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He realized that wasn’t the case. “No. It’s not what I want to do. It’s not who I am. I understand it’s a family business, but I’m the end of the family. I don’t want it. I have no interest in it and I never did. Not because of the memories that I’ll have to carry with me.”
“Which weren’t always that bad, Ren,” she said.
He sighed. “Bad enough. When I was younger it was a fun place to hang out and be. When I got older it was an obligation. I met it but did it for you. I did it out of guilt. I’ve got to cut the ties of guilt somehow.”
He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to do it, but he needed to start doing it more than just with Zara.
“You’ve always been one to carry that guilt with you for years, Ren. I might be able to help you let it go, but you’ve got to want it.”
“I’m not sure anything can help,” he said. “But I do need to tell you something that is going on once we get the business of the marina taken care of.”
His mother frowned and looked concerned. “What’s happening?”
“I’ve got it under control, but I don’t want you to be surprised or anything either. Trust me. Back to the marina. I think you should counter. If they don’t take it or counter again, you know how serious they are. They didn’t low ball you.”
“No,” she said. “They didn’t. They came back with a list of things they’d have to put money into, but they are cosmetic. I had all the big stuff done and they know it.”
“Which was smart to keep the marina up to date for years. Maintenance wise at least.”
“Your father was a good businessman,” she said. “I’m not saying he did it hoping for you to take over.”
Ren snorted. “He knew I never would.”
“He did know that,” she said. “But we were getting older and there was no reason to let the marina fall apart. It made it easier for us to continue to work here.”
There wasn’t much he could say. His father did run a good business. Ren might not agree with the way things were done on a family level, but from what he could see, his mother would be set up comfortably for life. Both of his parents would have been if his father hadn’t died.
His mother was right. His was a provider but not fatherly and not always the nicest person to be around when he didn’t get his way. Ren supposed he’d gotten that bad trait from his father and had been nipping it in the bud for months and was ready to finally cut it off completely.
“I’m glad that it’s working out. Even happier that you got an offer. But you need to make the final decision.”
“I do,” she said. “I’ll counteroffer and try to meet them in the middle. I think that means I’m willing too.”
“Agreed. With any luck, you’ll be able to start traveling this summer.”
“Fingers crossed. Speaking of traveling, is Max crawling faster or is it my imagination? It’s like there are jet packs on his back.”
He laughed. His son had been moving all over the living room and into the dining room, but they could still see him. He was on his way back for toys now.
“He likes to do laps now for some reason. He did it at Zara’s when I arrived yesterday. He did it when I got home two weeks ago too. I’m not sure if it’s his way of checking out what house he is in and if everything is the same or not.”
“He’s trying to figure out the traveling and moving around himself too,” she said.
“I think so.” With any luck it wouldn’t be much longer. “Now that that is taken care of, let me tell you what is going on with Max.”
He told his mother about the letter he’d gotten from Michele a few weeks ago and then the second one a few days ago. The phone call and the video call last night with Zara there.
“I wish you would have told me,” his mother said. “I would have been there for support. You can’t keep doing this on your own.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “I’m not doing it on my own. I’ve got Zara. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew more. You’ve got enough to deal with in life. I didn’t want you stressing over this.”
“A parent always stresses, Ren. You need to get used to that.”
“I’m learning,” he said.
“Tell me about the video call with Zara on it,” she said.
“Michele was excited that I called and offered. I’d told her about Zara and wanted to see her reaction. She’d said she was happy that Max had a mother figure in his life. She wondered if Rachelle was much of one and that she’d never seen her daughter being a mother.”
