Chapter 12 #2
She held up a palm. “I don’t mean that in a negative sense. But with this whole Harris mess, you’ve really helped me. I’m thankful. And maybe we can use this baby’s arrival as a chance to reboot?”
His breath came out in a whoosh, emotion overflowing in his eyes. “I’d like that very much, Ana.”
Her phone buzzed in her purse. She ignored it.
To her astonishment, Rick opened his arms like he was coming in for a hug. Ana could, quite literally, count on one hand the times he’d ever hugged her:
Their wedding.
Her high school graduation.
Her undergraduate graduation.
Her master’s degree graduation.
And… now.
He smelled like expensive aftershave and fine cotton, a crisp scent that made her think of fresh money, so new that it threatened to cause papercuts if you handled it the wrong way.
The hug was respectful, no bear hug or big, boisterous sighing.
Just a gentle hug that bridged two decades of so much unspoken. Unacknowledged.
Unable to be said.
And much remained in the silence, but for now, this was good. This was soulful.
This was a start.
Ana surprised herself by not tearing up, her heart full, her nose in the cloth of Rick’s business shirt.
He murmured against her ear, “I love you, kiddo. And that waste of skin can’t hurt you anymore. Won’t let it happen.”
Her jolt was a reaction to Rick’s fierceness, the words incongruous compared to his vulnerable outpouring of emotion, still controlled but far more than she’d ever seen.
This was how he showed love, she supposed. Through fierce protectiveness.
“Thank you. I love you, too.”
The words were true. She wouldn’t say them if she didn’t feel them.
But they were also new. Brand new, because she’d never heard them from Rick.
As they pulled away, he sniffed, just once but enough for her to realize he’d teared up. Her smile felt real, so genuine that it stretched across time.
Healing came in unexpected moments.
“Well,” he said, wiping one eye, looking away but smiling. “Didn’t expect that.”
“Feelings are unpredictable.”
“Which is why I like tax law better.”
Their shared laugh covered the buzzing from her phone, though the sound came through towards the end.
“Need to answer that? We’re done here.” He frowned. “I mean, in terms of Harris and the legalities.”
“I probably should.” She looked at her phone and saw the time. “Oh! I’m late for Brie!”
“Go,” he said, sniffing again. “I don’t want to keep you from whatever bride thing she’s cooked up for you next.”
“It’s a Zoom call with her great-aunt. The one who’s hosting the wedding.”
“Hosting? At her house?”
“Not quite. I’ll explain later.”
“For a wedding that’s eighteen months away, there sure is a lot of planning going on.”
“That’s how these things work.”
“I wouldn’t know. Your mom is the only person I’ve ever married, and we kept it small and simple.” Eyes flashing with something close to shame, Rick looked away. Ana knew exactly why they kept their wedding small and simple.
And oh, so secret.
Because news coverage would have been too much.
“Bye,” Ana said, ready for closure, Rick waving as she closed the door. By the time she got in her car and pulled out of the law firm’s parking lot, she was replaying everything she’d just experienced.
Always, always, she’d felt like a third wheel in her own family, at least since her father had died. Secrets seemed to surround Rick and her mother, but she hadn’t understood the strange tension between them until she’d learned the exact nature of their affair.
And then she’d followed their lead and said nothing.
Brie was at her family’s cheese shop in Rockport.
The drive there was a cleansing time, as she recalled conversations, stitched together patterns, and realized that love was all that really mattered.
Her love for her mother, her love for Rick, Rick’s love for her, and everyone’s love for the baby growing inside her.
“Stick around, baby,” she murmured. At a stoplight, she fished around in her purse for the ginger candy she needed. Dry and sweet, her tongue eagerly worked it to get some saliva flowing, the first swallow helping to quell her low-grade nausea.
A chunk of Ewephoria cheese would help, too.
Hohenadel’s Fromagerie was situated in a small plaza of three shops. On the right was a locally owned donut shop, complete with drive-thru, then the cheese shop in the middle, and a coffee shop to the left.
Sadly, their coffee sucked. Life was so unfair.
As she parked, she looked at the new awning Brie’s father had installed, kelly-green canvas with their name on it and illustrations of various cheeses on either side of the words. It was clear.
They sold cheese.
Entering the store was always a delight because it felt like being greeted at your favorite bar.
“Ana!” Hugh Hohenadel called out from behind the counter, his green apron over the belly he called his very own wheel.
“Hi there, Second Dad,” she joked. His hug was as boisterous and messy as Rick’s had been respectful and tentative.
“Fourth Child,” he joked back, looking at her belly. “Still need Ewephoria?”
She nodded eagerly.
Leave it to Hugh to have figured out that this single cheese, a blend of sheep’s milk and goat’s milk, imported from the Netherlands, could reduce her nausea. Just one slice.
He came around the corner, holding it in a piece of paper. She took a nibble and sighed.
“Ginger and cheese. Weird combo, but it works.”
“Forget about weird. If it works, it works, and that’s all that matters. How’s my first grandchild coming along?”
“Don’t say that in front of Brie,” she stage whispered as her friend came out from the back room. “She’ll get jealous.”
“Are you kidding? You’re taking all the pressure off me! Now I don’t have to produce a baby so soon,” Brie said, though her face changed when she looked at Ana. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“You look… different. Subdued.”
“How about contemplative?”
“Spit it out.”
Ana guarded her cheese. “Never!”
“Hah. You know what I mean.”
The bell at the door tinkled. Hugh looked away from her and called out to the incoming customer, “Hey, Joel! Got some new Camembert for you!”
Brie pulled Ana aside. “Tell me. You met with Rick just now. Was he a jerk?”
“No. The opposite, actually. Everything’s taken care of with Harris.”
“He really gave up parental rights?”
“He signed whatever Rick asked him to sign. It’s complicated, and might involve more legal stuff later, but Rick says the basics are in place.”
“That’s great!”
“It is. And… he hugged me.”
“Rick hugged you?” Brie squealed, catching Hugh’s attention, his thick gray eyebrows shooting up.
“Did the doctor tell him he has three months to live?” Hugh called out.
“Dad!”
“What? He’s the least emotional guy I ever met. Like a robot, that one.”
Brie made a face. “He’s not… wrong.”
“I know. He said he wants me to know he never had a child, other than me. And this grandchild–he’ll be the best grandfather possible. Then he hugged me and told me he loves me.”
Brie’s hands flew to the sides of her face.
“Holy smokes!”
“I know.”
Brie leaned in and whispered, “Maybe Dad’s right and Rick is secretly dying.”
“No,” Ana laughed. “I think he’s going through some emotional shifts. Good ones. It’s nice.”
“I’m happy for you. Who knew a baby caused by Harris being a massive dick could trigger so many good things?”
“I agree with you. I think. That’s a lot to parse.”
As her mood lifted and her stomach stopped twisting, she felt a warmth spreading through her. Brie was right.
So much good was coming.
Her hand fluttered to her belly, then pulled away.
Stay, baby, she thought to herself. Stay.
“Ready for our Zoom?” Brie asked.
“Can’t wait.”
“I wish we could drive up there, but the snow’s bad right now, and the town is mobbed in February.”
Ana grinned. “I can’t believe you’re really doing this. Getting married!”
“We are. Only eighteen months to plan. And now Auntie has offered to host!”
“It’s awesome! Can she manage Zoom? She must be practically a hundred years old!”
“Not quite. In her nineties, though. And still involved in her store.”
“Wow.”
The bell at the door jingled again as Joel left with his Camembert and whatever else Hugh convinced him to buy. Hugh wiped his big hands on his apron and said, “You guys ready?”
“We’re all on the call?” Ana inquired.
“Sure! You know she loves you,” Brie said.
“We’ve visited her almost my whole life. You guys were so wonderful to bring me on family vacations.”
“Not at all,” Hugh corrected her. “I couldn’t leave my bonus child behind!” His face soured. “Your parents brought you when you were younger, right up until the...” he paused, clearing his throat. “The plane crash. Then Rick didn’t want to come.”
Hugh’s face made it clear what he thought of Rick.
“That’s when we started bringing you with us.”
“I wish you and Rick got along better,” Ana admitted as they headed into the back of the shop, Hugh reaching for his go-cup of crappy coffee from the place next door.
Hugh and her stepfather were polite to each other. Barely.
Because Hugh and her father had been close friends, close enough for their families to vacation together for years.
“I wish for many things, too, Ana,” Hugh said softly as they passed by the back office and entered a large room with a cathedral ceiling that acted as a small event space.
A big flat-screen television was on one wall, and Hugh began manipulating a computer behind a serving bar, setting his cup on its top surface.
“How do you drink that horrible swill?” Brie asked him, making a face.
“Like this.” He took a sip and grinned at her.
As they shuddered, he punched some keys.
Suddenly, the three of them were huge heads on screen, all together.
“Aha. Now, the question… will Auntie remember how to log in?” Pulling his phone from an apron pocket, he began tapping.
“She’s how old now? Ninety… what?” Brie asked.
Hugh squinted, thinking. “Ninety… I don’t remember. Older than dirt. Born in 1930something.”
“Dad!” Brie exclaimed, jokingly punching his shoulder. “Don’t be mean.”
Suddenly, the screen split in two, a regal woman appearing. Perfectly put together, her long, white hair was pinned up in a French twist, bright red lipstick on pursed lips that opened like rose blossoms as she looked at Brie.
“My dearies! Ana! Brie! And Hugh–do you wait on customers like that?” Her tone turned from joyful to scolding.
“Like what?”
“Without a collared shirt! Brie, your mother lets him do that?” she asked, apparently scandalized.
“Auntie, he was unloading a delivery truck,” Brie lied, eyes twinkling.
“Well, in my day, my husband dressed properly, even to unload.” She sniffed. “Donald was a cultured man, able to shift between negotiating a contract and cleaning a floor without missing a beat.” Her second sniff made Hugh’s jaw clench. “But enough about that. Have you considered my offer?”
“Yes!” Brie said with glee. “We’d love to get married at your shop!”
“You’ll be the first,” the old woman declared. “Boyce is convinced this is the wave of the future.”
“I thought Boyce was retiring?” Hugh asked kindly. She was his wife’s aunt, but he’d always treated her like his own.
“Boyce? Retire?” Merry blue eyes laughed at the idea. “He’s been saying that for years. Came close a few years ago, when we nearly sold the shop, but now he’s taking a different tack: expansion.”
“Adding a reception hall to the chocolate shop is genius!” Brie enthused. “You’ll book so many weddings there!”
“I hope so,” Great-aunt Lucinda said with a broad smile, the wrinkles around her eyes pulling back to show spirit and delight. “And I am so happy to have you marry here. Every summer, you’ve come to visit, and it’s always been such a highlight.”
Ana smiled back and turned to Brie.
“Getting married in the love-liest place on earth was our fantasy when we were kids. I am so happy it’s happening for you.”
“You know what they say about Luview, Maine,” Aunt Lucinda declared. “It’s the town where everyone has a heart on!”
Hugh, who was mid-sip, sprayed the screen of the laptop. The camera escaped damage, thankfully.
“My goodness, Hugh! Control yourself!”
But Brie and Ana stepped off-camera because they, too, were unable to control themselves. As they laughed and laughed, suddenly, it hit Ana:
In eighteen months, her best friend would get her dream wedding, married at the Love You Chocolate shop in Love You, Maine.
And Ana would be there by her side.
With a one-year-old.
Dreams really did come true.
Even if the journey had a few detours.