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Guilt filled me. “Is it really that simple?”
“Well, yeah,” he replied. “Look, if you’d come in here and said he wanted to get out and help us with the shop for no pay, I’d have something to say about that. But he wants to shift his career closer to you, entering a job field that he already has experience in. He can work his way up the ranks in the fire department just like he would in the military, and by the end of it, he’ll still get a pension, just a few years later than he’d planned. I don’t see the harm. In fact, I think it’s smart.”
Mom pursed her lips. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
“Neither had I,” I admitted. “I reacted the same way you did, Mom, and Thatcher pretty much said word-for-word what Dad said.”
“Happy to be the voice of reason,” he said with a wink.
We all smiled a little at that, and my mom reached out and patted my knee. “AndI’mhappy that you and Thatcher have each other, and that he’s willing to get out so he doesn’t have to leave you. But, I have to ask, is he doing this because you told him you weren’t willing to do the same for him?”
I hung my head. “I can’t leave you guys. Not with the shop failing. I’d never forgive myself. We can barely keep things going as it is. Imagine if it were just the two of you. It would never work.”
So many words must have passed between my parents as they silently stared at each other, and then my dad got up from the desk and came over, sitting on the arm of the couch next to my mom. He put a large hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“Hattie,” Mom said, smiling gently, “you’ve been a valuable part of our family business since you were a little girl. You were born with a passion for floral design, and thankfully, you’re great at it.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“But if you hadn’t wanted to grow up and work here, we wouldn’t have forced you. We would have worked until we didn’t want to anymore, and then we would have sold the business.”
My eyes bulged.
“That said,” she went on, “the fact that you did want to do all of this with us was amazing. I love the idea of you running this shop when you’re our age, long after we’re retired. You could have a beautiful life doing something you love.”
“Okay,” I said, drawing out the word. “But?”
“But, it’s not worth it if you don’t have anyone to share it with,” Dad stated, tugging Mom’s shoulder against his hip. “And if you love that man, you can’t choose the business over him.”
Mom smiled up at him, her gaze locked with his as she spoke. “And, love is a two-way street. Both sides need to be willing to compromise in order to make it work, and then, as a team, you can decide the best course to take.”
My eyes burned as I processed their words. I’d been so unfair. And I’d approached this in the worst possible way.
Pushing Thatcher away when he offered to make the choice that I hadn’t been willing to make was cruel.
But then, something like realization fluttered around the edges of my mind. I might have thought I was doing the right thing by sticking by my parents, but some part of me had known it was wrong.
Some part of my heart had recognized Thatcher’s from the moment we met, and at the end of the day, I probably wouldn’t have been able to let him leave.
Not with how light my chest felt now that my parents had spelled it out.
“You’re right,” I said, swallowing hard. “But if I tell him this, and he wants to stay in the military, you know that means I’ll be leaving pretty soon, right?”
“We do,” Mom said.
“And what will happen to the shop?” I asked quietly.
“Honey, if the shop is going to close, it’s going to close whether or not you’re here with us,” Dad said matter-of-factly. “I know what a huge help you are, but you can’t expect to single-handedly save us from bankruptcy if that’s where we’re headed.”
Stella’s words about going down with the ship played in my mind, and I closed my eyes. “I feel so dumb.”
“You’re not dumb. You’re human. And you’ve always led with your emotions, sweetheart,” Mom said. “But I think you know the right thing to do.”
“Two-way street,” I said, repeating her earlier words.
She nodded with a sad smile. “Exactly.”
“And I’ll promise you this,” my dad said, “if this shop goes under, it won’t be your fault and it’s okay to be sad about it. We’re all doing the best we can. But in the end, it’s all material stuff. Your mom and I know we’ll be okay because we have each other. And we want that for you, too.”
