Now Arriving

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sarah Skipton looked out the window of her son’s office with a faint smile. From her view point, she could clearly see her granddaughters in the cafe below, laughing and enjoying their time together. Sarah had always been proud of the girls, and as they grew up, she had been there for them after their mother had died. Theirs was a privileged upbringing, but even though they came from a wealthy family, the girls had been taught them to watch out for others who might not be as well off. Sarah and her son, John, had instilled these principles by example, not just word of mouth. As a result, Sarah was confident that her girls would be able to hold their own no matter what challenges life threw at them.

As she watched the girls below, she could see they were happy to be together. And that was important for her plans. The wind was picking up, and it blew hard against the office window, rattling the panes of glass. Sarah rubbed her arms as if to warm them and turned to the two men who sat in the comfortable chairs behind her.

“This is the right thing to do. I hope the girls will understand my reasoning and accept my offer. In my heart, I know this is what they both need, although they might think its heavy handed and manipulative. If they’ll just hear me out and consider my offer, it will be wonderful for all involved.”

Sarah spoke to the men in front of her, but it seemed as if she was talking more to herself. Her son John smiled at her with reassurance. Even if he tried to dissuade his mother, she would still go ahead with her plans. He had learned a long time ago that it was best to go along with his mother’s ideas and accept that somehow things would work themselves out. The second man in the room had yet to learn this lesson.

“Sarah, we’ve gone over every possible angle and outcome of your proposal. Are you sure this is a step you want to take? There’s no reason to move forward with these plans now, you still have plenty of time to see things through for yourself.”

Sarah looked over at the young lawyer who was trying so hard to take care of her best interests. He wasn’t much older than her granddaughters, and had recently taken over his father’s practice. Sarah had worked for years with his father, who understood the reasoning behind most of what she did. Scott Trenton was playing catch-up as he worked with the firm’s most prestigious, and sometimes difficult, client.

“No, this is the way things should be. It’s the girls’ time, and I don’t want to stand in their way. They need a drastic change in their lives, I can see that even if they can’t. No, my mind is made up, this is how it will be, if they will accept my terms.”

Scott got to his feet and walked over to stand next to her. He looked down at the cafe below and could pick out her granddaughters with ease. One was dressed in business attire with a coat wrapped around her for warmth, the second was more causal, wearing jeans and a fall-colored sweater with a scarf around her neck that the breeze tugged at. They made a pretty picture, and he could understand Sarah’s desire for them to have the best. It was his job to see that her wishes were carried out smoothly, and she paid his firm well to make sure this happened. But it was more than the financial end of things that made him want to do his best by her. He was genuinely fond of Sarah and wanted to see her plan succeed.

With his hand on her elbow, Scott guided her over to the sofa and poured her a cup of her favorite tea. John’s office had been designed for comfort, rather than the stiffness of a traditional executive office. Much of that was because John no longer worked the long hard hours needed to keep his company running. He had a great team of employees to do that. Now he spent more time out of the office, often at the golf course, then in. And when he was in, he wanted comfort. As Sarah thanked him and picked up her cup of tea, Scott looked at the two of them and grinned.

“Then let the show begin.”

The other two returned his grin and settled back to await the arrival of Paige and Rebecca.

By the time Paige and Rebecca made their way up to the office, Sarah was feeling anxious, worried she was doing the right thing. But as she watched her granddaughters walk through the door and hug their father with enthusiasm, she knew she was doing the best thing she could at this point. During the flurry of hugs and kisses, Paige noticed Sarah. With raised eyebrows she glanced over at her sister and nodded her head to indicate her grandmother standing off to the side, waiting to be noticed. Rebecca caught her movement and turned to see what Paige was nodding at. She gave a squeal in delight when she saw Sarah. She ran over and gave her grandmother a hug.

“Well, now that everyone has said hello, let’s take a seat and get comfortable.” Scott moved forward, inserting himself into the family reunion.

“I’m sure we all have busy agendas, and I know that Mrs. Skipton likes to get right down to business. Ladies, if you wouldn’t mind sitting on the sofa? Great, now we can get started.” Scott took control of the room and directing everyone to their seats. He knew that was ahead of them could turn into a difficult meeting.

“Business, humm? Nana, what are you cooking up now?” Rebecca asked as she looked at the older woman with a mixture of love and dismay.

Sarah winked at her granddaughter and took a big breath.

“Well, since you started the conversation, I guess there’s no beating around the bush, is there? Yes, I have something up my sleeve and it involves both of you girls and your future.”

Scott interrupted, wanting to take control of the situation to be sure that all of Sarah’s wishes were explained properly, but Sarah cut him off and continued. She reached across to her granddaughters, taking them each by the hand to get her point across, squeezing to emphasize her sincerity.

“I love both of you girls with all my heart, and I have to tell you I’m concerned about what I see happening with the direction your lives are heading in.” As she paused, she gave Paige a direct stare and then continued. “Paige, you’re married to that job. You can’t breathe with all the pressure you put on yourself. Honey, it seems as if you’ve lost the ability to be young and carefree. I want to see you smile spontaneously again.”

Letting go of Rebecca’s hand, Sarah reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears in a gesture of love. What she wanted to say to her might seem harsh, but Sarah had Rebecca’s best interest at heart.

“Becca, love, I know you’ve just broken up with Keith. Why you stuck it out so long, I’ll never understand, but that’s unimportant. You became a slave to him over the last year and you’ve lost all your delight in the little things, let alone the important things. You need to find yourself again and do for yourself.” She smiled with tenderness at both girls and finished her speech. “My concern for both of you girls has led me to make radical decisions about your inheritance and your futures.”