"Yep, I sure am dating his son.  Do you remember Eldred Clark?"

"Mother you're sixty-five, and he's only four years older than me!"

Clarissa got a good laugh enjoying Rena's exasperation.  Rena was having a hard time adjusting to the death sentence that Ian painted, and looking at the radiant smile of her mother and the real sparkle in her eyes.  "Baby girl, age is not a factor in our relationship.  You don't understand.  I can't go through this illness alone.  I need love, sex and companionship.  That man makes me feel alive."

Rena was speechless.

"Humph, the rest of you may think I'm waiting for chariots and angels, but I'm not through living yet. And for sure I'm not about to tie myself down to a man of my age, ready to retire.  He'd expect me to take it easy during my illness.  That's embracing death.  I'm embracing life."

Rena couldn't believe her ears.  The thought of their twenty–five–year age gap kept playing in Rena's mind like a scratched record.  What other mind-blowing revelations would this trip hold?  She stared at her mother and couldn't possibly fathom her in any relationship; let alone a relationship with a young doctor.  She knew Eldred Clark.  They'd played together as children.  She kept shaking her head.  Mom is dating Dr. Clark, not the father, but his forty-year-old son. Good Lord!

"Blake told me..."

"Blake told you what?"

"That a whole lot of things had changed since I've been gone."

"Baby girl, you don't know the half of it.  You should've come home three years ago."

Clarissa walked out the door, leaving Rena in a very uncomfortable haze about life in her beloved Savannah.  To say that she was bewildered on the inside would be a complete understatement.  She didn't know whom to believe – Mom or Ian.   Her emotions were in turmoil over seeing Blake and one thing that she had looked forward to was sleeping in her old bed.  Not only did she not get to sleep in her old bed, she couldn't even enter the house.  Now she was left alone to anticipate another shocker.

***

It was around seven in the evening before Rena finished scouring the house.  She'd cleaned every room, tossed expired food out of the pantry and the refrigerator, detailed all the bathrooms to military precision and literally took a white towel and did a "glove test" over every area she dusted.  She had enough fragrance in the air to suppress the smell of cigarette smoke, at least while she was there.  There was not a window or mirror in all 4000 square feet that was not sparkling.  Even walls, doors and doorknobs had been sanitized.  It was just like a day at the La Meridian, except she was doing the work instead of her staff.

This time, she was able to fling herself into a chair and not have to move garbage and papers to find the seat.  She'd found enough to do to keep her mind occupied the whole day.  She realized that this needed to be a working trip if she was going to survive all of the changes.  Ian came in to find Rena sprawled in a chair sound asleep.

"Is this my house?"

"It won't be for very long if I see you put one thing out of place."

"Still feisty, huh?"

As angry as she was with Ian, she was still glad to see him.  "After all this work, don't mess this place up, okay?"

From the look on her face, Ian knew he'd been a big disappointment to Rena.  He was still upset with her for not coming back to Savannah three years ago.  Yet, when he saw her the night before, there was a tug in his heart that made him glad that she was home.  He might not be able to make up for all her disappointment, but he could start with the house.

"When I saw the look on your face last night I realized how pathetic I must have looked.  Don't worry.  I know if I don't maintain what you did, it will never be this clean again.  With Debbie leaving me I just haven't felt motivated to do much.  I'll hire a cleaning service to come through here twice a month.  I promise."

"Ian, I talked to Mom today and she seems fine.  Why did you call me to come home?"

"Mom's putting on a good show, but I've seen how weak she's gotten.  I can't run this business and she's not strong enough to do it.  If she doesn't get some rest, it's going to take the little energy she has left.  Besides, she's been wanting to see you."

Rena could feel the ice creeping through her veins at that thought.  She'd gone decades without a mother.  She shifted in the seat as she felt her body tense up.  "This can't be fixed, Ian.  She waited two decades to want to make amends.  If she wasn't sick, she wouldn't be trying to make things right.  It's too late.  If you have the slightest idea that I'm going to stay here and run the restaurant, you're mistaken.  I might as well leave tonight and go back to New York."

"You're as stubborn as she is."

"Look who's talking.  You're the one that's too stubborn to learn the business.  How dare you bring Blake into this?"

"That's one of the main problems. Blake is not going to be here forever and Mom can no longer carry the load that Blake's been carrying."

"Blake's leaving?"  Adrenaline shot through her body.  Her heart was pounding so fast that she could feel the pulsations in her head.  She wished the reaction was not so strong.  Because that reaction revealed things that she didn't want to remember.  She didn't want to remember the love she had had for Blake, nor the pain she'd felt the last time she'd seen him.

There was a time when Rena loved Blake more than the air she breathed.  Coming home made her want to inhale and draw him deep within her heart again.  She knew that she couldn't allow that to happen.  Rena Blackshear needed to stay focused, take care of business and go back to New York.

"Sister, I didn't exactly say that, but Blake's got his own life.  He's given us three years.  He left Florida to come down here.  We can't expect him to come back here for good.  We need this restaurant to stay in the family.  You're the only one that can do it.  I know that this is all my fault and I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough.  I've got my own life, too, and it doesn't include bailing the restaurant out.  I haven't been a part of the restaurant since I was seventeen.  That was a lifetime ago.  I have no ties to it.  You really think Blake might not stay in Savannah?"

"Let's leave Blake out of this right now.  You can't possibly mean that!  You used to love that restaurant more than any of us.  You and Grandmother made that place special for this whole community.  Surely you remember."

Rena's heart felt like a Mac truck had smashed it.  She couldn't imagine Savannah without Blake.  Deep down she knew she loved that restaurant.  "I'm not a pawn for you and Mother to play.  Neither of you ever came to New York to visit.  Neither of you cared what I thought of the restaurant until now.  I'm sorry, Ian, but it will have to be sold.  Deal with it."

Just then the doorbell rang.  Ian answered the door and it was Avery, one of Rena's old friends who now worked at the restaurant.  She was carrying a bag of food from the restaurant. 

"Hi, Ian. Blake told me Rena was here and to bring her dinner.  I'm so excited she's here.  Can I please say hello?"

Ian stepped back to let Rena see Avery.  They were so excited to see each other that they squealed.  "Avery - look at you!  I haven't seen you for ages.  Oh, my God."

Avery hadn't changed a bit – the same dark blue eyes and dimples that Rena had always loved.  She still wore her beautiful, black hair in a big style.  Avery never was the straight hair type.  She loved the full, voluminous look.  Rena imagined days with them standing in the mirror getting ready for cheerleader practice.  Avery was always the last girl out, because she spent a lot of time fluffing her hair. 

She hadn't grown an inch.  She was shorter than most women.  She was a bit stocky, but always kept her curvaceous figure toned.  Avery looked like a perfect caricature with a heavy chest, tight waist and legs curved out for a pin up poster.  She was always well dressed.  Seeing her in a work uniform was different.

"When Blake told me you were here, I couldn't believe it.  After your father died, I thought I'd never see you again. "

Avery was her best friend in high school and a dear friend to the family.  But when she'd left town she found it too painful to keep the relationship going because it reminded her too much of home.

"That was very thoughtful of Blake.  Please let him know I said, 'Thank you.'  Why don't you come in and share this with me?"

Avery carried the dinner bags over to the kitchen counter.  She was careful to step over all the mess that Ian had left on the floor.  She turned, giving Ian a look of disgust at how chaotic the place looked.

Rena saw the look.  "I had it cleaned, Avery, but you know Ian.  Trust me, it's not as bad as it was."

He flushed and looked away.  She set the bags down and then looked at Ian again, shaking her head.  "I've got to get back to work.  I'm on the night shift.  He did this for you, but he also asked that I tell you to call him in the morning."

"Did he say why?"

"No.  He was leaving the Chicken and Waffle Inn when I clocked in and was heading over to the coffee shop.  Whenever he does that he has a really late night.  But it was good seeing you again.  Call me and let's get together before you leave."

Ian took the opportunity to interrupt the conversation.  "She's not leaving us."

"Pay him no mind, Avery.  I'll call, promise."