“I’m my father’s right-hand man. I’ll inherit the company. Delia will get an equal share in stocks.” Looking down, he said, “I’ve always lock-stepped right along the path my father pointed me toward.” Andy paused. “I’ve tried to be the man he wants me to be, and I’ve succeeded. But at a cost…” Lifting his eyes to Christina’s, he suddenly smiled. “Have you ever done something you were certain you’d hate doing, only to find that you enjoyed it?”

“Sure I have.” Christina answered briefly, not wanting to break the flow of his conversation. Well done, her Inner Christina praised her.

“My sister and I took turns this year coming to the island, being with Dad, working with him, watching to see that he was okay. Delia liked being here in the summer, for the galas and the beach, but I realized I like being here all the time. Even on rainy days.”

They paused as the waiter set their seafood casseroles before them and poured more wine.

“I’ve gotten involved with some conservation organizations. I’ve been walking around the island, getting to know it, and some of the people here. It’s made me think about my own life. Being here on the island in the fall and winter…it’s such a change of pace from the city. It’s liberating.”

Christina bristled slightly. “Many of the island’s benefactors think they want to live here year-round. They join local boards and donate money…and they leave after New Year’s Eve. You haven’t been through a real winter yet,” Christina warned him. “The first three months of the year can be bleak. Gale-force winds that make it impossible to get on or off the island, no matter how urgent the need. No real nightlife except for movies at the Dreamland and Theatre Workshop productions and maybe lectures at the library. But nothing like what New York City has to offer.”

“Do you like it here in the winter?” Andy asked.