BEYOND THE GATES

Bardes’ novel follows a Southern woman’s late-in-life search for love.

Virginia “Ginger” Johnson is 68 years old. After her husband Ted dies, she is in a bit of a bind: Ted had set up a generous trust for Ginger, but, after a review from a lawyer and Ginger’s stepchildren, she learns he never signed the necessary paperwork to make it official. Ginger mulls things over in Treasure Beach, Florida, where the couple shared a home. At an open house in Treasure Beach, Ginger meets a younger man, a pilot named Kevin McCoy. He explains to Ginger that he is taking some time off for medical reasons and is thinking about purchasing a home in Treasure Beach. The two begin spending time together, and Ginger finds it “exciting and scary” to be in the company of a new man after so many years of marriage. But Kevin is only 50ish; Ginger may be a looker, but what does someone nearly 20 years her junior really want from an older woman? Perhaps he is sticking around to see if the money from the trust will come through—or maybe he really is in love. As Ginger tries to ascertain Kevin’s true intentions, their relationship builds in an inviting way (the couple enjoys simple pleasures, like a day at the beach). Even if Kevin is only after money, doesn’t Ginger deserve to be happy? Maybe there is no point in trying to figure him out: “Other people are always a mystery.” The mystery takes a turn with a troubling revelation; when the truth comes out about Kevin, everything changes. By contrast, the plotline about Ginger’s trust is not particularly enthralling—she seems to be living pretty well even without any further inheritance, and her issues with her “greedy and lazy” stepchildren do not add much to the story. Still, the reader comes to feel for her as a person. Even for the wealthy, “the yearning for companionship lingers on.”

A touching, emotional account of a widow and her surprising suitor.