Free The Summer Wind by Mary Alice Monroe

already settled there. He doesn’t like change,” she reminded them.
    “But she needs her mother now,” Winifred said.
    “Oh, Winnie, do be sensible,” Mamaw snapped, her patience running out.
    For a moment the two women eyed each other.
    “Mamaw—” Cal began.
    “Excuse me,” Mamaw interrupted him, looking at him with disdain. “I only allow my family to use that term of endearment. You can call me Mrs. Muir.”
    The color drained from Cal’s tight face. “Mrs. Muir,” he conceded. “I’d like to speak to Dora alone for a moment.”
    “Don’t you upset her!” Mamaw warned.
    “I won’t.”
    “I wish I could believe you.”
    Cal drew himself up. “I own that I’ve made mistakes.” His eyes flashed. “But I don’t have to explain them to you. Only to Dora.”
    There was a momentary pause. Then Mamaw said to Dora, “It’s quite late. Time I left for Sea Breeze. And you need your rest. Call me in the morning, won’t you, dear? I do hope you’ll return to Sullivan’s Island. We all do.”
    “Good night, Mamaw,” Dora said with a smile. She wanted to go home with Mamaw right this minute. To leave this sterile hospital with its uncomfortable bed and more tests on the way. To get away from Cal and her mother. To see Nate. She longed for her son. “Give Nate a kiss from me, will you?”
    Mamaw bent to deliver a kiss to Dora’s cheek. “I surely will.” When she straightened, she turned to Winifred. “Winnie, do you have a place to spend the night? You’re welcome to stay at Sea Breeze.”
    The invitation clearly took Winifred by surprise. Her face softened for the briefest moment but quickly returned a mask of indifference toward Mamaw. “Thank you, but no. I’ll stay at my usual hotel. I want to be close to my daughter,” she added with self-importance.
    “Of course,” Mamaw said. “Well then, I’m off.”
    Winifred also said her good-byes, laced with assurances of her love and promises to take good care of Dora in Charlotte, where she belonged. Before she left she offered Cal a kiss on the cheek, then said, “You children have a good talk. Patch things up.”
    When the door closed again, Dora closed her eyes as well, drawing her strength to deal with whatever Cal had on his mind. She was bone tired and heart weary. Barely able to open her eyes again, but she managed. Cal was standing beside the bed, his hands in his pockets, looking down at her, waiting.
    Dora said, “I think we’ve said all there is to say for one day.”
    “Dora,” Cal said, his eyes imploring. “I meant what I said earlier. About us reconsidering the divorce.”
    “Cal . . .”
    “All this”—he waved his hand, indicating the hospital—“made me think again about how serious a step this is. About how short our lives are. We shouldn’t be so quick to throw away all that we’ve built together.”
    He had her attention. Dora listened.
    “Perhaps . . .” he began, taking her hand.
    She stared at their joined hands.
    “. . . you should stay with me at my condo.”
    Dora gave him a quick glance but didn’t respond.
    “It’s a nice building in our neighborhood with an elevator, close to shops. You could walk through the park to the house.” He smiled with encouragement. “It will give you exercise and you can keep an eye on the repairs. Kill two birds with one stone.”
    “I find it hard to believe you.”
    Cal opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. He paused, putting his hands back in his pockets. “I know,” he said. “I don’t blame you. Dora, I’m sorry I hurt you. Believe me now.”
    Dora looked long and hard at her husband. His face was drawn and pale. It struck her that Cal didn’t look happy. She struggled to remember the last time she had seen him happy. She couldn’t. She tried to recall when she’d last felt happy. The answer came quickly. It was at Sea Breeze on the dock with Nate, Mamaw, and her sisters. That crazy dolphin in the water making them all laugh. She