Read Online Return to the Beach House by Georgia Bockoven - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Georgia Bockoven
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plans—same as the couple you saw the other day. It’s cheap entertainment and a reason to get out of the house. Best of all is that I get a kick out of talking to them.” He turned and waved as they wandered back to their seventies-era Toyota. “One day he’s going to own his own restaurant and he’ll be shopping for a new car. Until then, I’ll keep them and their baby in inexpensive, safe transportation.”
“You have an interesting way of doing business.”
“I started out liking money,” he said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “Now I like people.” He guided her to his car, a model she didn’t recognize.
“What is this?” She took a minute to look the car over before getting inside.
“A Tesla Roadster. I know the guy who makes them and couldn’t wait to get my hands on one.”
There wasn’t any noise when he started the engine. “Kind of like a Prius,” she said.
He laughed. “A little. But this one’s all battery. It never switches over to a combustible engine because there isn’t one.”
She ran her hand over the dashboard. The car might be pure economy to drive, but she’d bet her pottery collection that it hadn’t been economical to buy. “Impressive.”
She wasn’t the only one impressed. As they made their way through the city the car drew serious and comical attention from the people they passed, everything from appreciative whistles to honking horns to thumbs-ups to a young man at a stoplight who got down on his knees, put his hands in a pleading position, and begged Kyle to adopt him.
Kyle took it all in stride, acknowledging the attention with a smile or wave and laughing out loud at the kid on his knees. “He’s the kind of person I like to have working for me,” Kyle said. “Makes the day more fun just being around people like that.”
“Pure California,” Alison said. “Or at least what I’ve come to think of as California. That isn’t something anyone would do where I come from.”
“Really? That’s too bad.”
She considered what he’d said. “I don’t know if it is or not. I like knowing what to expect from the people around me. But then maybe it would be different if I drove a flashy car.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Yes, you did, and it’s fine. I put you on the defensive and got exactly what I deserved.”
“Then tell me, why do you drive a car like this?”
“Lots of reasons. The most important being that I’m a car guy. I love everything about them, even the old ones like the ’59 Cadillacs with those ludicrously huge fins. I went to a car show once that had nothing but homemade amphibious cars. I came home all excited about making one of my own, but Jenny put an end to that about as fast as she closed down my sailing solo around the world in a twenty-foot boat.
“She was the practical one in our marriage, which allowed me the occasional bits of craziness that made me feel young and adventurous. I didn’t appreciate how important a part she played in allowing me my sense of freedom when she was alive. It wasn’t until I took over raising the girls and saw what it meant to be the responsible parent that I finally understood the gift she’d given me.” He paused, then added, “Of all the things I’ve had to learn to deal with, hindsight is the worst.”
“And the words ‘if only,’ “ Alison said.
“After everyone had gone home from the funeral, I told the girls that they had my permission to use any swear words they could string together to express their frustration, but that I wouldn’t allow ‘if only’ to be spoken in our house.”
“Wise man. Did it work?”
“It did what I’d intended. I didn’t want them looking back with regret or guilt.”
A car pulled up beside them, the passenger trying hard not to be obvious in his perusal of the Tesla. As he pulled away he gave a thumbs-up signal.
“Is it always like this?”
“Pretty
“You have an interesting way of doing business.”
“I started out liking money,” he said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “Now I like people.” He guided her to his car, a model she didn’t recognize.
“What is this?” She took a minute to look the car over before getting inside.
“A Tesla Roadster. I know the guy who makes them and couldn’t wait to get my hands on one.”
There wasn’t any noise when he started the engine. “Kind of like a Prius,” she said.
He laughed. “A little. But this one’s all battery. It never switches over to a combustible engine because there isn’t one.”
She ran her hand over the dashboard. The car might be pure economy to drive, but she’d bet her pottery collection that it hadn’t been economical to buy. “Impressive.”
She wasn’t the only one impressed. As they made their way through the city the car drew serious and comical attention from the people they passed, everything from appreciative whistles to honking horns to thumbs-ups to a young man at a stoplight who got down on his knees, put his hands in a pleading position, and begged Kyle to adopt him.
Kyle took it all in stride, acknowledging the attention with a smile or wave and laughing out loud at the kid on his knees. “He’s the kind of person I like to have working for me,” Kyle said. “Makes the day more fun just being around people like that.”
“Pure California,” Alison said. “Or at least what I’ve come to think of as California. That isn’t something anyone would do where I come from.”
“Really? That’s too bad.”
She considered what he’d said. “I don’t know if it is or not. I like knowing what to expect from the people around me. But then maybe it would be different if I drove a flashy car.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Yes, you did, and it’s fine. I put you on the defensive and got exactly what I deserved.”
“Then tell me, why do you drive a car like this?”
“Lots of reasons. The most important being that I’m a car guy. I love everything about them, even the old ones like the ’59 Cadillacs with those ludicrously huge fins. I went to a car show once that had nothing but homemade amphibious cars. I came home all excited about making one of my own, but Jenny put an end to that about as fast as she closed down my sailing solo around the world in a twenty-foot boat.
“She was the practical one in our marriage, which allowed me the occasional bits of craziness that made me feel young and adventurous. I didn’t appreciate how important a part she played in allowing me my sense of freedom when she was alive. It wasn’t until I took over raising the girls and saw what it meant to be the responsible parent that I finally understood the gift she’d given me.” He paused, then added, “Of all the things I’ve had to learn to deal with, hindsight is the worst.”
“And the words ‘if only,’ “ Alison said.
“After everyone had gone home from the funeral, I told the girls that they had my permission to use any swear words they could string together to express their frustration, but that I wouldn’t allow ‘if only’ to be spoken in our house.”
“Wise man. Did it work?”
“It did what I’d intended. I didn’t want them looking back with regret or guilt.”
A car pulled up beside them, the passenger trying hard not to be obvious in his perusal of the Tesla. As he pulled away he gave a thumbs-up signal.
“Is it always like this?”
“Pretty
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