Return to Gray Harbor (4 page)

“Hey, Jonah, what is that place? Did someone buy the old Jameson house?” Michael asked, as he looked at the pristine old home. It had gray shingles and Adirondack chairs carefully placed on the well-manicured lawn. As Michael looked more closely, he saw a parking lot — how strange, he thought.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the fancy place, the Warren Inn. It’s a really popular bed and breakfast and a bar-restaurant. Or a tavern or whatever. Hey, maybe we can get in some night and watch the game and have a couple of beers?” said Jonah with a hopeful look.

“Maybe we can get some dinner there one night, but no beer for you till you are twenty-one, my friend, at least not on my watch.” Michael had been careful about drinking ever since Jesse’s death, and he was especially against underage drinking.

“All right, all right. You can’t blame a guy for trying. Anyway, I heard it’s really nice and they buy a bunch of stuff from the market all the time. I’ve done deliveries there before. Never eaten there, though, so that could be cool.”

“Great, we will go. Maybe this weekend,” said Michael. He looked at the Inn curiously. Maybe it could be a good place to spend some evenings the next couple of weeks to get out of the house. Living in New York, he was used to bars and restaurants for most of his meals. Like most New Yorkers, living in such a small apartment always made Michael crave space.

They drove a few more miles up some winding hills and past some more homes that looked more modern and empty — definitely vacation homes. It had been a long time since Michael had seen so many trees, he thought. He rolled down the windows and let himself breathe in the air, which was thick with the smell of pine. He let out a sigh. It was so different here. So much had changed. Growing up it had felt so small. It still was, compared to New York, but there was more around now, which was nice, Michael thought.

During the drive they passed two art galleries, an ice cream place, a small coffee shop, a diner, and a cute little bookshop. A bookshop, now that sounded like a fun business to run. Surrounded by books all day, talking about books — the nerd in him stirred. It sounded so much less stressful. Maybe that’s what Michael would do in a few years when he retired, maybe even sooner. He could picture it now — a quaint little bookstore-coffee shop in the West Village.

“Here we are, McAllister's,” said Jonah, interrupting Michael’s thoughts.

Michael looked around and tried to take it all in. The place had changed a lot since he was a kid. It used to be a little rundown shack on its own private lot with a bait shop on the side. Now, it was a large whitewashed wood structure that had large planters in the parking lot showcasing plants you could buy out back in the greenhouse. Walking in the store, it felt extremely organized and even airy, like a small-scale Home Depot but with little hometown touches from Maine. Wood painted signs detailed what was contained in each aisle. In the front of the store, they even sold some trinkets for tourists, including Maine tartans, blueberries, maple syrup, and little moose decals for cars. The brothers made their way through the aisles, filling up the shopping cart with paint cans, brushes, and rollers.

“What happened to this place, Jonah? It’s great,” Michael said with an enthusiasm he thought he’d never express for a hardware store.

“Oh, some rich dude one of the McAllister ladies married, you know, whatever.”

“Can I help you, sir?” said a tall, lean, well-dressed guy with red hair. He was definitely a few years younger than Michael, but he looked familiar. Michael just couldn’t place him, but figured in such a small town, he had probably run into this guy at some point in his life.

“Um, yes.” Michael looked at his nametag. “Yes, Robert, we’d love some help. I’m working on a home improvement project and was wondering if you had shingles here?”

“Hey, Mikey, I’m going to head off and talk to Billy. I’ll come find you, okay?” Jonah said and walked off, not waiting for Michael’s answer.

“All right, see you in a little bit, Jonah,” said Michael, as he returned his attention to the store clerk.

“Ah, where were we? Shingles, I was asking if you had any?”

“Yes, we do have shingles. Can you describe what you’re looking for exactly?” the man said.

Michael explained that he was looking for gray shingles for a small cape cod home by the sea. He detailed the location and even described the trim on the house. Robert seemed to be taking it all in.

“Oh, the old Malone place, yeah, I had been trying to convince the owner to repair it a while back, did you just buy it? That house has great bones. It could really be something with a little dusting off,” he said excitedly.

“Oh, um, thanks and no, I didn’t buy it. My parents still live there,” said Michael.

“Wait. You’re not Michael Malone, are you?” asked Robert.

Michael was taken aback — should he know this guy?

“Um, yes, yes I am. Have we met before?”

“Well, you probably don’t recognize me. I’m Bob Adams. My eldest sister dated your brother,” Bob looked serious for a moment, “He was a good guy. I know it’s been a lot of years but I’m sorry for your loss.”

Bob Adams. Jenny’s little brother ... and Beth’s. He could see the similarity but Michael didn’t think they’d ever really officially met. Seemed like a nice enough guy, though.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right, nice to see you, Bob. Thanks again and I’m sorry for your loss as well.” There was an awkward pause, as Michael struggled for something to say. “What have you been up to?”

Bob had always been a nice kid. He was a few years younger than Michael, and Michael remembered some of Jesse’s friends giving Bob a hard time when he was young. That changed once Jesse started dating Jenny.

“Well, I’m doing a little interior design, contracting here and there, and working here at the hardware store. It’s been fun. Every day is different, you know?”

Michael nodded. Ahh, this must be who Jonah had mentioned.

“All right, let’s talk shingles. So gray, you said?”

Michael nodded, “Actually, I have something specific in mind. Do you know the Warren Inn? I’m looking for something like that.”

“Of course, sure, I know it well! I picked out all their furnishing myself actually, and they happened to purchase those shingles right here at McAllister's,” he said with enthusiasm as he smiled proudly. They walked towards the back of the store and Bob pointed to exactly what Michael was looking for.

“These are them right here. But just so you know, they don’t start out gray, they’re more of a natural color and then they weather over time. Have you ever installed them yourself?”

“I hate to say this, but I’m not particularly handy,” Michael admitted. He never liked to admit a weakness to another guy, but he wasn’t about to pretend with the hardware store guy that he knew the first thing about shingles, home repair, or for that matter, which screwdriver was called a Phillips head. He also felt that Bob wouldn’t care very much either way. He seemed very much like his own person, and that was something Michael had a lot of respect for.

“I’m not sure if you’re interested in this, but we do have an installation service here.”

“That actually sounds perfect. Do you need to come out and do an estimate?

Bob smiled. “Yeah, I’ll send someone over tomorrow morning. Let me just take down all your information and make note that these are what you want,” Bob said, as he made notes on his clipboard. They made some small talk about sports, restaurants, and New York, while Bob was setting everything up. Bob was a big fan of New York but hated the Yankees and New York City cabs. The conversation was pleasant and he mentioned that Tuesday was a big night at the Warren Inn. Apparently they got a pretty big crowd when the Red Sox played. Bob said it was more of a wine crowd to watch the game rather than a regular pub vibe. He wasn’t much into it, but he said the wine selection was great. That sounded exactly like what Michael needed. He wasn’t a big drinker but he liked a nice glass of wine or even a beer every now and then.

Bob helped him with a few more purchases, including a door knocker, a screen-repair kit, and the steam cleaner for the carpets. After thanking Bob for all his help, Michael went off in search of Jonah. This was perfect. He’d have things in order at his parents’ in no time.

“So guess who I saw today,” Bob said, as he pushed his way through the kitchen at the Warren Inn.

His sister Beth Adams looked up from her pastry dough and pushed a strand of hair out of her face before saying, “Who this time, Bob? Did the Ben Affleck look-alike come to the store today?” She couldn’t help but smile. Bob was always checking people out and telling Beth all about it.

“Oh, no, way better than him!” He paused for effect. “I saw Michael Malone at the hardware store!”

Oh, God, thought Beth. Michael Malone … Mikey ... she hadn’t thought about him in years. She was still trying to forget him.

“Anyway, he’s back in town and I helped him pick out shingles for his parents’ house. He’s doing some renovations there.”

Beth couldn’t believe it. He had left for college and never looked back. After Jesse’s death, Michael had changed. She couldn’t imagine what he was like now.

“Speechless much!”

Beth quickly snapped out of it. “Oh, shut up, Bob! I am not speechless. I was trying to remember the last time I saw him. And besides, I don’t have the most positive memories when it comes to the Malones.”

“Oh, please, you and Annie hang out all the time!”

“Bob, that’s different. Besides, after what happened to Jen and Jesse ...” Her voice trailed off.

“Yeah, I guess I can see that ... too bad, things could have gotten a little more interesting around here, that’s all,” Bob said, as he left the kitchen.

But that wasn’t all. Her sister’s death was only part of it. The worst part of it. But her feelings for Michael were ... complicated.

Chapter 3

Michael couldn’t believe it was only Sunday night. He had only been home since Friday, but it already felt like he’d been there an eternity. After leaving the hardware store, he and Jonah went to the diner and got a bite to eat and then headed home. They set down drop cloths and prepared to paint the next day.  Michael and Jonah steam-cleaned the rooms in the house that weren’t being painted. It was starting to look good. While they were doing that, Judy dusted, took out the growing recycling pile, and even cleaned the draperies. By the end of it all, the three of them were exhausted and were cleaning out the contents of the refrigerator by eating anything and everything in sight.

At that moment, Michael’s mother walked in with bags of food. “Hey, kids, help me with these bags. I brought home a few things for dinner. We’re going to keep it simple tonight — just some rotisserie chicken and some salad fixings.”

“Aww, come on mom, I’m a growing boy. If I keep eating this chick food I’m going to start to grow boo—” at that moment, Michael kicked Jonah hard under the table. Jonah bit his lip and glared at Michael.

“Sounds great, Mom, we’re famished.”

“Famished, eh? Well I can tell … what happened to this place?” Martha finally noticed the paint cans lined up on the wall and walked into the hall and saw the freshly cleaned green carpets. “Oh, wow, I forgot these carpets were even green, it’s been so long since I could tell.” She looked around at her kids, and she was glad they were all here together. And she was glad Michael was helping keep things in order.

She was tired, too, so this was a nice surprise. It had been a long day. She had run quickly to the hospital to see James on her way home from the market. He wasn’t himself, he was struggling. The nurses said he was improving but that he had such a temper! Ahh, her James had always had a temper. But he also had a gentle way about him, and it pained her to see him hurting. James always had the last word.  Hell, he always had the first. That was part of the reason she loved him so much. There was never a dull moment with James, that was for sure. Sure, sometimes his pig-headedness was tough, but there wasn’t another man out there who cared more for his family than James. But for a man of so many words, there were two that didn’t seem to be in his vocabulary.

She knew James was sorry about the things that had happened between Michael and himself, but he just never had the words to tell his son. He was just so God Damn stubborn. She also knew he was proud of his son. He was proud of what Michael had accomplished. He had never told Michael that he was proud of him, but she knew he was. Whenever they were out and would bump into friends, they would ask about Michael. James would interrupt Marty before she could even speak and tell everyone his son was trader of the year, a big hedge fund manager in New York and an MBA, who would have thought a Malone with an MBA.  Michael was the first member in the family to go to graduate school, that was a point of pride for James.

James hadn’t spoken a word tonight, just grunted hello. And now she feared he never would.  He looked miserable. The nurses said he would recover, but he would never be 100 percent. He really needed to put in the work to get better, but something was holding him back. Perhaps tomorrow she would get all the kids to go, maybe that would perk him up. And besides, it was about time that he and Michael confronted their issues. Although it scared her to think of it, she was worried they might not have much longer to patch it up. She was worried that if he and Michael didn’t patch things up now, when something so big and life changing had happened, that they might not ever.

She made small talk with the kids while she put together dinner. Judy took down the plates and began to set the table. She was such a good kid, her Judy, but a little on the quiet side. She was a mix of Michael and Jesse, she thought. She had Jesse’s startling good looks and Michael’s quiet manner and smarts. That girl would go far if she let herself, but hopefully she wouldn’t sacrifice as much of herself as Michael had. You could see it weighing on him whenever he walked into a room. Such a serious boy — such a serious man. God, the time flew. She really wanted to get Michael alone so she could speak to him about James and about their situation, but she couldn’t seem to get him away from the others.

They all sat down and ate and exchanged pleasantries. Jonah relayed the story of how Michael got him out of bed that morning and they all had a good laugh. After dinner Michael, Jonah, and Judy did the dishes and Marty headed to the den. They soon followed in with popcorn and they all sprawled out on the couches and the floor to watch television. All the chairs were full except the lazy boy chair James always sat in. It had always been his chair and his alone.

“Kids, I saw your father today,” Marty said. Everyone grew quiet.

“He’s looking a little better. I could tell because he looked like he was going to kill his nurse half the time.” She chuckled a little, remembering the looks he had given the nurse earlier that evening, “So I think he’ll be back to his usual self in no time.” She attempted a happy expression and hoped she both looked and sounded convincing.

“That’s great, Mom,” said Judy. “Can we maybe go see him tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. Visiting hours end at eight o’clock, so why don’t we head there after work? Maybe you can all pile into Michael’s car and meet me there?” Marty looked around the room and her eyes rested on Michael. He looked uneasy, but she was waiting for his response. It was time he stopped being a coward and went to see his father. Enough was enough. She knew it hadn’t been more than a day and a half, but she had hoped he would have taken the initiative and gone there today on his own.

Granted, she knew he had done a lot around the house and had all sorts of plans for repairs to the place—which she appreciated, of course—but it was time. It was time for Michael to face his father, and maybe it was exactly the kind of boost James needed to get him motivated to work harder to get better. Marty was counting on it as she looked more intently at her son.

Michael felt like she was boring holes through him. No getting out of this one, he thought. “Sounds good, Mom, and maybe we can pick up some burgers or something from the Dairy Barn on our way home and maybe even a movie.”

Michael took a pause and then said, “Not that I don’t love broadcast television but I bet we can find something fun to watch while we’re hanging out after we see Dad tomorrow? What do you guys think?”

Judy nodded, and Jonah said,

“Yeah, cool, and maybe we can rent the new Call of Duty video game? It’s supposed to be awesome!”

“Sounds good,” Michael said with forced enthusiasm.

Marty tried to relax, settling in on the couch next to Judy and staring blankly at the television. All of the stress was weighing on her. She had had a sense that James was hiding stressful news, but she couldn’t be sure. Maybe with Michael here, she’d get down to the bottom of it and James could come home and not be so stressed anymore. She hoped. She let out a sigh and shut her eyes. She was trying to control her feelings of anger. Maybe this would all work out after all?

She was at least hopeful now and she had to admit the house did look a lot better today, and she was grateful that Michael had taken a look at all those bills. James had always handled all of those things in the past and with him in the hospital these past few weeks, she had no idea how to make heads or tails out of their finances. And with James being in the hospital she was sure that the bills would just keep piling up. Same thing at the store.

Marty looked stressed. He didn’t blame her, of course. This was a stressful time. But he felt like she was hiding something. And he was worried that he didn’t know the extent of the problems going on here. Something was up and he wasn’t even sure his mother knew the whole story. Now that he’d taken a look at the house books, he knew it was time to do what he promised Annie. He’d head over to Malone’s Market tomorrow and see what he could do. With that second mortgage out on the home, he knew something was up, and he didn’t like the feeling he had. He had avoided it today, but he just knew Malone’s Market needed help. He just didn’t know why it was in the position it was, or how exactly to fix it.