is the best thing in my life. I don’t want to blow this or let her down. Her parents are so great that I’m afraid she can’t understand what I went through with mine. On top of that, Sterling and Carlotta are leaving soon, and I know Shelly wants to get married before they leave. But I’ve got this hard knot in my stomach. I’m not sure what to do.”
“You could delay the wedding, but you should tell Shelly why.” Bennett understood what Mitch was going through, and he wasn’t going to minimize his feelings. He hoped Mitch would take his advice the right way.
“After Jackie died,” Bennett began, “I couldn’t keep my feelings bottled up. I felt like I’d implode if I did. That’s when I started running marathons, pounding out my anger over the injustice of having her and our baby taken away from me. I never thought I could care as deeply for another woman as I had for her. Now I do, but it took ten long years before Ivy came along.”
“So running helped you?”
Bennett picked up the applicator to clean it. “That was part of it, much like your surfing. I kept my pain and anger bottled up for a long time, trying to be stoic about it. My father encouraged me to talk about it, a little at a time. Finally, on his urging, I went to see a professional counselor. It helped to talk to someone who wasn’t involved in my life. I could open up to them without any judgment, and I learned a lot about myself in the process.” He looked at Mitch earnestly. “You might find it helpful, too.”
For a few minutes, Mitch seemed at a loss of what to say. He stood watching waves slap against the hull. Finally, he said, “I’ve never told anyone but you about this. I don’t know if I could talk to a stranger.”
“Can’t hurt to try,” Bennett said. “It could put your mind at ease. They might have some insights you haven’t thought about.”
Mitch nodded slowly. “But I don’t even know how to find someone like that. I’d feel weird about calling a shrink.”
“I’ll ask my old therapist for referrals for you.” Bennett understood Mitch’s reluctance. “He’s moved, but maybe he can recommend others. Referrals are a good way to find the right people for you.”
That seemed to put Mitch’s mind at ease. “Sounds good, thanks.”
While Bennett finished cleaning and storing his supplies, he and Mitch talked, though Bennett was careful not to bring up wedding plans. Mitch was under a lot of stress right now, and that would only add to it.
Bennett would call his former therapist as soon as Mitch left. With Shelly’s heart set on getting married before her parents set sail on their voyage, there was no time to lose.
5
“I smell rain,” Ivy said as Shelly pulled the Jeep into the car court behind the main house. The wind kicked up white caps on the ocean and rustled palm fronds overhead. “There’s a heavy cloud coming this way.”
“Let’s get these bags and boxes inside.” Shelly opened the rear hatch and slid out a pair of boxes.
Ivy hefted the heavy carton of photos while her sister picked up a box of mementos. “Oof, memories sure are heavy.” Ivy shifted the carton up with her knee.
“That sounds philosophical,” Shelly said.
“Sometimes they’re hard to leave behind, too.” Ivy caught Shelly’s eye.
“The problem is, there are good memories mixed in with the bad.” Shelly nodded toward the garage. “Here comes your hero.”
“My what?” She turned around.
Bennett jogged toward them. “I’ll get that for you.” He relieved Ivy of her box and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Put that other one on top,” he said to Shelly.
“Sure, if you insist,” Shelly said, gladly handing him her load.
“Thanks, honey,” Ivy said, the term of endearment rolling effortlessly from her lips.
Bennett smiled at that. “Is everything in the Jeep coming inside, sweetheart?”
Ivy felt her cheeks warm while Shelly chuckled. “Mom is leaving some things with us. If you’ll take everything up to my room, we’ll sort it out there.”
Bennett started ahead of them.
“You mean fight over it,” Shelly said.
“We should save some things for Honey, too.” Their eldest sister lived in Sydney, Australia, although she and her husband often visited their daughter Elena, a jewelry designer in Los Angeles. “And Mom is giving us the use of all this only while she’s gone, remember?”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Shelly shot back.
“It is not.” Ivy