He showed her the flyer and she grabbed her heart and choked. He laughed. “Pretty steep, right? My folks bought their first house in Oakland for fifty thousand. But look at the kitchen—she’s right, there’s a lot of space. There’s even a pantry. And most houses this old don’t have an actual laundry room, but this one does. I think maybe it was an afterthought. I think that bedroom, bathroom and laundry room were added on. This is a pretty nice house,” he said, standing a bit taller.
He heard the sound of the front door closing behind Maura. He stood in the center of the living room, watching in appreciation while Jenn poked around in the kitchen. She oohed and aahed over shelves that slid out, custom drawers with wooden dividers, lazy Susan storage in the pantry.
“Lemons, limes, peaches and plums?” she said. “This kitchen? Amazing. It really is nice, even if it is pink on the outside.”
“I told Maura to find a house for someone who loves to cook,” he said.
“Why would you do that?” she asked a bit hesitantly.
“Because, Jenn, you love to cook. And I love you,” he said. “And I am only interested in buying this house if you’ll live in it with me.”
She took a step back and put her hands behind her back. “No, Michael. I’m not going to be your roommate or co-owner or live with you. I’m happy for you that you can buy a house like this, but I’m looking for more security than—”
He reached into his jeans pocket, pulled out a small box and dropped to one knee. He was shaking. He was terrified. He wouldn’t blame her if she told him no.
“I know I fucked up. I even know how I fucked up and I also know it might not be the last time because I’m an idiot, which is why I have to find someone really smart to marry. Jenn, I’ve figured a few things out about why I fell apart. Okay, my mom helped me figure it out and set some new goals. Believe me, if anyone knows relationships...” He flipped open the lid of the ring box and a very respectable diamond ring twinkled inside. “I love you with all my heart, Jenn. Feeling that caught me off guard. I’ve never felt this way before. I’d do anything for you. All I need is for you to give me a chance to prove I can be a better, stronger man. Well, and marry me, because we both know I can’t make it without you.”
“Oh, Michael, I don’t know.” She brought her hands out from behind her back and twisted them. “We haven’t actually even made up since that booty call incident.”
“Sure we have! I apologized, you chastised me, I groveled, you said it will never happen again, et cetera. Makeup complete.”
“I’m not sure...”
“I’ll get you a contract—if I flake out again you can have a million dollars!”
She put her hands on her hips. “There you go again, promising things you don’t have and won’t have. Unless...” She put her hand over her mouth. “Did your father leave you a million dollars?”
“Of course not. He left me a very nice down payment on a house in San Rafael that I’ll be spending my first weekend in painting. Jenn, baby, my knee hurts. I love you so much. I’m sorry I was an idiot. This ring needs to be on your finger!”
She looked at him, down there on one knee. “It is very pretty.”
“It’s very pretty, but if you want to exchange it, I’m good with that.”
“Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to say yes, but I’m not walking down the aisle until we’ve had a very long talk and some premarital counseling.”
“I can do that,” he said.
“And I’m staying with my parents until we resolve a few things.”
“Okay. I hope we resolve them quickly.”
He reached for her hand and slid the ring on her finger. Then he struggled to get to his feet. He rubbed his knee and thought, Very romantic, Mike. He lifted her chin, kissed her hungrily and said, “Well? Do we make an offer?”
“How else are we going to save this neighborhood from the Pepto-Bismol house?”
Anna was feeling pleased with the way things were shaping up at her house. Jessie and Mike had been over on Sunday evening; they ate pizza and decorated the house. With Mike carrying the boxes in from the garage and Jessie pointing and ordering placement and Mr. Wriggly running around in circles, occasionally stealing a decoration, it took only a few hours. There was still pizza left when Joe showed up. Anna’s children put the boxes in the garage and left as soon as possible.
How grown-up and discreet Jessie and Mike were, Anna thought.
Anna had done the whole DNA search and had received almost a catalog of connections in return, but she honestly hadn’t given it much hope. All she really cared about learning was if she had an actual brother she’d never been told about. Wouldn’t it be ironic if her husband had kept a child secret from her and her mother had done the very same thing. But when her chart of ancestral heritage came along, she began to lose all faith in the project. Her DNA was supposedly French, Bulgarian, Irish, Portuguese and a large part Chinese. The Chinese just threw her. Oh, there was a smidgen of Native American and it seemed that everyone with any experience in this kind of search reported the same sort of thing.
The catalog of possible familial links didn’t seem to offer anyone who could possibly match with her.
But then Phillip Winston contacted her. He’d been looking for family members because he’d been adopted and had never known any biological family. As an attorney, he specialized in estates—wills, inheritances, trusts, foundations, that sort of thing. And he’d spent nearly his entire life on the east coast. His adoption records, which had been sealed and were anonymous, had originated in Modesto, California, which was the only real plausible connection Anna and Phillip had to each other. He shared only a couple of the ancestral origins—a little French and Irish. But he did want to explore all possibilities and he asked her to please resubmit her sample and he said he would do the same.
“Haven’t you been curious?” he asked her in a phone call. “I know you had your mother and could ask her questions, but didn’t you wonder about extended family?”
“For no reason I can explain, it was never that important to me, until recently when my mother, who suffers from dementia, remarked on having given away ‘the boy.’ By the way, that came into the same conversation when she told me if I saw her daughter to please ask her to come and visit.”
“I’m so sorry, Anna,” he said. “That must be so difficult.”
“It’s very hard at times, but she was a wonderful mother,” she said. “She had a hard life but she was fearless.”
She did absolutely like Phillip on the phone. He was a very nice man; he asked all the right questions and welcomed her questions, as well. They got off the subject now and then and discussed a little politics and other things. He was widowed but had three grown children and a couple of grandchildren, and had only lost his parents a couple of years before.
Their second DNA submissions came back. His was the same as before but hers showed more French, Irish, Portuguese, a small amount of Native American ancestry, the Chinese connection was miniscule and it triggered an even stronger connection to Phillip Winston.
“It’s possible I’m your half brother,” he said.
Blanche had lived in Oakland when she was born, but it was possible she had once lived in Modesto or maybe gone to Modesto for medical treatment.
“Have you tried asking your mother if she had a son?” he wanted to know.
“Yes, but after that one mention she didn’t seem to recognize me or the question. Sadly, I don’t know how much longer Blanche will be with us. She sleeps much more than she’s awake lately.”
“I know it’s very close to the holidays and I probably couldn’t ask for a more inconvenient favor, but I’d like to take a chance on seeing her. In case, you know. In case I learn that she’s my mother. Would you allow it if I promise not to get underfoot? I’ll get a hotel and rent a car.”
“I understand your desire to do that and I won’t ask you not to, but given my position in the court, first I’m going to have to ask my clerk to vet you.”
“Of course. I’ll email you my information. I’m very easy to find and research. I’ve lived in the same house for twenty years, I have no criminal record and am in good standing with the bar.”
“I’m just afraid you could be disappointed,” she said.
But he felt he had to try.
Anna mentioned this to Phoebe and Phoebe offered to get a little research done on Phillip Winston Esq. of Rhode Island. Then she mentioned it to Jessie and Michael and she would tell Bess the next time they were together.
Mike said, “Are you shitting me?”
Jessie said, “All right, I hereby order you to stop coming up with any more missing or secret family members.”