“It really is.” I sit up with a great idea. “Hey, could you come back with me at the end of the week? Then you could see it for yourself and understand I’m not losing my mind.”
“Losing your mind? What are you talking about?”
I swallow another hefty mouthful of wine, the Sauvignon Blanc cool and crisp on my tongue. “There’s something about Heartsboro that draws me in. Radical, right? You know I’m a diehard city girl. I’ve never been into small towns, antiquing, or farming.” I smirk and shake my head.
Beverly seems to be tracking with me. “Not radical. Although, you have mentioned more than a few times how you wish your life was calmer and not so chaotic.”
“Yeah, serenity now!” I joke. We both laugh.
Bev grabs a throw pillow and rests it in her lap. “I don’t know how you do it. You have a very high-pressure job, Maddy. Is it any wonder you’ve been stressed out all these years? Maybe Heartsboro is a little nudge from the universe reminding you to slow down and add a sprinkle of joy and simplicity into your crazy world.”
“I will not start crocheting, collecting antiques, or baking banana bread.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about living more of a ‘soft life.’”
“A ‘soft life’? Explanation,please.”
I watch my sister pause and take a lingering sip of wine from her glass. She licks her lips and chooses simple words. “Slow down. Opt for pleasure. Make good coffee and enjoy it instead of gulping down that drive-thru mud you’re always drinking.”
“Hey! I think convenience matters, girl,” I laugh.
Beverly seems humored and shakes her head. “Watch the sunset. Sleep in for a change. Go on a real date, for crying out loud. It’s okay to stop running after whatever it is you’ve been running after all these years.”
Everything Beverly says makes total sense. And she’s right. What exactly is it I’ve been running after anyway? More money? I have more money than I know what to do with. Being single and childless has its perks at my age.
But there is a downside to being thirty-three.
I’m a workaholic woman in a career dominated by men. As far as dating, I’ve never really had any time. I’ve been going through the motions in so many aspects of my life, especially after our dad died over a decade ago. The things that used to make me happy or excited seemed to have stopped working.
I can’t shake the feeling that something is off. I feel… stuck.
I nod. “You know what these last two days reminded me of?”
“What?”
“When we used to go to Tybee Island.”
“Ahhh, Tybee. I loved those trips,” Beverly gushes. “I mean, who doesn’t love a sleepy beach town with a lighthouse. Remember the last Airbnb we stayed at?”
“The one with the wraparound deck?”
“Yes. I could’ve stayed there for a month, waking up every morning to the gorgeous sunrise over the Atlantic.”
“Me too.”
“Remember that Captain’s Sampler Platter you ordered for us at The Crab Shack?”
“Oh my goodness, we could’ve fed the entire restaurant with all that food,” I laugh.
“It was so yummy,” Beverly agrees.
“Mmhmm. Crab legs and fried shrimp.”
We sit quietly and sip our wine, reminiscing about our time on Tybee Island together. I exhale a long breath. Thanks to my sister, I’m finally relaxed.
“Hey, we should totally make plans and go to Tybee during the week between summer school and when your regular schedule begins.”
“We should.” Beverly puts her glass on a side table and looks me in the eye. “But first, I’d like to say something.”
