Thinking of family had her remembering what her father was going through. How much her mother was even now struggling to keep him able to do basic things each day. The first time her dad couldn’t remembered where he was had been scary. Then he’d forgotten her name during a dinner and when her mother had reminded him, he’d slammed his fist down on the table.
Her father had never shown an ounce of aggression her entire life. Hell, she doubted that he’d raised his voice even once. It had been so… strange.
Then, it had started happening regularly. The father that she’d known for her entire childhood was gone, replaced by a stranger who sometimes looked at her as if she wanted something from him.
Once, he’d even called Jules by her grandmother’s name and had for almost a full hour acted as if he was a young child instead of his sixty-year-old self.
The first few doctor visits were helpful, or at least they believed they were. An Alzheimer’s diagnosis hadn’t been shocking, not after the way her father had acted.
What had been shocking was seeing him deteriorate so quickly. By the fourth doctor’s appointment, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s was in question.
Her mother was talking about taking him into Pensacola for more tests.
The fact that her father was having a difficult time walking and holding a fork scared her. Really scared her.
“Hey.” Damion’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Where’d you go just now?” he asked, leaning closer to her.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and tried to push the thoughts away.
“Sorry,” she said. She leaned on the railing as music started playing through the speakers. Several couples filled the dancing floor while others sat or stood around chatting.
“How about a walk?” Damion suggested suddenly.
“Sure.” She set her empty champagne glass down on a table as he did the same. Then she followed him down the pathway that led to the boathouse.
“I love that there are so many interesting places to walk here,” she said as they headed down the lit pathway. “I can only imagine coming here each summer as a kid. It must have been truly amazing. As an adult, I totally pinch myself each day I get to work here.” He laughed and glanced over at her. “What?” she asked.
“Do you know you get chatty?” he asked.
“Sometimes.” She felt her face heat. He stopped under one of the lights and took her shoulders.
“No, don’t be embarrassed. I like hearing you talk. I can tell a lot of times you hold back,” he said, surprising her.
She was going to deny it, but his eyebrows rose, and she sighed. “I get it from my dad’s side of the family,” she said, repeating what her parents always told her growing up.
He laughed at that. “Zoey has arranged for Isaac to supply our meals for the entire trip.”
“Seriously? Wow. I dream about his strawberry salads when I’m not here for a day.”
He laughed. “Salads? His burgers should be a sin.”
Jules knew all too well just how amazing Isaac’s burgers were. They alone were responsible for the almost ten extra pounds she’d put on that year alone. Pounds she was trying to rid herself of by eating his salads instead, along with walking during most of her breaks.
She’d never been, nor would she ever be, a skinny supermodel type. Nor did she really care to be. When she looked into the mirror, her heritage was the first thing she saw. The faces of her ancestors stared right back at her—her father’s family along with a slight mix of her mother’s Anglo-Saxon. Although that part she could only see in the straightness of her hair and her sky-blue eyes. Everything else was Hawaiian, or Kama‘aina, through and through. She knew all about her heritage, since they visited her father’s family often on the Big Island.
Her grandfather had abused her grandmother and her father and his two siblings when they were all younger. Her grandmother, or Tutu, as Jules called her, had divorced the man when her father was ten. When her dad moved to Florida, his mother had decided she needed a change and came along with him. His older sister and his younger one still lived on the island with their families and Jules’s many cousins.
Jules had never met her grandfather, nor did she care to after hearing the stories her Tutu had told her.
“There you go, disappearing again,” Damion said, stopping at the end of the dock to look at her.
“Sorry,” she said, leaning on the railing and looking out over the dark waters. There was a supermoon out that night and, as if magic, she could see as clearly as if the sun was shining. “I was just thinking about family.” She glanced over at him. The moonlight bounced off his darker skin, making him almost glow. “You used to live with your grandparents.”
He chuckled. “Yes. One of the reasons I moved out shortly after getting this job was the lack of privacy.” His smile slipped slightly.
“Do you miss it? The chaos? Being there for them when they need you?” she asked, thinking of what her mother and Tutu had to deal with on a daily basis with her father.
Damion reached over and took her hand in his.