She just nodded as they drove away in their rental car. Had she made the right decision? But really, what choice did she have? Tiffany needed her. And she would always put her children first.
CHAPTER22
Maxine threw herself into her job the next morning. Avoiding thinking about moving away. She’d told Beverly about the kids’ visit and her final-final decision. She was for sure moving. She’d give Beverly time to find more help for the shop.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Beverly asked. “You’re certain?”
“I am. Tiffany needs me. It’s scary thinking about being a first-time mom. And it’s good to feel needed by her again.”
“Then I’m glad for you. I’ll miss you, but I’m happy for you. When are you leaving?”
“I guess in about a month. Will that give you time to find someone to work here?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been running Coastal Coffee long enough. I’ll find someone. Whoever I find will never replace you, though. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
Just then, Miss Eleanor came in and headed to her table.
“I’ve got her,” Maxine said as she followed her across the room. “Good morning, Miss Eleanor.”
Eleanor nodded and settled into her chair. She glanced at the chalkboard. “I’ll have the lemon poppy seed muffin.” She eyed Maxine. “And my coffee, of course.”
“Of course.” Maxine hurried to get the pitcher of cream and Miss Eleanor’s coffee, then circled back around with the muffin. “Anything else?”
Miss Eleanor looked up at her. “I hear you’re leaving the island.”
She squirmed under the woman’s gaze. “I… I am.”
Miss Eleanor shook her head. “Not sure why. Seems like you have a pretty good thing going here. Job with Beverly. Home to stay in. And I heard you have a nice side business starting up with redoing furniture. It was good to see you start to stand on your own two feet.”
She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or criticism.
“Aren’t you going to miss all this?”
“I am,” she replied honestly. “I’ll miss it a lot. But I have responsibilities. I’m needed back home.”
Eleanor eyed her for a long moment. “Sometimes when you do what other people want you to do, instead of what you want to do… well, it can have grave consequences. Your life might not turn out like you expected. How you wanted it to.”
“I… know. But I have family obligations.”
“Ah, family.” Eleanor nodded. “They can sometimes make the heaviest demands of all.”
CHAPTER23
Maxine hurried over to Darlene’s, hoping she wasn’t going to be late. She didn’t want to see the disapproval in David’s eyes if she was. Or see him glance at his watch over and over. Victor had always done the exact same thing. Looked at his watch as if you were bothering him and interrupting his day. David had perfected the same annoying habit.
Darlene was out sweeping the porch when she arrived and welcomed her with a warm smile. “Good morning, Maxine. Your kids are in the study drinking coffee. Go right on in.”
“Thanks, Darlene.” She hoped Tiffany hadn’t been rude to Darlene this time.
She went inside, and the sound of Tiffany’s animated voice caught her attention. She paused inside the doorway.
“I knew if you came, we’d convince her to move back,” Tiffany said with a self-satisfied tone in her voice.
“That solves your problem of finding a nanny, doesn’t it? I’m sure she’ll agree to watching your kid. Why wouldn’t she? She has nothing else worth doing. It’s not like she’s going to wait tables back home.”
“It will save us a lot of money if we don’t have to pay for a nanny. And I want to get back to work as soon as possible after it’s born. I wasn’t ready for this surprise, but I want to make sure it changes my life as little as possible.”
