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This is not a skill you forget, but I want to make sure I feel settled before I open it up. By the time I make it to the 27 East, I’m ready. Nearly an hour atop this bike, full-out with the wind at my face, U2 is blaring via wireless to my ears. Even on random, it hits with the best of the best. “Vertigo.”It drives with a beat that matches the roar beneath me.
I weave in and out of traffic as the minutes turn my brain off thinking of nothing but the music and the road. Once I get closer to the Hamptons, the traffic slows. It’s a holiday weekend and the last one of summer. The bays will be packed.
My little over an hour trip takes more like two hours before I turn onto Three Mile Harbor Drive. My parents and grandparents built this house together in the mid-nineties. It settles across three and a half acres. We don’t really have neighbors out here. We own the adjacent land as well. I remember coming here as a kid during construction. I couldn’t believe the size of it.
I asked my dad why it was so big. He responded with a smile and a hand to my shoulder. He said this would be a family home for years to come. It was a place where we could all come to be together with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Legacy is a keyword to our family. That’s their dream. Honestly, mine too.
I can hear the engine echo off the trees around me before I kill it in the driveway. I pull off my helmet and rest it behind me, after I slowly pry myself away from the seat. Your body is the one thing that loses its practice. I feel like I’ve done about a thousand squats when I settle both feet back on the ground.
There’s no welcoming committee, so that can only mean I got here undetected. The front double door opens quietly. I can hear low chatter coming from the kitchen around the wall to my right. I’d forgotten how beautiful and warm this house is. The back of the house faces the pool and hot tub with a double heightgreat room that features floor-to-ceiling windows. I can see my mother and grandmother curled up on the sofas in the morning with their coffees and books. Sitting silently but together.
Hayley rounds the corner and nearly plows me over with her water bottle and tennis racket in hand. I grab her shoulders lightly before she gives me away. She smiles even after I pinch the underside of her arm as I let her pass. I wait for the door to latch then move to the doorway. I lean against the entry and watch for a minute.
Mom and Gran have their backs to me. Mom is at her usual spot over the stove. It looks like she’s boiling potatoes for her world-famous potato salad. Gran is at the sink washing and chopping a few random vegetables and fruits. I slowly unzip my leather jacket and lay it across one of the stools at the breakfast bar.
I listen to the exchange of their recipe differences on the potato salad. My mother is completely against mustard, and my grandmother, being more of a traditionalist, is all for it. “Need a third opinion?” I ask. They both startle, turn in unison, and squeal at the same time. “How are my girls?” They attack me with kisses to each side of my face. “Okay, okay,” I laugh, “I take it you’re happy to see me?”
“Happy doesn’t begin to describe it, Elijah.” My grandmother cups my cheek in her hand. Evelyn King Sawyer is the heart of this family. She’s the first to a family function and the last to leave it. She’s the most caring and giving woman. “I should want to smack you for keeping the secret though.”
“You’re not violent, Gran. Don’t start now. Will I get to taste test, Mom?” I peer into her pot.
“That depends on how long you’re staying,” she says.
“I’m going to be here until midday on Monday.” I lean back against the peninsula. “It was time to walk through the weedsso to speak. That, and my apartment is being renovated this weekend.”
“Renovated?” Gran asks. “I thought it was beautiful as it was.”
My mother comes over to my side. “First one step then another. Good for you, Eli.”
“Did I miss something?” Gran asks.
“Evie,” Mom says, “why don’t you sit out in the sunroom with Eli for a bit? I can finish up here.”
“Yeah, Gran. It’s been a long time since we’ve been on a date. I’ll bring us two glasses of rosé.”
“The last time we had rosé out here, it wasn’t the best news.”
“Evie, this is,” Mom adds. “The bar out there has some in the cooler.”
I offer my arm to my grandmother. “Shall we?”
“I suppose I could make your grandfather jealous.”
She wraps her petite hand around my elbow. I offer it a gentle pat as she leans into my arm while we walk. “I’m glad you never get too old to talk to me, Elijah.”
“More often than not, you’re where I go first.”
“It’s nice to hear that.” I settle her on the couch before I grab our glasses of wine. “This sounds like it might be big.”
“It’s not as big as Pops finally being mostly retired.”
“Don’t say that too loud, dear. He’s not fully accepted it or understands its meaning. Eli, if it’s big to you, it will be big to me.”
I hand her a glass to match mine, and we both take a sip before I continue, “I’ve had a few conversations with Wes, Dad, and a couple other friends. They’ve all been encouraging me for well over a year to take my wedding ring off. They felt it had been too long.”
“I’m not going to be the one who will tell you what to do. The facts are, your divorce was final over eighteen months ago,and she left before that. You don’t owe her to keep it on. I do understand your need to be ready.”
“I know, Gran, and thanks. I ended up taking it off. Looks like I’m headed for a bunch of changes all at once, again.” I shrug. “Seems to be the way things go for me.”
