Dora handed her a glass. “Take a sip, darlin’, before you expire.”
Harper drank thirstily and wiped her mouth in a not very ladylike swipe before handing the glass back.
“Mamaw’s selling Sea Breeze,” she blurted.
Carson leaned back against the deck wall. “Is that all? We know that.”
“No, I mean now. Devlin’s here. He brought an offer.”
Carson shot straight up again. “Shit. So soon?”
“Devlin’s here?” asked Dora. “Where?”
“He’s sitting in the living room with Mamaw. I knew something was up when I saw him roll in all polished like a peacock carrying a briefcase.”
“That’s not nice.” Dora scowled at the unkind description. “Devlin’s not the enemy here. Mamaw engaged him to sell the house. He’s just doing his job.” She sniffed and added haughtily, “And I think he looks quite handsome when he cleans up.”
“Sorry. I like Dev, you know that,” Harper said, chastened. “I’m shooting the messenger.”
Carson demanded, “Is Mamaw going to accept it?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not a full offer, thank God. Devlin advised her to sit on it.”
“That’s a relief,” Carson said.
“Not really,” Dora said. “They’ll counter. Another, better offer will come in. An offer she can’t refuse.”
“She’s right,” said Harper. “This couple flew in just to see the house. Devlin said they’ve been waiting for the right property to come up and really want it.” She slumped onto the bench beside Carson and put her hands to her cheeks, feeling suddenly faint. “I think this might really be happening. Sea Breeze is about to be sold.”
She looked into Dora’s and Carson’s eyes and saw the same shock and pain and roiling regret that she felt in her own body. For several minutes no one could speak, each lost in her own thoughts. They all knew that this day was coming. But like the storm rumbling in from the distance, it was always something they’d pushed off and said they’d deal with when it arrived.
And now it had.
“Sea Breeze . . . gone?” Carson said slowly, each word dropping in the air like a stone. “I can’t believe it. This is the only house I’ve ever really loved. The one constant in my life. No matter where I might travel, no matter how long I might be away, I always knew Sea Breeze was here waiting for me. It was my safe haven. I can’t believe it won’t be here.”
“It’s been my touchstone going through this divorce,” Dora said.
“Sea Breeze isn’t really going to be gone,” Harper said. “It’s still going to be here. Just for another family. Not for us.”
But her words held no comfort. She looked back at the house and tried to imagine anyone else but the Muirs living in it.
“I’ve always been really proud that this house was ours,” Dora said. “I’m enough of a house snob to admit it. I mean, Sea Breeze is more than just a house. It’s a true relic of Sullivan’s Island’s past.”
“This place has been our lifeboat,” said Carson. “The three of us have been floundering all summer. What would we have done without coming here?” She brought her long legs up to the bench and wrapped her arms around them. Harper recognized the gesture. Carson had done it since she was a little girl whenever she felt scared or vulnerable. “And what are we going to do now?”
“Do you think Mamaw has enough money to hold on to the house and let us rent it?” Carson asked. “She’s had the house for a long time. I don’t know how much her monthly payments are, but they’ve got to be less than if she bought it today. Think of how much the value went up. Maybe we could pool our money together and pay rent?”
“Honey, the house has been remortgaged up the wazoo,” Dora reminded her. “She needed the money for Daddy. Otherwise she would have tried to work something out. Besides, Carson, you don’t have any money saved, and even if I threw in all I get for my portion of the house—if it ever sells—it’s a drop in the bucket. And even if we could afford to rent it, we couldn’t afford the taxes.”
“Mamaw always said buying the puppy was the cheapest part of the deal,” said Carson. “We should still run the numbers. Mamaw would help us in any way she can. You know she would.”
“I don’t know if I should tell you this,” Dora said with hesitation. “I almost didn’t get Nate into that school. Cal said he didn’t have the money for the deposit. And I didn’t have anything set aside.” She paused. “Mamaw didn’t have the cash, so she sold her diamond earrings. The chandelier ones. She did it to make the deposit for Nate.” Dora saw the shock on her sisters’ faces. “I hated for her to do that,” she rushed to add. “Papa Edward gave those earrings to her. But I don’t know what I’d have done if she hadn’t. I had to tell you, so you know how tight money is for her. She really doesn’t have much left to help us with.”
“She told us that when she told us she had to sell the house,” Carson said. “I guess I never really understood the extent of it.”
“We can’t be asking her for any more help. Not ever.” Harper looked pointedly at Dora and Carson.
“I’ll pay her back when I sell the house,” Dora said softly.
Carson looked back at the house with dejection. “I don’t know what I was thinking. There’s no way we could afford to rent this place.”
Harper leaned back against the dock railing and reflected on what the sale of Sea Breeze would mean for her sisters. For them, Sea Breeze represented solidarity, safety, and security. Financially, both Carson and Dora were on a slippery slope. Dora at least was settled with the cottage and her job, and they all knew she and Devlin were going to get married someday. Carson was more iffy. No job, no apartment, no money set aside. She was in the most precarious position of the three women.
Harper looked out at the Cove as she had done so many times over this summer. Her gaze wandered across the familiar winding creek with its racing current, the bright green grass of the wetlands that was teeming with life and mystery. She breathed deeply, tasting salt in the air and feeling the balmy ocean breeze play with her hair. Off in the distance she heard the swell of a chorus of insects. August began the season of migration, of heavy coming and going in the lowcountry. September was a time of change and transition. Whoever said there was no change of seasons in the lowcountry didn’t know how to open their eyes and observe the myriad miracles that happened every season along the coast.