Chapter 48
NOW: DIANA
“Mom, what's this?” Lily said, leaning over Diana’s shoulder.
“What’s what?” Diana said mischievously.
She had been waiting for either Lily or Maggie to notice.
Considering Lily was now in closer proximity than Maggie had been as of late, it was no wonder that Lily noticed first. They were in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner drinks with Julia.
The cocktail recipe had been Julia’s idea.
“Is that a tattoo? Holy shit, it is!” Lily said and Diana smiled, looking over at Julia, who of course already knew about the new ink on the back of her right shoulder, almost at the top so that she could turn her head and see it, always there, right over her shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah, well your mom is still cool, kiddo,” Diana said, gathering three glasses in her hands and making her way to the dining room. Julia followed behind her and Lily, still balking, punctuated their little line of cocktail carriers.
“Alright, so this was a recipe picked by Julia and executed by Lily, you’ve been warned,” Diana said as she set a glass in front of Maya, then Maggie, and finally Hanna. Julia handed her a glass while rolling her eyes, and Lily sat down with her own glass.
“Please, I could be a bartender,” Lily said. Diana watched Hanna and Maya exchange looks and then begin to laugh. She laughed along with them and Lily scoffed in mock offense.
They were seated around Diana’s oval cherry wood dining room table.
They rarely used the table unless Jay and Michaela were visiting, but it felt right to be seated there now as a whole family.
Maggie had officially moved in just in time for Thanksgiving.
Well, the house had sold, and there were various boxes scattered upstairs. That was good enough for Diana.
Diana sat at the head, with Julia and Maggie next to her, Maya next to Maggie, and Lily next to Julia.
They had one unexpected but welcomed guest, Hanna, who was seated next to Lily.
Diana and Maggie had invited her to come, especially since she still was in an awkward place with her mother.
Diana shot the shy young woman a wink and appreciated the warm smile she returned.
She was absolutely welcome at her table.
They had a whole spread in front of them.
Maggie had done most of the cooking, with help from Maya and Julia, and Hanna had hung out with Diana and Lily, who were assigned tasks throughout the cooking process.
It had been nice to get to know Hanna, who was nothing like Mary, and who Diana suspected was more like Evan, though she didn’t know that much about him.
He always had an energy about him she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but she thought she got the same vibe from Hanna.
“So before we dig in,” Diana said, “we Blakes usually go around and cheesily tell each other what we are thankful for.”
“Same,” Maya and Maggie said at the same time, and then laughed.
Hanna shifted in her seat and said, “We usually say a special grace.” She chuckled awkwardly.
“Yeah well, will you be offended if we don’t?” Julia asked sincerely.
“No, no way, let’s do the whole thankful thing, I have only seen that on TV,” Hanna replied.
Diana watched as Lily bumped Hanna with her shoulder and Hanna’s face reddened.
“Always good to start with new traditions. Hanna, would you like to start?”
“Mom! Don’t put her on the spot—”
“It’s okay, sure,” Hanna cut off Lily’s objection.
Hanna cleared her throat and then said, “I don’t think it is a secret that things are a little tense for me at home, and I just am thankful I have two amazing partners and was welcomed here for the holidays.
Where I work, I see a lot of what happens when people are rejected by their parents and don’t have anywhere else to go.
I will never take this or any of you for granted and am incredibly thankful. ”
Lily wrapped an arm around Hanna and pulled her close and Maya blew her a kiss in a way that would look silly on anyone else, but it somehow came off as sweet the way she did it.
It reminded Diana so much of Maggie. They didn’t normally use this as a moment to cheers but Hanna raised her glass anyway, so they all did and took a sip of Julia and Lily’s concoction.
Truthfully, it wasn't as bad as Diana had feared. Still wasn’t being served by any bar worth its salt.
“Hmm, not bad.” Maya said, nodding at her glass.
“Well I guess I’ll try to follow that up,” Maya said, and everyone laughed.
“I am of course thankful for these two hotties, but I am also so thankful for my mom. My brave and strong mom, who I would not be who I am today without. I am grateful for your newfound happiness and to be your daughter.”
After their raised glasses, it was Maggie’s turn. “I am thankful for now, but I am thankful for then, too,” was all she said, but Diana heard her meaning of accepting the past and present loud and clear.
“I am thankful for now, too,” Diana said and then she heard Lily make a noise that sounded like she was just remembering something.
“Wait, are you thankful to the artist who gave you your first tattoo?” Lily said, pointing a finger at her Diana while smiling. “You thought I would just forget!” Diana exaggerated the rolling of her eyes.
“Tattoo?” Maggie said, turning to her.
“Yeah well, I didn’t want you to be the only one inked up,” Diana said, winking.
“Mom, you have a tattoo as well?” Diana heard Maya say, but Maggie kept her eyes on her.
“Sometimes I need a little angel on my shoulder reminding me of things.”
“What kind of things?” Maggie said.
“What does it say?” Lily pushed.
Diana pulled down her loose scoop neck so the whole tattoo was easily visible to Maggie. They had been extremely busy lately and then Maya and Lily got home, so Maggie hadn’t really seen her naked in the two days since she got the tattoo.
“Careful, it is a little itchy and peeling a bit,” Diana heard Lily and Julia make a small noise that sounded like “ew”, but she ignored them and watched Maggie read the words on her shoulder.
“In the end it will still be us,” Maggie said slowly, and then her icy blue eyes cut to Diana, who felt her face crack into a wide smile. “A little angel on your shoulder, huh?”
“I figured I would be able to see it from just over my shoulder, but also serve as a reminder for any onlookers, especially if they stumble or fall,” Diana said and Maggie beamed back at her.
“Well, if you’re going to fall, it’s best to do so forward,” Maggie said, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Okay, well, so much for not having to see the love eyes,” Lily said and Hanna laughed.
“Excuse me, we see enough of the three-way love eyes you all give each other,” Diana said, finally turning to look at Lily.
“As the non-linked-up one here, it is pretty stifling,” Julia joked.
“Speaking of, Jules, any new crushes—” Maggie began but Julia cut her off.
“We are giving thanks. Dee, were you done?”
“I am thankful for the now, like I said, and for what’s to come,” Diana finished raising her glass.
Julia cleared her throat. “Well sorry mine isn’t going to be all love sappy.
But I am thankful to have this table grow, and I am thankful for new beginnings with old friends, and to our awesome community center and camp —that we have yet to officially name!
” she said, raising her glass. And then, Julia also made a noise like she remembered something.
Diana smiled, recognizing where her daughter had gotten it from.
“Shit, sorry, Lil, you can go in one sec, but I keep forgetting to tell you that I heard from Janice Woodward the other day.”
“From high school?” Maggie asked.
“Yes!” Julia said, “and I keep forgetting to tell you. I came across her on Facebook while trying to reconnect with some folks around the community center and the school, which is how I just remembered, anyway, she and Henry Erickson have some hotshot literary agency — Woodward & Erickson and they are willing to be donors and help in any way they can.”
“Oh, Woodward & Erickson? One of my favorite writers is repped by them,” Maya said and all heads turned to her. She smiled sheepishly and then said, “I only know because I have been thinking of querying a few pieces.”
“Amazing, Maya,” Hanna said, and Diana watched Lily give her a wink.
“Grace Colburn is repped by them and well, I fucking love her work. It’s a bit dark and gritty, kinda like Billie Simone Baldwin, incisive social commentary, passionate. Makes sense they’d be repped by Janice Woodward, legend.”
Diana sat and marveled for a moment at the idea that an old friend of hers from high school, who she regrettably had lost touch with, was being touted as a ‘legend’ by one of her daughter’s girlfriends. It felt pretty cool actually. She turned to Julia.
“Damn, could have married up, Jules,” she said teasingly.
“Don’t remind me, I loved that girl, and she never gave me the time of day, oh well, what else is new,” Julia said, smiling, but there was a sadness in her eyes.
“Glad to hear she’s got such great writers in her circle though, and she’s doing well.
I think she mentioned some of her writers would be willing to come do sessions at the camp and what not.
Maybe we can get this Grace Colburn,” Julia said, shooting Maya a smile.
“I’d die, in the millennial, figurative, sense,” Maya said.
“Cool, well then I am thankful I brought that up,” Julia said, winking and cornily smiling at the segue. She turned to Lily and gestured to her. “Let’s wrap this up so we can finally eat, this goes a lot longer with six people instead of three.”
Lily lifted her glass and beamed around the table. “I am grateful for today, it is so wild seeing all of you around this table and it fucking rocks.” Diana gasped in a mock attempt at admonishing Lily's language, and everyone raised their glasses.
Diana had to agree, it fucking did rock.