Chapter 27 Tallulah
Tallulah
Irolled out of bed late Sunday morning after taking a nap to recuperate from my night with Jamison.
We had gone to a nighttime festival, where local artisans showcased their art, music, and food.
I left with delicious crusty bread and two jars of jam I was eager to try.
Then Jamison and I went dancing, which kept us out late—but not too late.
We were Gen-Xers, after all. It was nice to wake up in his arms, cook breakfast together, and enjoy a leisurely meal before coming home.
But I was still tired, and the nap had rejuvenated me.
I stood in the bathroom, brushing my teeth, thinking about how magical the past two weeks had been.
Leslie, Tyler, and I met with Ochoa and his team again and presented the revised presentation.
Though we had to wait a full two weeks to hear from him, I had suspected we would have good news based on his improved attitude when we met.
Sure enough, last Friday he reached out and confirmed he liked our ideas, and with a few tweaks to the partnership program, he wanted to roll it out right away. He also wanted to lock us all into longer-term leases, which all the owners except one accepted because she planned to sell her business.
Jamison and I talked every night and occasionally during the day, but the weekend belonged to us.
My daughter knew I was seeing someone, but she was preoccupied with planning her wedding, which meant Jamison and I could spend time together without me having to explain my behavior to my nosy daughter.
Wrapped in a colorful silk robe and with my hair down around my shoulders, I strolled into the kitchen. Blossom sat at the table, looking at something on her phone, her bare feet tucked under her on the chair.
"Morning," I said in a cheerful voice.
"Morning," she said, lifting her gaze before returning her attention to the phone. "You're in a good mood."
"It's a pretty day. I'm alive. I can't complain. Have you eaten already?"
"Yes. I ate at Manuel's before I came home."
"How is my future son-in-law? Haven't seen him in a while." I opened the refrigerator and removed one of my wellness shots.
"Hmm."
I tossed back the drink. As usual, the ginger burned a little as it went down. "What does hmm mean?"
"We went over the wedding budget by a few thousand dollars, and he's being a pain."
"Do you need help?" I asked.
"No, no, it's fine. We'll figure it out."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, I promise. Forget I mentioned it." She waved her hand dismissively. "Did you hear from the landlord yet?"
"Oh, I haven't had a chance to tell you because we haven't seen each other. They accepted our proposal!"
"That's fantastic!"
"I know. I can't believe it." I then explained what would happen next.
"You took the lead, didn't you? So your ideas won them over."
"Well, they weren't only my ideas," I hedged. I poured myself a glass of orange juice.
"I know Leslie and Mr. Morris helped, but you did a lot of work on the project. You should be proud."
"I am proud, but I can't take all the credit, like I said. I had help, other than Leslie and Tyler."
"Who else helped you?"
I hesitated. Jamison and I agreed we needed to tell the kids about our relationship, but we deemed it best to wait until after the wedding, which was only two weeks away.
"Manuel's father. Jamison." I drank the juice and then placed the glass on the counter.
"Oh."
That one word carried a lot of weight. Neither of us spoke for a while.
"It's great that you're getting along so well," Blossom said. "Interestingly enough, Manuel said his father took yoga a while back, and he had never done that before or shown any interest in yoga."
Why was Manuel always sharing his father's business?
"People change as they get older, develop new interests and drop others." I moved around the kitchen on autopilot, rinsing a mug I hadn't even used and setting it on the drying rack.
"Just seemed strange since he passed on spending time with Manuel to go to the class."
"Did he?" I tried to sound neutral, but my voice became higher at the end, and I could feel Blossom's bold stare in the back of my head.
"You know what I was thinking the other day," she continued. "You haven't dated anyone seriously since you and Dad divorced."
This was not the conversation I expected to have on Sunday morning. I turned to face her. "I have dated," I said carefully.
"Not seriously."
Crossing my arms, I leaned my hip against the counter. "What made you think about my dating history?"
My daughter shrugged. "I don't know. I guess because our lives are changing. Manuel and I are getting married in a couple of weeks, and I'll be moving out permanently. And you've been... different."
"Different how?"
As far as I knew, I was behaving the same. Wasn't I?
"I can't quite put my finger on what's changed. You seem more settled or maybe more content?" She placed the phone on the table. "You've been alone a long time, Mom."
Her words landed hard, a glaring indictment of my life since the divorce.
"I haven't been lonely," I said.
"I didn't say lonely. I said alone."
The silence stretched between us, thick but not uncomfortable.
"Is it safe to say you're seeing someone now—someone you like a lot?" she asked.
"Yes." I didn't see the point in lying, and if she point-blank asked me about Jamison, I would tell the truth. I wasn't ashamed of our relationship. We had just decided to keep it under wraps a little bit longer.
Blossom inhaled, as if she had made a decision. "You're seeing Mr. Harris, aren't you?"
There it was.
Before I answered the question, I had to know what specifically gave me away. "Why do you think I'm seeing Jamison?"
"Because he helped you with the presentation, and the whole yoga thing was weird.
The two of you were super close at the bakery, and I also remember the day I came by the store for food and he was there.
I knew something was off, but I was too preoccupied with looking for work to pay close attention.
Also, you don't roll your eyes or look annoyed when his name comes up anymore. "
I was impressed by her deductive reasoning. "Yes, Jamison and I are seeing each other."
I braced myself, unsure how she would react. I expected at least a gasp, maybe a horrified expression. Possibly a "Mom, he's my future father-in-law." None of that happened.
She nodded slowly, as if everything made sense now. "I figured."
I pushed away from the counter and sat at the table across from her. "We didn't plan to get involved, and I know it's complicated, and whatever you feel—"
"Mom," she said, gently interrupting, "I'm not upset. I think it's great. Now I don't have to worry about you."
I sat up straight. "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, I'll be moving in with Manuel pretty soon. When I was in college, I came home on weekends and holidays, but now you'll be all alone—permanently. I know you'll be fine, but even if you weren't, you would pretend you were. I didn't want that for you."
My throat tightened.
"I love Dad, but I know he wasn't always nice to you. I heard the comments he made, and I figured that's why you've been careful since the divorce."
Was that what I had been? Careful? I hadn't sat down and really examined how I had been living since my divorce from Karl. But if I had to define my romantic life post-marriage, careful was a fair assessment.
Blossom reached for my hand and squeezed. "Look, I don't need details because... ew, but I like the idea of you and Mr. Harris together. You'll be good for each other. You'll loosen him up, and he'll keep you grounded."
Emotion swelled in my chest, and I patted my thigh. "Come here."
Blossom stood and sat on my lap. This might well be the last time she ever did.
She wrapped her arms around me, and I hugged her, breathing in her unique scent and remembering when she used to fit under my chin instead of looking down at me like she did as an adult.
"Satisfy my curiosity. The night you came in late and locked the door, had you been with Mr. Harris then too?"
"Yes. It was our first time... together."
She gasped. "So you've been keeping your relationship a secret all this time?"
"It wasn't really a relationship then, but I would say we have been keeping it a secret the past couple of weeks as we've been trying to make a go of it."
"Do you love him?"
"We care about each other," I said.
I shied away from using the word love at the moment. I don't know why. If anything, my daughter had shown me there was no timeframe around falling in love. Not when you met your person. But I think much of my hesitation came from fear. I wasn't quite ready to say I loved Jamison yet.
"Good enough. You deserve someone who makes you happy, and you deserve a life outside of being my mom."
I shook my head in disbelief. "Such wise words. I guess I didn't do too badly raising you. You had me worried for a while, though, when you accepted a piece of paper as an engagement ring."
She grinned. "Come on. You know it was symbolic."
I grunted. "Symbolic of lack of preparation."
She rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter now, does it? I have a ring." She held up her hand so I could see. "And I'm getting married in two weeks."
"Yay!"
"Yay!" Blossom threw up her hands in joyous abandonment.
I couldn't be happier for her.