Chapter 44 Gigi
The fact that her mother was engaged hadn’t sunk in yet.
Maybe because Gigi had been genuinely unsure what Eloise’s answer would be or because it had all happened so quickly. Gigi
was pleased, at least, that Clyde had consulted her first.
“You can ask her,” Gigi told him when he’d come to talk to her while Eloise was out at euchre. “But I put the odds at thirty
percent she’ll say yes.”
She thought this might deter him, but he appeared bolstered. “Thirty percent?” he said. “You’re saying I’ve got a decent chance,
then!”
They’d gotten Rebecca on the phone. She’d been more diligent with her questioning: Did Clyde think it was too soon? (At their
age, he said, they knew what they wanted and weren’t keen on wasting time.) Where did they plan to live? (Mackinac half the
year, Scotland the other half.) What was it about Eloise that made him so sure it was the right fit long term? (He rattled
off an excessively long list, most of it amorphous qualities about the feeling that stirred deep in his soul when he looked
into her eyes, but there were some practical compatibilities too.) Rebecca wanted to know, too, if he saw any conflicts in
their faith. (He didn’t; he believed in God in the sense of universal oneness; Eloise had said before that she wouldn’t push
Christianity, just needed him to respect it.)
By the time the call wrapped, both girls had decided he might as well shoot his shot. Given the way Gus had left without saying goodbye, Gigi was in no place to defend him.
Gus had texted her a few days ago. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer. Give me a call and we’ll plan a visit out here!
Gigi wasn’t sure where here was. She hadn’t replied yet. She liked holding the cards, or at least the illusion of it.
Gus’s arrival on the island—and then his departure—had helped Gigi see some flaws in the stories she’d been telling herself
about him. And flaws in the stories she’d been telling about herself. Like how if she stayed on the move and traveled all
over and avoided Mackinac, she would be more loved by the father whose footsteps she still kept trying to follow in.
But love wasn’t won by traveling or auditioning or inventing extreme scenarios to test your parents. It wasn’t won by anything
at all. Love was only ever given, only ever gifted. And as for freedom, well, that didn’t come from moving from city to city
or relationship to relationship. Freedom came from standing in one place, holding your ground and showing up exactly as you
were.
Lillian had helped her see that. Gigi was proud of her old yet new friend. She hoped she would avoid wrecking their friendship
a second time. The odds seemed good, better at least than the thirty percent she’d given Clyde, and he’d managed to prevail.
Now, days after the proposal, Eloise was still drifting around the house in an ethereal daze.
“Am I the only one who ever cleans up around here?” Gigi said, affecting annoyance when she found Eloise’s dirty mug on the
coffee table.
“I’m sorry, I could’ve sworn I already cleared it,” Eloise said. She twirled her new ring.
“You’re allowed to have engagement brain. But only for a week. Then standard chores and mother-daughter infighting is set
to resume its regular programming.”
“Lillian was right, you know,” Eloise said. “You’d make a very good mayor.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Gigi said. But the idea was growing on her. After years of being a tiny fish in a big pond, she found something tempting about being a big fish in a tiny pond. “Besides, it would mean living here full-time.”
“Well, it might be nice to have someone to watch the house while I’m in Scotland,” Eloise said. “Or I’m sure we could find
you an apartment in town.”
“I’m not running for mayor,” Gigi said. Eloise’s smile turned up. “Why are you giving me that look?”
“I’m not giving you any look,” Eloise protested.
But Gigi could read her mother’s expressions better than she’d been able to at the start of summer, and she was clearly skeptical
of Gigi’s denial. Gigi didn’t mind. It was nice to know she thought she could do it.
“I heard rumblings that Dr. Kentwood might be staying beyond summer, you know,” Eloise said. “Deirdre is trying to persuade
Fred to retire and have Dr. Kentwood take over the medical practice.”
The news stirred something in Gigi. “Why are you telling me that?”
“I just thought you might be curious,” Eloise said innocently. “Given you like to meddle in other people’s business.” She
grinned.
“Right,” Gigi said. “ I’m the one who meddles.”
“You did meddle with Clyde.”
“Only to get back at you for meddling with James. And I wouldn’t complain. You got a fiancé out of it.”
“Yes,” Eloise said happily. “I suppose I did.”
“Are you changing your name?” Gigi wanted to know. “To MacDougal?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Maybe I’ll go back to my maiden name or take Clyde’s. It might feel strange being married to Clyde
while having my ex-husband’s name.”
“It’s not just your ex-husband’s name,” Gigi said. “It’s mine too.”
Though Gigi had long judged Eloise for continuing to go by Jenkins, deep down she was glad they still shared a name.
So much about her mother she seemed to have taken for granted: her presence, her name, her location, her love. Gigi was trying not to do that anymore, or at least do it a little less.
“I’ll give it some thought,” Eloise said. Then a shadow fell over her face. “Do you think it sounds crazy? That I’ll be living
half the year in Scotland?”
“I think it sounds amazing. Maybe I could go with you.” Gigi said it lightly, disguising how much she’d actually been thinking
about it. She didn’t want Eloise to think she was trying to glom on as a third wheel.
Eloise looked longingly out the kitchen window, onto the open land and lakes she’d called home her whole life. “I just don’t
know how I can leave Mackinac.”
“She’ll be okay,” Gigi said, patting her mother’s shoulder. “She’s tough like us.”