The Mermaid Garden(80)
“Like who?” Marina asked.
“I don’t know,” Jake mumbled. “Mr. Potter, for a start.”
“Mr. Potter?” Marina was indignant. “That man has been in these gardens longer than you’ve walked the earth.”
“But he should have retired years ago.”
“He’s not going anywhere. The day we say good-bye to him will be the day we bury him, probably beneath the roses, which is where his heart is. Get rid of Mr. Potter? I’ve never heard anything so callous, after all the work he’s done for us.”
“Bertha?” Jake ventured, knowing Marina didn’t much like her.
“That won’t save much. She’s on a minimum wage, and besides, she’s a character.”
“Jake’s on the right lines, darling. Unless we start making money …”
“What?” Marina felt her stomach turn to liquid. “Unless we start making money, what?”
“Well, we’ll have to rethink our options.”
“What are you saying, Grey?”
“That if Charles Rueben makes us a good offer, I think we should consider it.”
“Dad’s right,” said Jake. “It’s just a hotel.”
“It’s more than a hotel, it’s our home,” Marina protested, ignoring Jake.
“I know, darling. But fundamentally it’s a business. I love it like you do, but I won’t let it pull us under. If Charles Rueben wants to buy it and offers decent money for it, I think we should accept. We can set up more modestly somewhere else.”
Marina was horrified. “We just need more time. If we could get our literary dinners off the ground and Rafa …”
“We’re not going to suddenly start making a profit because of one handsome young man who teaches guests to paint. It’s just not going to happen,” said Grey. “I’m sorry.”
Marina stood up and began to pace the room. “You’re giving up too easily, Grey. If that man is going to come into our home, size us up like a prize cow, and think he can buy us because he has pots of money to throw around, then I won’t have him. I won’t.”
Grey could see she was getting worked up. “Calm down, darling.”
“Calm down! You’re telling me to calm down? This is my home, Grey. This is where I belong. I’ve sweated blood into every piece of fabric and every piece of furniture. I’ve poured my love into every inch of it. It’s not just a home, it’s a person.” She turned on him, eyes welling with tears, and in a small, pleading voice, she said, “It’s not just a person, it’s my child.” She clutched her belly as the unspeakable word escaped into the air. Grey and Jake stared in astonishment, as if seeing it materialize. For a long while no one said anything.
Marina blinked in surprise as it echoed in her ears. My child … my child … my child.
She wiped her cheeks and returned to her chair. “I’m not going to give up,” she stated firmly, sitting down. She raised her eyes to her husband. He saw the determination in them and knew that the battle was far from over. “I will explore every avenue, turn over every rock, and beg if I have to. I will not sell this place. You will have to bury me first.”
Jake coughed, embarrassed. “So, are they coming or not?”
Grey looked to his wife. “Let them come,” she replied. “Let them offer all the money in the world. And watch me say ‘no,’ for ‘no’ is the only answer I will give them.”
Grey and Jake left the office. “I need a stiff drink after that,” said Grey to his son.
“Me, too. Christ, she’s emotional.”
“Yes, very hot-blooded sometimes.” They walked across to the stable block.
“Isn’t she very exhausting?” asked Jake, following him into the sitting room.
“Not all the time. Right now, she’s going through a difficult patch. As you can see, she loves this place. It’s the child she can’t have.”
“That blew me away. I’ve never heard her mention her childlessness.”
Grey went to the drinks cabinet and poured them each a gin and tonic. “She never talks about it. It’s just something that’s always there, simmering beneath the surface. She’s a contradiction—on one hand very open and fiery, and on the other extremely secretive. I was as surprised as you when she articulated it.”
“I feel sorry for her. You already have two children. She has none.”
Grey handed his son a glass and smiled at him affectionately. “I appreciate that, Jake.”
“I can see why Clemmie’s a disappointment to her.”