Page 192 of Key West Homecoming

“He told me Gloria spent six years deciding whether she was allowed to be happy. By the time she decided she was, she had eight and a half years left.” Jake paused. “Then he said, and I’m giving you this exactly, ‘Don’t wait until it’s convenient, Mr. Kelleher. It never becomes convenient. It only becomes late.’”

Emma looked toward the house.

“He said something like that to me too.”

“I figured he had.”

“Between Grandma and Edmund, they spent a lot of time trying to make sure we didn’t waste ours.”

Jake reached for her hand. “Maybe we should listen.”

Later that night, he sent Nancy the photograph.

Her answer came almost immediately.

Thank you. Beautiful tree. Now send me one of the house when you own it.

Jake showed Emma the message.

“I think she approves,” Emma said.

“I think so too.”

On the first Saturday in September, Jake’s closing took less than twenty minutes in a title company office on North Roosevelt Boulevard.

The moment the keys were in his hand, he and Emma drove to William Street.

The house was empty except for dust, a folding chair Delores had forgotten in the kitchen and the sound of their footsteps moving from room to room.

Jake stood in the middle of the front room with the keys in his palm.

“It’s yours,” Emma said.

He looked at her. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

They spent the next hour making plans.

Jake wanted to do some of the work before moving in. The shutters needed attention, several rooms needed paint and the garden required more patience than either of them could estimate. He also needed furniture. At minimum, he needed a bed.

“I’ll pack most of my things and keep out what I need for a few weeks,” he said. “That’ll get me out of your cottage sooner.”

Emma looked at him. “There’s no rush.”

“You’ve been at Winslow’s long enough.”

“I agree, which is why I’m checking out tomorrow.”

Jake pulled the Hibiscus Lane key from his pocket and held it out to her.

Emma looked at the key, then at him.

“No.”

“Emma.”

“Don’t be foolish.”

“It’s your house. You shouldn’t stay in a hotel while I’m tying up two of them.”