she’d said. He stopped finally. A decision reached. “I don’t want you to leave. I’ll go to Jason’s.” His voice broke a little and her heart did too when he asked, “Can I still see you?”
“Of course.” She tried to smile. “Maybe we’ll go on a real date night.”
Jeff didn’t look at all happy about the situation. “All right. I’ll pack a bag and head to Jason’s. I guess I’ll call you in a day or two?”
“So, what’s this mysterious project that you want my help with? Are you serious about making your walk-in closet bigger? You’ve been talking about doing that for years.” Chase teased Lisa as he leaned against the kitchen island. She’d invited him over for dinner and to ask his advice. She’d always thought of Chase as her golden child, her beautiful boy. His hair was the color of sunshine, and his eyes were a bright green with specks of gold. He was tall and lanky. He’d always been thin and able to eat everything without putting on weight. His eyes fell on the tray of stuffed shells that had just come out of the oven and were resting on a wire rack.
“And you made my favorite meal. I haven’t had the shells in ages.”
Lisa smiled. “I did. I like them too and as you said, I haven’t made them in a while. Let’s sit down and eat, and I’ll tell you what I’m thinking about. It’s not a bigger closet.” She set a bowl of salad in the middle of the kitchen table next to a loaf of crusty Italian bread and then dished out plates of pasta for both of them.
“Beer for you? Or wine?” she asked.
“I’ll grab a beer, thanks.” Chase helped himself to one of the beers that Lisa kept in the fridge just for him or anyone else that came by that liked beer. She didn’t drink it. She poured herself a small glass of merlot and they sat down to eat. Over dinner, she told him about the idea the girls had that was growing more appealing as she thought about it. She was curious to see what Chase would think, both as a builder and as her son.
“You want to turn this place into a bed and breakfast?” He was surprised at first, but as they talked, and she filled him in on everything, telling him for the first time about the true state of her financial situation, his eyes narrowed with concern and then lit up as he looked around the room, assessing the possibilities.
“I’m sorry that Dad left you in this situation. I had no idea about the gambling.”
Lisa sighed. “None of us did.”
Chase took his last bite, then stood up and walked around the first floor, before returning to the kitchen table, where Lisa was still finishing her shells. She looked up and was happy to see that he was smiling.
“You could totally do it. If it means that you get to stay here, I’m all for it.”
Lisa stood too and felt a glimmer of excitement and a fluttering of nerves. She knew that Chase would be the easy one. Her other children might not take this news as well. And she still didn’t know if she’d even be able to afford to make the improvements. There was very little money left, for anything.
“Will it be very expensive, do you think?” She chewed her bottom lip and waited for bad news.
“No, it won’t be. All I need to do is add a few walls and doors to close off your living area so guests only have access to the second floor and dining room.” He gave her a figure that was shockingly low.
“I don’t want you to lose money on this, honey.”
But Chase laughed. “I won’t lose money. You’ll only pay for the materials and we won’t need much. I can’t charge you for my time. I want to do this for you.”
Lisa felt tears of gratitude well up and spill over as she pulled her son in for a hug.
“Thank you. I’m so glad you think this is a good idea. I thought it was crazy at first, but it’s kind of growing on me.”
“I think it’s a great idea. There aren’t a lot of jobs on Nantucket that would be good for you.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it,” Lisa laughed.
“Seriously though. You love to cook, and you’re good at it. And this is Nantucket, people will be happy to pay a lot of