Gifts by the Shore (Part 3) by Marilyn Brant

gifts by the shore by marilyn brantIn Gifts by the Shore (Part 1), I introduced you to my main character, Marianna Greggor, a 39-year-old divorced mom of a college-aged daughter. Her older sister Ellen owns a bungalow in Sarasota, Florida, which Marianna is staying at for the summer. In Gifts by the Shore (Part 2), Marianna meets Gil Canton, a local businessman and artist, but they don’t exchange names…yet! More of their relationship is still to come but, as I’ve mentioned before, one of my inspirations for this story came from the very different sisters in Sense and Sensibility. So, this week, for Part 3, we go north to Connecticut, where Ellen and her husband live, and we check in on what’s happening with the elder sister while the younger one is rediscovering herself at the beach 😉 . This is not an S&S retelling, but it is a tale about siblings, mothers and daughters, good friends, and getting a second chance at love.

As always, I look forward to all of your thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!! Thank you.  😛

***

GIFTS BY THE SHORE

CHAPTER THREE: Connecticut Disconnect (READ PART 1 HERE and READ PART 2 HERE)

New Haven, CT (Wikipedia Commons)

Images of New Haven, CT (Wikipedia Commons)

Ellen Slater had always considered herself to be a strong woman. A warrior, even. In the tax world. In her marriage. Everywhere. No one questioned her ability to do her job extremely well, reel in new clients, get thirteen things done at once—and all brilliantly. And they damn well shouldn’t doubt her. She was forty-four, clever, experienced and at the absolute top of her game.

Which in no way explained why, after doing nothing more challenging than having a ten-minute phone call with her longtime client, Stephen Gage Bartholomew, Ellen had sequestered herself in the far left stall of the women’s restroom—the one on the fifth and highest floor of the New Haven, Connecticut branch of Palmer, Jacoby and Slater—and was trying desperately to breathe deeply and keep her hands from visibly shaking in front of her.

She stared with increasing horror at her fingers, her nails polished with a tasteful rose-red sheen, but each digit trembling as if she were afflicted by some sort of palsy. Her heart raced, she found herself wicked short of breath and she was sweating straight through her cream-colored silk blouse. Disgusting. She figured she was either dying or—worse—going through early menopause.

What the hell was happening to her?! She’d just had a comprehensive physical in May, and her doctor had pronounced her in good health.

So much for what he knew. Stupid Yalie.

Ellen had every intention of telling off Dr. Cole when she spoke with him next…once she could stop quivering long enough to dial his number on her cell phone. It would, however, be a far less effective rant if she were, say, incapable of speaking above a whisper. Like she was at the moment.

She leaned against the cool ceramic tiles on the wall, letting the chilled smoky-blue squares ice the back of her neck, and debated whether or not to call 9-1-1. The fact that she could still “debate” made her less inclined to initiate such a call. Besides, the symptoms of whatever she was experiencing seemed to be lessening—at least she wasn’t feeling quite as lightheaded or nauseated as she’d been back in her office fifteen minutes ago.

Her office… Oh, dammit. She was supposed to have a conference call with her client Carole Grayson this afternoon. In twenty minutes. That just wasn’t going to happen. She’d have to ask her secretary to call Carole and reschedule. This illness—or whatever it was—was effing up her day, big time.

And it was going to take all of her strength just to keep news of her potentially imminent death from her husband Jared. The man might be smart, well-connected, over-educated and affluent, but he couldn’t even make a grilled cheese sandwich by himself without detailed instructions and/or a step-by-step flowchart. What would he do without her?

Hire a live-in cook, Ellen supposed. Or find himself a new wife.

Crap.

She swiped the beads of sweat off her forehead with a bit of tissue, her breathing starting to come a bit easier now.

No, she definitely could not meet with Carole. And she would rather not tell anyone—not Jared and certainly not her whiny little sister—that she wasn’t in such great shape these days. They relied on her to be their rock. Jared was juggling a dozen projects at work, and Marianna had always been such a catastrophic thinker when it came to anything, especially other people’s health. The way she clucked like a little Mother Hen whenever Kathryn had the sniffles or her in-laws were sick…ugh. Always trying to make up for that bastard of a husband by being such a dutiful mom and daughter-in-law. The woman must have spent two decades in the Land of the Worrywarts after she married Donny the Freeloader. No way was Ellen going to give her sister something new to fuss over. Marianna had enough problems.

Ellen forced out some air and inhaled long and slow.

She slipped her hand beneath the neckline of her blouse and placed her palm on the bare skin above her heart. Still pumping furiously. Too furiously, considering she wasn’t running a 500-meter dash or sprinting up a flight of stairs.

What did they always say to do if you thought you were having a heart attack? Chew on baby aspirin?

P&P&ZWell, she didn’t have any baby aspirin. She didn’t even have any ibuprofen—at least not on her. Then again, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to check with her secretary to see if she had anything like that on hand. That, of course, would mean admitting she was sick, though. She cringed at the thought, but if she was going to leave early, she’d have to tell someone. Might as well be Selena, whom she at least liked a little and felt to be somewhat loyal.

Ellen splashed a little water on her face, blotted with a paper towel and tried to tidy up her appearance as best she could. But, really, there was no way around it. She no longer looked like a tax partner. She looked like one of those unfortunate women who’d had their brains half eaten by rabid zombies in the latest horror flick. No one would doubt she had some terrible bug. Maybe it was a kind of summer flu? People got weird things like that, with symptoms like hers, didn’t they?

When she got back to her office, her secretary eyed her with concern. “Ms. Slater, are you all r—” Selena began.

“No,” Ellen said. “I’m coming down with something. Twenty-four-hour…hmm, maybe forty-eight-hour flu, I think.” She watched as Selena nodded sympathetically and leaned a few inches back from her.

“I’m sorry to hear—”

“Please reschedule my call with Ms. Grayson for next week, and cancel all of my appointments for tomorrow,” Ellen interrupted. “I’ll call in if I think I’ll be gone longer than that.”

“Of course, Ms. Slater,” the secretary said promptly. “I hope you’ll feel better.”

peanut m&ms“Thank you.” Ellen escaped into her office, gathered her laptop, her phone, a folder of paperwork to be signed and a handful of peanut M&Ms. No, they were not exactly baby aspirin, but she’d changed her mind about asking Selena if she had any of that. And, besides, Ellen could tell her heart rate really had returned to normal (almost), and it was stupid for a person to take medication they didn’t need. Especially if chocolate tasted so much better.

When she was safely in her silver Lexus, though, she called her doctor’s office. “Yes, this is Ellen Slater. I need to speak with Dr. Cole at once.” She waited as the receptionist transferred her to Dr. Cole’s nurse, who then asked her to describe her symptoms.

“Why can’t I speak with Dr. Cole directly?” she asked instead. “Where is he?”

“He’s with another patient, Ms. Slater,” the nurse replied. “But if you’ll please tell me what you’ve been experiencing, I’ll be happy to—”

Ellen clicked off her phone.

She’d overreacted by calling in the first place. She was fine. Really.

She’d go home, rest up and be her normal self by tomorrow or the day after at the latest. And everything would return to the way it was.

Whatever had happened, it was just a fluke. She was sure of it.

Nevertheless, she stopped at a corner pharmacy on the drive home and picked up a bottle of chewable baby aspirin—that chalky orange-flavored stuff she’d hated as a kid—and forced herself to take a couple of tablets, along with a few swigs of Evian. She washed both down with a small pack of almond M&Ms (she liked to strive for variety in her snacking—everyone knew how different almonds and peanuts were—and, besides, nuts were good for you) and ordered some freshly rolled sushi for dinner from Tasty Tokyo’s “lite menu.” There were heart-healthy Omega-3s all over the place with that meal. Although, maybe not so much with the side order of fried calamari.

She was fine. Totally fine.

When the doctor’s office called and Dr. Cole left her a personal message on her cell’s voicemail, Ellen ignored it.

Instead, she picked up her carryout, drove home and crashed on the sofa.

But not before changing out of her cream silk blouse, so revoltingly drenched in sweat that she doubted even the drycleaners would be able to get the stains out. That she threw in the trash, wrapping it in a plastic bag first so Jared wouldn’t see it.

She had other blouses she liked better anyway.

***

(End of Part 3) What did you think is going on with Ellen? How is her personality different from her younger sister’s? Have you known anyone like her? We’ll be back in Florida with Marianna, Vivian and Gil next time… Look for Part 4 on November 3rd! Hope you’re enjoying the story. 🙂
~Marilyn
p.s. There’s a Goodreads giveaway (open to residents of the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Australia) going on until the morning of Oct. 27th for Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match — 2 signed paperbacks! Check it out HERE.

24 comments

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  1. She sounds like she’s having anxiety attack or first time pregnancy symptoms. Yes, I can relate to her. Do not share as much as I should.

    1. Patty,
      You are an excellent guesser! (I won’t say which one is right, but you’re on it!!) And I’m so glad Ellen is someone you can relate to. She’s an incredibly capable woman, but it’s sometimes hard for people who are known for their strength to let others in… 😉
      Thanks so much for reading & commenting!

    • Kris Sutterfield on October 22, 2014 at 12:45 am
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    Just now getting caught up on all three chapters. How did I miss this?? I’m from Sarasota, born and raised, so I like the story so far. Maybe I went to school with Gil. 😉 I’ll be looking forward to more of your story.

    1. Kris,
      I’m delighted you’re liking the story so far!! Thank you!
      And how cool that you got to grow up in Sarasota — it’s just *beautiful* 😀 . I’ve only been able to visit a few times, but my husband introduced me to Siesta Key when we were first married, and I fell in love with the area…

    • Mari on October 22, 2014 at 7:17 am
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    I wasn’t sure I would relate to this sister, but now that we have been formally introduced, I like her a lot. I love the way she thinks about snacks! I no longer eat sugar, so I will live vicariously through her when she has a snack attack. Of the two sisters, I like Ellen the best and am interested to hear more about her. Loved the pictures of New Haven; they really added to the story. You have really hooked me with this one. Is it available on Amzon yet? The two sisters are different from each other, but I think they will find their way back together and in the process, find out things about themselves. Love love love this. And to think I almost passed on reading it. I am so glad I didn’t.

    1. Mari,
      Yay!! I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you loved this and are hooked on the story now 😉 . Thank you!
      Getting to know characters is a lot, I think, like getting to know real people. The deeper we go into their point of view, the better sense we have of the way they see the world and why they react the way they do to stressors or to other people in their lives. I’m so glad you found yourself able to relate to Ellen…and her snacking habits, LOL.
      As for the story being available on Amazon — not yet!! I’m not finished writing it 😀 . It’s a lengthy women’s fiction book (probably closest to my 2011 novel A SUMMER IN EUROPE in genre), and I’m nearing the midpoint. But I promise to post a notice *everywhere* when it’s done! This is a story I’m very excited about finishing and sharing!!

    • Stephanie L on October 22, 2014 at 9:16 am
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    Ummmm…there are some aberrations but…I don’t remember being interviewed for this character??? LOL Back pre-stroke that was me. Now, not so much. Everyone knows my issues so it’s no secret but I do still try to keep the planet organized and my little sister is still the poster child for PTA mother of the year and worrying about every little thing. Really enjoying this story Marilyn!

    1. LOL, Stephanie!! You’re very funny 😉 . Perhaps I have been interviewing you in your sleep in hopes of eliciting deep character insights and sister secrets?!
      We have quite a number of Type A personalities in my family (*raising hand*) and it’s so hard to unlearn those behaviors. As I get older, I’ve been trying to be more laid back and to breathe more deeply, but… 😀
      And thank you! I’m so pleased that you’re enjoying the story thus far!!

    • Carole in Canada on October 22, 2014 at 11:36 am
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    First thought was: Ellen was affected by her phone call with her longtime client, Stephen. As the symptoms kept getting worse and nausea was involved, I thought maybe she is pregnant?! Now wouldn’t that put a spanner in her very organized controlled life! The more I read of this wonderful story, the more I see myself and my sisters rolled into these two characters. I would have to say, I relate more to Ellen. My sisters know I’m a bit of a control freak and organization is paramount! Well, maybe I’m more than a bit…however, I am also a worry wart (mostly over my kids…33 and 26 respectively). I think that has to do with the fact that I no longer can ‘control’ circumstances in their lives. My middle sister is alot like Marianna, not only that she has been divorced and raised her son on her own, but she too is a worry wart and overly concerned with him (30 now). Yes, I’m really relating to this story…can you tell! Loving the comments too!

    1. Carole, thanks so much!! I loved reading your insights and I’m truly grateful for your kind words.
      I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed that readers who have sisters or who have shared some of these life experiences would be able to relate to Ellen and Marianna — they are characters who feel very real to me 😉 . One of the many things I’ve always loved about Austen’s writing was her ability to create characters on the page who felt human and who were complicated enough to have a range of traits and even be inconsistent sometimes, just like people I knew in real life… So, I consider it a huge compliment that there are elements of Marianna and Ellen that remind you of yourself and your sisters!! Thank you! 🙂

  2. Something is definitely wrong with Ellen. Though she dismissed it after her breathing is normal, I wouldn’t bank on it that she is 100% fit. Maybe it’s a panic attack and she needs more complete rest and less worry and stress in her life. If not her health will decline in the long run and she may even suffer stroke or heart attack.

    What a waste to throw away her blouse. Perhaps it can be donated to a thrift shop if she really doesn’t want it.

    1. Lúthien,
      You’re right! There is definitely something wrong with Ellen, and she’s fooling herself into thinking she can “handle it” without help… More on that in future chapters!
      And your comment about the blouse was an interesting one — it’s definitely NOT the way her sister would have dealt with the situation! But money isn’t a concern in Ellen’s life…pride is, though 😉 .

    • Deborah on October 22, 2014 at 2:45 pm
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    I’m enjoying the story very much. It could be, and yes I read the above posts, but will add some possibilities anyway…..anxiety attack, panic attack, heart problem showing signs, symptoms of stress, or as was said above: to bring chaos to her obsessively organized life-pregnancy. Many options. And definitely to proud and controlling to ask for help and too foolish to return the doctor’s call. Looking forward to the next chapter on Nov. 11, Marilyn. Definitely type A (a lot of me, but I’m trying to temper it a bit).

    1. Deborah,
      Oh, thank you! As always, I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your thoughts on the story, and I’m so glad you’re continuing to enjoy it!
      Your impressions of Ellen and the potential issues she may have are right on target 😉 .
      Can’t wait to get to share the next part with you all!!
      xo

  3. I was kind of expecting not to like Ellen (I mean, who ever heard of first impressions being wrong, right?) My first thought was: panic attack. Actually that was my second thought. My first was that she was maybe involved w the client she was talking to and he broke it off. (I know, I’m so suspicious). Then I was like no, probably panic attack or hot flashes. But during a panic attack, your heart doesn’t actually race, it just feels like it does, at least that’s what I’ve been told. And hot flashes don’t make you tremble, do they?

    I’m so not type A. Except my blood type – that’s an A. lol

    1. Ha Ha!! Yeah, Monica, I’ve never heard of *anything* in literature about incorrect first impressions… 😀
      Loved reading your suggestions about what’s been happening with Ellen, and you almost made me wish I’d come up with something as steamy as an affair with a client (!!), but no…it’s more physiological. Maybe in my next story, though…
      And I envy you not being a Type A in personality! Just think of all the stress-related habits, intensities and catastrophic thinking to won’t have to unlearn. 😉 In my next life, I’m going to insist (at least as much as an ex-control freak can, LOL) on being an uber-relaxed beachcomber!

    • Kathy on October 23, 2014 at 12:30 am
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    Poor Ellen! I vote for a stress-induced panic/anxiety attack. I think with the demands on her life, she is one of those people that tends to try and avoid or subdue her stress, and now it’s catching up with her. To think she’s got an idyllic vacation home that she can use to decompress!

    1. LOL, Kathy!!
      Yes, Ellen’s *got* that idyllic vacation home, but will she ever use it?! 🙂
      You’ve absolutely understood her personality, by the way. She’s definitely as you described…and she seems to be taking an extra-long time figuring out what’s best for her!

    • Sheila L. M. on October 23, 2014 at 10:09 am
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    I am thinking Ellen is not old enough to be in menopause but I do know someone who had early menopause. My first thought was that she was just informed (on the phone) that she lost the account of this client, Stephen Gage Bartholomew, and thus is indeed having either an anxiety attack or a panic attack. It doesn’t sound like the symptoms for a stroke or heart attack, which I read up on frequently due to my age.

    I cannot relate to Ellen as I am not a Type A Personality. And life didn’t deal me the hand Marianna has been dealt so can’t say I would know what she is went through. Although I did live with my in-laws and tried hard to please them the first year of our marriage as my husband was in Basic Training, AIT and then OCS during that time. I can relate to the chocolate and nuts. I keep Dove Dark Chocolate and dark chocolate flavored almonds on hand, if nothing else. I used to be into the M&M peanuts but tastes changed.

    Demanding to speak to the doctor, refusing to give the nurse a description of her symptoms and then ignoring the doctor’s phone call…I am not sure I am liking Ellen very much. Sounds temperamental!

    I am the type who can do 4 things at once but then I switch off and ignore housework and cooking to read a good book…especially now that I am retired with an empty nest.

    But I am enjoying this story so far and agree that she should have donated the blouse…after dry cleaning it. A little sweat is nothing to a modern day dry cleaner. LOL

    Thanks for the chapter.

    1. Sheila,
      LOL!! Yes, yes, Ellen’s behavior definitely falls under the “temperamental” category 😉 .
      It’s so interesting to me to learn more about everyone’s life here — the things that ring deeply true for you all in the story and the ones that don’t resonate as much. I love how they’re different, and I enjoy finding out details like your taste for dark chocolate almonds!! It must have been hard having your husband away so much during your first year of marriage… Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the story and, even more, for sharing a little bit about yourself and your own experiences!!

  4. Anxiety Attack major time or pre-heart attack, but I lean towards the anxiety. But your character’s name should have been Karen. You have come so close to describing me at my last job and the pressures I was under.
    There are so many things going on and so many people demanding so much because they know that they can count on you doing it and doing it right. You don’t know how to say “No!”. Perfection is something that you have demanded of yourself you whole life, because that is what is what was demanded of you and then later expected of you. You don’t know how to let anyone down, so you push yourself till you scraped the bottom of the barrel and there is nothing else to give, are still trying to be everything to everybody.
    That is where she is…That anxiety is going to become a heart attack if she isn’t careful.
    Just my opinion… 🙂

    1. Karen,
      I think you can read Ellen and her needs *exceptionally* well!! (Perhaps she’s your secret literary twin?! 🙂 XOX) While I’m thrilled that you understand her and that her attitude and behaviors make sense to you, I’m *very* sorry to hear that your last job was so stressful! I had a job like that once. It took me MONTHS after I resigned before I could stop clenching my jaw at night and let go of some of the anxiety those years in that position had created. I didn’t even realized how much stress I’d acquired there and carried with me… I’d like to think I wouldn’t let it all get to me as much now, but I’m honestly not sure. We certainly live and learn, don’t we?! *hugs*

        • Sheila L. M. on October 23, 2014 at 10:56 pm
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        It’s called PTSS…Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

        1. Yes! Good call, Sheila. That’s the perfect term for it ;).

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