a mime near the bathroom. You had to go so bad, but you held it until we got home because you wouldn’t walk past that woman.”
“They’re creepy,” Josie said, shivering. She hadn’t remembered her mom taking her to the circus until just now. The few good memories she had were so overshadowed by the bad ones. “Anyway, enough reminiscing. I’ve decided to stay and try to make this work. It will not be easy, and I don’t want you to be under any illusions, as Nana apparently was, that we’re going to forge some mother-daughter bond. There is way too much baggage.”
“Got it.”
“You do?”
Diane nodded. “I’m not oblivious to how you feel, Josie. I was a horrible mother, plain and simple. I won’t make excuses for it. I can only try to make amends, like my program teaches. The most I can hope for is that you see I’ve changed.”
Josie stood up. “Be at work at seven tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Diane responded, standing up and saluting her.
Without a response, Josie went inside the house and shut the door. She had no idea how this was going to work. This might just be the longest six months of her life.
* * *
The next morning, Josie walked down the Riverwalk, listening to a bird squawking overhead. She had to admit this was a better commute than the one she had in Atlanta. She stopped for a moment and leaned against the wooden railing, looking out over the river. There were about six boats docked today, most of them fishing boats. There was one larger passenger boat, and she could see a man working on it. Well, she could see his feet, anyway.
“Mornin’,” she heard someone say. She turned to see Walker standing on one of the fishing boats, a paintbrush in his hand.
“Are you following me?”
He chuckled. “I told you, I work on boats for a living. This is really the only place I can do my job.”
“Oh.”
“First day open again, right?”
