“Thank you for that. Anyway, we decided that the best way to acknowledge our gratitude would be to make donations to her scholarship fund, in her name.” Teresa hands him the envelope. Glenn takes it, tears in his eyes, and holds it to his chest.
“You are all so wonderful, and I know she’s wonderfully proud of all of you. Thank you for this.” He reaches in and we do a four-way hug, all of us wiping tears. “Now, let’s get back to this wonderful celebration!” he says, and Teresa heads off to check in on her kids, and Lynne goes to say good-bye to Angelique Morris, who is headed for the door.
“A moment, Eloise?” Glenn says.
“Of course.”
“I wanted to ask you a very important question.”
“Sure, what’s that?”
“Well, you know your mother and I have been spending some time together.”
“Yep. I think it’s great the work you’ve both been doing at the center. Those kids are so lucky.”
“Well, I feel like the lucky one. In a lot of ways. When Helene was sick, we didn’t leave anything on the table, we said everything that needed to be said. And one of the things that she said to me was that she would be very disappointed if I spent the rest of my life alone. As long as I didn’t date her friend Holly, who was always getting drunk at parties and squeezing my butt.”
“I’d say that’s a fair request.”
“I said I would take it under advisement, but deep down I never really thought that would be something I would be thinking about.”
“I sense a but coming . . .”
“But . . . then I reconnected with your lovely mother.”
Holy shit. “She is the loveliest.”
“Yes, she is. And I’ve come to really appreciate her company, and humor, and I find that I look forward to spending time with her in ways that I hadn’t anticipated.”
“Glenn, are you asking my permission to date my mom?”
“Permission? No. But for your blessing, yes. If it wouldn’t make you uncomfortable, I think I would like to ask her on a proper date.”
I smile at him, feeling the small lump grow in my throat. “Glenn, my mom and dad were very much like you and Helene in many ways, a true deep love match. And I know my dad would have never wanted my amazing mom to be alone either. You have all my blessings, and what is more, I’m rooting for you. My mom hasn’t said anything to me specifically about her feelings for you, but I can tell you that she certainly has seemed happier and perkier since the two of you started spending time together. I can’t imagine anyone else in the world I would rather see making my mom happy.”
Glenn grabs me in a bear hug. “Thank you, darling girl.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“Any advice?”
I think about that. “I think you both will need to make new memories. Don’t fall into the old habits, don’t go to the old favorite places you both used to go in your previous lives. Have new adventures together. Keep the start fresh.”
“That is excellent advice.”
“Also? She loves the opera.”
“Really? So do I.” He smiles.
“My dad hated it. I’m just saying.”
He laughs. “So did Helene. She always said she could nap for free at home. Opera it is!”
He hugs me again, and then goes back to his place next to my mom. She smiles as she sees him approach, and it makes my heart bust open.
“You okay over here?” Shawn says, coming over.
“I’m more than okay. I’m perfect.”
“That you are.”
And maybe for the first time in my life? I believe it.
SEPTEMBER 2017
I unroll the plans on the kitchen table. They look spectacular. The roof will get raised up a bit and dormered out, and the space is divided into a master bedroom suite, with his and hers walk-in closets, a huge master bath, and a small connected room, labeled Nursery/Sitting Room, which makes me smile. The basement will be dug down, and that space turned into two bedrooms, a large rec room, and a bathroom, in addition to laundry and mechanicals and storage. We’re replacing the existing garage with a bigger one, and putting a deck on the top. Shawn and I talked about buying something new when we decided to move in together last month, but he knows how much I love this house.
“Besides,” he said, “once there are kids, we are really going to want to be walking distance to Grandma and Great-Auntie Claire.”
Couldn’t argue with him on that, so we decided to renovate this place to make it more of a family-friendly home. He hasn’t proposed yet, but based on the way my mom looks at him these days, I get the sense that permission has been requested and happily granted, and I just try not to have any expectations about when that question might get popped. Not that I’m lacking any joy after this summer.
The month I spent with Ian in New York was transformative for all of us. Ian got to the final two, and lost graciously to his new best friend Audrey, as happy for her win as he would have been for himself. The two of them were rock stars for the whole competition, and even when they were on opposite sides of team challenges, they were still supportive of each other. Producers said that the highlight of the season was during a bread challenge when Audrey accidentally dropped her whole tray of rolls, burning her hand. While she was crying and being attended to by the medics, Ian quickly knocked out a new batch of dough and left it for her on her station with a note that said “You can do it.” Not a dry eye on the production staff. Ever since we got back, the two of them have been attached at the hip, Audrey coming over for joint lessons, and Ian going with her family to some of the fancy restaurants that they frequent.