Now Arriving

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The room became so silent they could hear the traffic outside the office windows. The two siblings exchanged worried glances. This sounded serious, and out of character for Sarah, who rarely interfered with their personal lives. The two men held their tongues, realizing that this was something Sarah had to set out before her granddaughters herself.

The older woman looked at her granddaughters, her heart filled with love and concern for both. She could see the exhaustion dulling Paige’s normally bright and inquisitive eyes. There were worry lines developing above her brow, marring the beautiful smooth skin. She was so full of nervous energy that Sarah was afraid it would eat at her until she broke. Rebecca already appeared to be a broken soul. Her youthful posture was hunched, as if she was trying to protect herself. The direct eye contact that Sarah normally enjoyed was missing, and so was her engaging smile. Sarah only wanted what was best for the girls in front of her, and she knew her plan would work. It had to. She wanted her granddaughters acting like their old selves again. She drew in a deep breath and set out to convince the girls to follow her lead and embrace adventure.

Sarah glanced over at her son before she began, wanting to be sure he was still in agreement with her proposed plans. John caught her eye and gave a nod of encouragement to his mother.

“Paige and Rebecca, I’m going to ask for your assistance with something that will help all of us. Please hear me out before you dismiss my idea,” Sarah made sure she had their full attention before she continued.

“As you can see, I’m getting older, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m getting tired. I can’t keep up with Skipton Station like I used to. To be perfectly honest, my doctor wants me to slow down and enjoy life. The first thing he suggested was that I should retire from the business.”

“Now, you know as well as I do that the store has been in our family for generations and I don’t want to see it leave the family.” She cut off their words of concern and continued. “Your father and I have talked about this over the years, and your grandfather was in complete agreement that the Station would go to the two of you. Your father has no interest in Skipton, he’s moved on and made a new life for himself here in Raleigh. I’ve held on to the Station, keeping it going, adding and making improvements as demanded by the times, hoping that someday you two will take it over when I’m gone.”

Once again, the sisters broke into Sarah’s speech, protesting that she was too young to be talking like this.

“Now don’t get upset, I’m not dying or anything. But I want to enjoy my retirement years, not watch them pass me by as I watch from the Station window. That’s why I’d like to propose we speed up the timeline that your grandfather and I had set up for your inheritance. I want you to take over the Station now, accept your inheritance while I’m still around to see you enjoy it.”

Both girls were shocked momentarily into silence before they began to try to dissuade Sarah from her plans. It was getting chaotic and their voices were rising to a pitch that bordered on hysterical. With some effort, Sarah calmed them down enough to continue.

“All I’m asking for is that you give the idea a chance. See if you can work together and if you can fall in love with the Station again. When you were younger, it used to be your favorite place to be. If you can’t make it work, and find you hate it, well, then the place is yours to do what you want to do with it. But you have to promise to give it a reasonable amount of time and give it an honest try.”

The sisters stared at their grandmother as if she had gone nuts. But the harder they looked, the more they could see that Sarah was serious, and had given the situation careful consideration. They exchanged glances with each other, each waiting for the other to speak first.

Then, it was like a dam broke and the questions came like water held back against its will. Neither waited for one question to be answered before the next one was asked. Finally, Sarah’s lawyer held his hands up in a calming gesture to get their attention.

“Rebecca and Paige, please listen for a second. Your grandmother has considered this from every possible angle. I’ve spent hours with her, and your father, working out the details. Now if everyone would just calm down, we can go over those details step by step and I’ll make sure all your questions are answered.”

The room quieted down at his words, and the sisters sat back down. Rebecca sat next to Sarah, holding her hand for either comfort or assurance, she wasn’t sure. Paige went over to sit on the arm of her father’s chair. He gave her a hug and a wink to reassure her.

Scott spent the next 15 minutes going over the details he and Sarah had diligently worked out. Once the shock was over, the girls both asked intelligent questions, understanding they would not be able to change Sarah’s mind. Rebecca seemed to warm up to the idea, but Paige continued to be standoffish.

When Scott finished all he had to say, and the plans had been laid out in front of the girls to consider, there was silence in the room. It took a while, but the sisters exchanged glances, communicating silently to each other. Then Rebecca gave a slight nod, indicating to her sister she was open to the suggestion. Paige still had reservations. Sarah could see that this would be a big sacrifice for her granddaughter to give up everything she’d worked for, even if it was in her best interest. Sarah stood, and looking directly at Paige, spoke.

“I would like to make an addendum to this proposal. How about instead of a full year to run the Station to make your decision, we give it six months? Surely by that time you could conclude if it’s a move you want to make permanently.” Sarah held her hands out to both girls and continued. “It’s almost the end of September. Let’s get through the holidays and then well get together again and figure out what our next steps will be. Sell or stay. But I need you two to be there for the holidays. October is when we get ready and you know as well as I do what an important role Skipton Station plays in the community during the holiday season.”

Before the girls could answer, their father got up and put his arm around Sarah for support. With a stern expression to his daughters, he used a bit of old-fashioned parental guilt tripping.

“I think you girls could help your grandmother out here. If you’re honest with yourselves, you both know this is the right thing to do. Paige, you need to get away from that job before it sucks the life out of you. And Becca, my sweet, you’ve made the first step in getting your life back in order. Maybe a change in location is what you both need.” Not giving them opportunity to answer, John went on. “Your grandmother and I will both come up to the Station with you to help get things started. Then we’ll see what happens. I think you are both up to the challenge and I think you will make a success of this.”

Sarah gave John a kiss on is cheek, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked over at her granddaughters, waiting for an answer. Both girls could see how much she needed them at this point in her life. Rebecca said yes right away, and it didn’t take Paige long to agree, stipulating it was for six months. They loved Sarah dearly, and she’d always been there for them as they had grown up. They were more than willing to give up the next six months to help her out. Then they would each make their own decision about their future at Skipton Station. Turning to Scott, Paige smiled and pointed him to the desk.

“Okay, Scott, let’s work out the details and get this train rolling!”