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Ever the optimist, Gigi had said being able to add extra protections to the ownership of their beloved inn had been the silver lining in an otherwise heartbreaking relationship. Zelda saw it as a heartbreaking ending. She hadn’t been the same since the divorce. Even though Fred had lost his pursuit for half the value of the inn, it was as if he had stolen Zelda’s spirit.
“I’m glad I brought the sangria,” Kate said. “I think we all need it.”
“Listen to me, everyone,” Elle said in her teacher’s voice. “I may have gotten a little caught up in the moment when I said I was falling in love with Daniel. Seeing him in this new light has been...nice. Freeing. But when I step back, I have to factor in that this is an emotional time for him with Aidan in the hospital. And I hadn’t planned on staying when I came home. I haven’t heard back from the county about whether or not they have a place for me. If they do, I’ll go back to Atlanta.
“Daniel’s business is here. My life is there. That’s all we need to say about it for now. Gigi and Mom, you two are the reason we’re all together tonight. You called the meeting. The floor is yours.”
Zelda and Gigi, who had been setting out an array of appetizers that she had picked up from Hitch restaurant on Drayton Street, exchanged what Elle might have considered wary glances, but she was trying not to jump to conclusions anymore. Forming her own opinion before hearing the facts had been holding her hostage for years.
“I wish Jane could be here with us tonight,” Gigi said as she put some avocado fries on her plate, next to a heaping mound of poke salad. “If she wasn’t working right now, I’d get her on the phone so she could listen in. But since Kate works days and Jane works nights, I suppose she will have to get the CliffsNotes. Your mom and I have called you here tonight because we have news. I am officially retiring and handing over the reins of the Forsyth Galloway Inn to your mama.”
It wasn’t exactly a surprise, since Gigi had been talking about doing this for at least the past ten years, but it was a surprise that the official day had finally arrived.
“It’s always a special day in our family’s history when we hand off the property to the next generation. It propels our heritage. It keeps our legacy and the mission of my great-great-grandparents alive. That’s why it’s so important that you girls start preparing for the day when it will be your turn to take it over. Even though y’all grew up here and you have lives away from the inn right now, you’ll need to start thinking of yourselves as Zelda’s apprentices.”
Elle glanced at her mother, who looked pale and unfocused. She watched Zelda throw back her drink, refill her glass and chug it.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Elle placed her hand on her mother’s as she tried to reach for a third refill.
“No, I’m not okay. Not really. I’m happy for Gigi. She deserves to retire. You’re almost eighty-five years old, for God’s sake. You should’ve retired a long time ago. The only reason you didn’t was because I wasn’t ready to take over and you were tied to this place.”
“Zelda,” Wiladean’s voice was low and serious. “I thought we worked this out.”
Zelda laughed, but there were tears in her eyes. “We did. Because there is no other answer. There is no choice. We were born into this godforsaken prison of an inn and all choice has been taken from us. I’m still not ready to take over, but if I don’t take over for you after you retire, who will? Do we expect the girls to give up the lives they’ve made for themselves to jump in? I wouldn’t foist this burden on anyone, much less my daughters.”
Gigi looked bewildered. “What are you saying, Zelda?”
“What I’m saying, Mama, is I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to run this place.” Zelda reached out and picked up the manila folder she’d brought in with her. She opened it and shook out a smattering of glossy brochures. They spilled out onto the table. “I’m saying that I don’t want to be tied to this inn until I’m eighty-five years old. After Fred left, I quit living. I gave up on myself and the things in life that make me happy. I did that because I felt so damned guilty that I almost lost everything to a man who said he loved me and then tried to take our family for a ride.
