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She couldn’t help but admire him. Even if he was older than what she had thought he would be. She figured that Joe was younger than what he appeared, since he worked on the water, outside, and the elements often aged a person faster than folks who worked inside for a living.
But as she reached for the man’s outstretched hand, hearing him introduce himself as Pierce Pianse, she realized that Joe must truly be as old as he seemed, since Pierce had to be about her age.
“Nice to meet you, Pierce. Finally.” She smiled, carefully balancing the casserole with one hand while she shook his with her other.
“Let me take that,” he said. “I assume it’s for Dad?”
“Yes.” Her eyes went to the man sitting in the chair. She didn’t want to talk about how worried she was about him in front of him.
As though Pierce had read her mind, he said, “How about we walk to the lighthouse together. We’ll put it inside.”
“Hey. You’re stealing my company. Maybe she came to talk to me. Did you ever think about that, son?”
“And she’ll talk to you for as long as she wants to, Dad. She’s just gonna walk me in the house first.”
Lana got the feeling that she was in some kind of trouble. It was an odd feeling, and one she hadn’t had in a long time. How did this man make her feel like a little girl again? When she was his age or possibly older.
Still, she didn’t turn down the invitation, because she wanted to tell him what she had observed about his dad.
They turned together and started walking up the beach, toward the sand dunes and the lighthouse.
“You visit my dad quite often, according to what he says.”
“And according to what he says, you never visit. But I knew that had to be wrong, since there always seems to be a fresh supply of espresso beans waiting for me whenever I show up.”
“I brought those for my dad for about a year, thinking he was really enjoying them, when I realized that he wasn’t eating them but was giving them to some stranger.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, unsure what else to say.
“It’s not a problem. I just thought it was funny. Here I thought my dad was really enjoying them. But what he was really enjoying was sharing them with you. How could I not continue to bring them, when it gave him such happiness to give them away?”
Interesting. She liked the way he looked at it. From what Joe had said, she had gotten the feeling that his son didn’t visit nearly enough, and that he was somewhat occupied with his business in Chicago, neglecting his father at times.
But the story Pierce had just told made it seem like he wasn’t neglecting his dad at all.
Interesting how there were always two sides to every story. And a person’s actions could be construed in different ways.
“I’m glad you’re not upset about it. I really do enjoy them. But I’d give them up if it were something that bothered you.”
“Doesn’t bother me. I’m happy to bring them. It gives me a reason to come. I think Dad’s been lonely. I appreciate you visiting him as well.”
“I do think he’s lonely. And I enjoy visiting him. It gives me a reason to get out of the bed-and-breakfast, and the walk up the beach always leaves me feeling invigorated. Plus, he’s a fun fella to talk to.”
“He has some good stories, I’ll give him that.” The man took another step before he said, “I understand you recently sold the bed-and-breakfast?”
Lana nodded, thinking that nothing had really changed. She sold it, and she had the money in her bank account, although Matt had helped her invest some of it. But her daughter and her husband who had bought it from her wanted to build their own house and had done so, allowing her to continue to live where she always had. Now though, instead of being responsible for all of the bills and financial aspects of the bed-and-breakfast, she got paid a fair wage and had a lot more free time and a lot less stress and hassle. She couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out. She only hoped that her son-in-law and daughter felt the same way.
“I did.”
“Now you have more freedom?”
“I do. I still work there, but no stress and headache.” They reached the lighthouse, and he opened the door, allowing her to go first.
Interesting. She walked through, trying to keep from smiling. He was from Chicago. She had been sure that he had lost the manners that he’d been surely raised with in rural Michigan.
“I understand you’re in business in Chicago?” she asked, truly curious. Joe had talked about his son, but never too much about what he actually did for a living.
“I do. I own several of them. I acquire businesses, consolidate them, sell them, make deals and things like that. Sometimes deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and sometimes they’re much smaller. It’s fun, but it does take a lot of time. I appreciate having someone here to keep an eye on Dad.”
