“How’s your mother-in-law doing?” Marion Martinez, who suffered from dementia, resided in a care facility that’d been named for her, founded by Jared and Lizzie James for the island’s senior population.
“A little better after having pneumonia in September. We were afraid we’d lose her then, but she surprised everyone by recovering. But she’s still not back to where she was before.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We’re thankful she’s still with us, but it’s been a roller-coaster ride these last few months. She takes such pleasure in George as well as Paul and Hope’s kids, Ethan and Scarlett. She lights right up when she sees them but barely recognizes Alex and Paul.”
“It’s such a cruel disease.”
“It is for sure.”
“Did you go to Billy’s service yesterday?” Jenny asked.
“I did.”
“We did, too. It was so lovely.”
“Yes, it was. I’m sorry I missed seeing you. It was so crowded.”
“I was glad to see such a big turnout for him,” Jenny said. “Everyone liked him.”
“I feel so badly for his brother.”
“He’s been through so much. What do you suppose he’ll do now?”
“He said he’s planning to stick around and keep the gym open for now.”
“Alex will be glad to hear that. He’s a regular at the gym. He was worried about it closing, but he was more concerned about Morgan and what he’d do after such a terrible loss.”
“He seems to be coping with it as best he can under the circumstances.”
“Have you gotten to know him?”
“I guess you could say that. I’m having dinner with him tonight.”
Jenny nearly levitated off the table. “Way to bury the lead, girlfriend! Tell me everything!”
Smiling at Jenny’s reaction, Sierra said, “There’s not much to tell… yet. We’ve gotten to know each other over the last few months, and he asked me to have dinner with him last night.”
“This is so exciting!”
“Don’t get out over your skis,” Sierra said with a laugh. “It’s very new, and who knows if it’ll go anywhere? It usually doesn’t for me.”
“It hasn’t yet. Doesn’t mean it never will. I didn’t expect to meet Alex when I did, and if you’d asked me ahead of time if I was going to fall madly in love that summer, I would’ve said no way.”
“How did you know you were in love with him?” Sierra asked as she worked on the tight muscles in Jenny’s lower back.
“That feels heavenly,” Jenny said with a sigh of pleasure. “It took me a while to realize I was in love because I thought that wasn’t going to happen for me again. At first, I was in lust. We had a combustible spark from the beginning.”
“Lucky bitch.”
Jenny snorted. “You know it. That was one hot summer, thanks to Alex Martinez and a heatwave that roasted us for days.”
“I’ve never really had that spark with anyone. Of course, I’ve seen it happen to others and heard about it from my friends, but I’ve yet to experience it.”
“Your time is coming. I can feel it in my bones.”
“If you say so.”
