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16
The Drew brothers all lived in Barrington, each in a house that was large and expansive, and with more room than they probably needed.
Austin lived on the water in a desirable neighborhood on the west side of Barrington. He purchased it five years before, when the market dipped. He had been able to score a good-sized house for a pretty penny. The house was a natural shingled classic colonial with four-bedrooms and a large open layout. The entire first floor was an open space with a view of the water from every nook and cranny. The moment he had walked into the house, he thought it would be a perfect home to settle down in, but settling down hadn’t been on the top of his to-do list. He was a serial dater who figured at some point he would find the woman who made his heart pitter-patter. He knew his mother was getting sick and tired of watching her sons drag their feet when it came to love. She was hoping for more female blood in the house, and grandkids, too.
Saturday had completely wiped Austin out. He hadn’t been on his feet, rushing around like that for 12 hours, ever. When he finally arrived home that night, he crawled into bed and crashed, wiping everything from his mind. Yet, as he slowly began to wake up the next morning, all he could think about was Jane. He couldn’t believe that she had been one of the girls that Tim had taunted. He felt bad that he couldn’t exactly remember what she looked like. All he remembered was a girl with short dark hair who he cheated off of. That was his only memory of her.
The odd thing was that he couldn’t shake the feeling of being drawn to her somehow, especially after spending the entire day with her yesterday. He could tell there were lots of layers to Jane Jones, but he only knew the work of Jane.
As much as he wanted to just lay in bed all day and relax, his mother had requested a Sunday morning breakfast with him, which was something he couldn’t say “no” to. When Olivia Drew requested something from her sons, she got it. As soft as she was with her boys, raising them while running a full-time business hadn’t been easy. She had been blessed to be able to hire help for the boys when they were in elementary school and the business had begun to boom, but she was determined to be as present as possible with them. She hadn’t been raised with a silver spoon and hard work was in her blood. She knew she wanted to help her husband grow The Oxford, but she also wanted to be there for her boys.
As Austin parked his Range Rover in his parent’s driveway, he quickly glanced at his reflection in his car’s windows. He hadn’t felt like dressing up this morning, which was unusual for him-- he just wanted to feel comfortable. He knew he would have a busy day after brunch with his mother, because Molly was flying in from L.A. and she had asked him to grab her from the airport. As he leisurely strolled in to meet his mom, he felt relaxed wearing a white hoodie, gray slim-fit joggers, Adidas sneakers, and a baseball hat. He knew his mother expected him to be on time, and the only way he had been able to manage that was by saving time and wearing something super low-key.
“Look who made it,” a female voice announced from the front hallway as Austin walked in. His parents had a gorgeous home, on the water, but they were on the other side of town near the country club. They had moved into this home when Austin was in third grade, making it the only home he remembered.
“You knew I wouldn’t be late,” Austin smiled at his mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“I wasn’t sure,” his mother teased as she looked up at him. “I hear you’ve been a little late recently.”
“I’m assuming Dad said something to you?” Austin chuckled, shaking his head. “There are no secrets in this family, huh?”
“Well, regardless… you’re here, and I’ve been dying to have some alone time with you,” she said, giving her baby boy a big hug.
“Where else would I want to be on a Sunday morning?” Austin asked, reaching down to give his mom a bear hug.
“Well,” she joked, looking at her son with knowing eyes, “I could rattle off a few places if you want me to although, sadly, I don’t think any of them would be in Rhode Island.”
Austin chuckled to himself and started heading toward the kitchen, “I’m just going to follow that delicious smell,” he said, not allowing his mother the opportunity to start rattling off her list of places. He knew better than to go head-to-head with his mother on anything. She knew him inside and out.
As Austin rounded the corner into the kitchen, he was greeted with coffee brewing on the counter, french toast neatly plated on a platter, a small platter of scrambled eggs, two bowls of freshly cut fruit, and a tray of muffins and bagels. “You sure it’s just the two of us for breakfast?” he joked. “This is enough to feed all of us!”
“I never know what you’re craving anymore, so I figured I’d have a few of your favorites on hand,” she smiled, knowing how much joy it gave her to feed her boys.
“Looks like I’ll have to take a little bit of everything,” Austin replied, grabbing a plate and walking over to dig in. “You’re not surprising me with an intervention, are you?” Austin asked with a sly smile. “I feel like everyone’s been having the same kind of conversation with me lately.”
“I may have mentioned to Chris that you were coming over this morning, but he is golfing. Ben is working with your father today, and Harry took a day trip up to Boston with some buddies. So, that’s why it’s just you and me, honey.”
“Sucks to be them,” Austin joked, heaping food onto his plate.
“Besides,” his mother said, casually looking over at him, “it will be good for us to catch up.”
“You mean, make sure I’m doing my part at The Oxford?” Austin asked, looking at his mother with a knowing look.
“Something like that,” she answered, nodding her head. “I just want to make sure everything is going OK for you. Your father’s been updating me on things, so I know you’re working with Jane on the big wedding. I’m sure you already know this, but I hope you understand just how much this really does mean to us.”
Austin saw the look in his mother’s eyes and knew she was curious about something, but he also sensed a little concern in her voice. “Everything’s good, Mom. I promise. Dad spoke to me, as did Chris, Ben, and Harry. I hope everyone knows that I’m not exactly incapable of working.”
She smiled as she poured both of them coffee. “Nobody’s saying that,” she said softly as she placed a mug in front of his spot at their massive white marble counter.
Austin sat back on his stool for a moment and looked over at his mother. “You know, you don’t need to worry about me,” he stated, knowing what was going on. “I know Dad expects more of me. He told me directly, and I get it loud and clear.”
She smiled at her youngest son who had grown into an incredibly handsome man. “It’s not just Dad, it’s me, too… I don’t want you to think it’s just your father. The thing is, Austin, it really is time for your father to start transitioning you boys into the business. I know he’s told you this, as has Chris, but I want you to hear it from me, too. He’s built a masterpiece for you–”
“Well, you’ve both built it,” Austin added, taking his first bite.
“You’re a doll,” she smiled. “Yes, we’ve both built it, but it was his vision. I went along for the ride doing whatever I could to make it a success for him because I knew he wanted to pass it onto you boys. Your brothers have all become heavily involved and now–”
“It’s my turn,” Austin stated, looking at his mother knowingly.
