Chapter Thirty-Seven Elise
A few days after the reveal of my home office, I call Ma for a lunch date.
We spent our little getaway with her two brothers and their families. Our relatives live in Detroit and rent a house by Lake Michigan for a summer weekend every year. Mom joins all the time, but this is the first reunion I’ve attended in ages. I caught up with my uncles, aunts, and cousins, leaving little private time with Ma.
Today I’m eager to share the news that Randall and I are taking our relationship to the next level.
Moving in a mere months after we first met probably sounds like lightning speed to some people. But I’m a big believer that chronological time is a guide for every day, but not a measure of meaningful experience. In this short amount of time, Randall has been my inspiration and sounding board. A friend. A lover. My everything.
I feel closer to Randall than I ever thought possible between two people. We’ve shared our insecurities and fears. We’ve celebrated the good times and stuck by each other through the bad.
Our disappointments, like the controversial reception of my play or the shortened playoff run for the Mavericks, hurt less because we withstood them together. He’s my harbor of care and my companion throughout the hurricane of our passion. It’s that combination of peace in my soul and mayhem of our bodies that surprises me every day.
And all the red flags I had vigilantly dreaded— belittling my dreams, making me feel neglectful and trite, or passive-aggressive bullshit of a disgruntled boyfriend— they simply didn’t exist. I’ve never met anyone who understands me like Randall does.
Most of all, I love waking up with him to start the day and then having my best friend in bed with me at night where we talk and laugh and make love.
Ma knows I love Randall, and I can’t imagine she’d be surprised that I want to live with him. But still, this is a conversation that deserves private time and baked goods.
Café Serenity is a short stroll from her bank branch downtown. It’s one of our favorite lunch spots because of its eclectic décor of exposed brick walls, local artwork, and comfy booths. There’s always a decent lunch special, too, although lunch is a mere prelude to the most buttery scones in all of Columbus.
To maximize her hour-long break, I’ve ordered our sandwiches and tea, grabbed some scones, and secured a booth.
When she enters, I’m immediately taken by her uncharacteristic expression. She’s slightly tanned and dressed for summer, so on the outside, she’s a pristine picture of a businesswoman strolling the city. But the lines over her forehead and blank stare are signs of stress. They definitely weren’t there when we were on vacation.
I stand to get her attention and offer a hug before she scoots into the booth. We sit side by side.
“I got you the chicken sandwich and today’s scones are lemon-blueberry,” I announce.
It’s important to get food details out of the way, otherwise who can concentrate?
A server brings us a pot of brewed tea.
We serve each other, which is customary.
We do it silently, which is not.
The chatter around us dims till all I hear is the clang of my teaspoon stirring sugar.
I’m excited to move in with Randall, but seeing Ma’s uncharacteristic sullenness is giving me pause. I take a deep breath.
I say, “I have something to tell you” at the exact moment Ma says, “We need to talk.”
We chuckle at the timing. Ma reaches over and pats my hand affectionately.
“You first.”
“Randall asked me to move in with him and I said yes.”
Band-Aid-ripping quickness is the way to go with Geraldine Chen. She won’t suffer fools or delays.
She nods. “When?”
“After Lake Michigan. Although he’s been hinting at the possibility for weeks.”
“Was he pressuring you?” She sounds concerned.
“No! Oh my god, not at all. It isn’t pressure. He makes it easy to be with him all the time.”
“Because you love him.”
“Because I love him,” I echo. Ma smiles and chuckles.
“I guess I’m out a hundred bucks.”
“What?!”
“Lily and I had a bet. She said you’d move in together before the end of the year and I said next year. So, if it’s any time before January first, she’d win. For the record, I was pretty sure it was going to happen before Valentine’s Day.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Have you told Lily yet?”
“No. I wanted you to know first.”
“Lily and I noticed how much you relied on him when you were in Cleveland.”
“Relied on him?”
“That’s not the right word. More like leaned on Randall. Trusted him to be on your side. You were never like that with your past boyfriends.”
She’s right. I learned to keep my dating life and my theater work separate, because it’s too hard to explain what my passion means to me. It wasn’t only Miles who saw theater as the competition for my attention or a frivolous, irrelevant hobby.
Randall, however, considers my work as an extension of who I am.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend who truly understands what’s important to me,” I say earnestly. “He inhabits the high-profile world of professional sports, and yet Randall never makes me feel like my dreams are less significant.”
She puts an arm around me and, like a little kid, I slide down to lean my head on her shoulder.
“I’m happy for both of you,” she states and kisses me on the forehead.
The sandwiches arrive and we let our conversation stray to all corners of our lives. I show her pictures of the office Randall decorated and we gossip about everything and nothing: the new neighbors across the street, her bingo folks complaining about the church hall, the fall programming for local theaters, my progress on the new play.
It’s the usual hodgepodge of updates that I know, in my heart, we’ll always share no matter where I live.
We’re at the end of our pot of tea when I realize something.
“You said we had to talk,” I venture. “Before I gave my news, you wanted to say something.”
“Oh, that’s fine. It can wait.”
“Why? Just tell me. Is it a work thing?”
“Sort of, but not really.”
“What does that mean?” Ma is a manager and often brings work home, but she’s never dodgy with my questions.
“It’s about me. And Sienna.” She speaks slowly, not out of hesitation, but because she’s studying me, logging my reaction to each word.
Before we went to Vancouver, I shared with Randall the glimpse I caught of something different between the two of them. Nothing came up since then; at least nothing obvious to me. Probably because I had been spending most of my time at my boyfriend’s place.
But if Ma is saying what I think she’s saying…
“Are you and Sienna dating?” I burst out, giddy with the possibility.
Her face flushes and her smile beams.
“We are. I mean, I guess we are. Actually, yes. Yes, we’re dating.” She sounds flustered, yet her expression is all joy.
“Ma, this is amazing!”
“She’s my best friend. I was scared to risk our friendship.”
“She’s loved you for a while, hasn’t she? Not only as a friend.”
“I was blind to it. She didn’t want to risk our friendship, either, although there’s been something between us for the last couple of years. Nothing concrete, but an awareness of each other that wasn’t there before. Does that make sense?”
My entire life, my mother knew the answers. She taught me how to follow my dreams and how to overcome my failures. Whether it was food or a hug or advice, Ma was ready to provide exactly what I needed.
Even when my father passed away and she was at her most depressed, she found a way out of the darkness for both of us.
Now, she’s asking me if falling in love and finding joy makes sense?
I tear up a little because for once I have what she most needs: affirmation.
“Yes, it makes sense! More than that! Loving each other fully and honestly is meant to be. You’re friends and lovers…” I pause because she hadn’t disclosed all the details, and I shouldn’t assume.
“We are. We, um, we are,” she says, her deepened blush confirming that Sienna is her partner in every way.
“I’m so happy for you. When did you know you were bi?”
“I fell in love with your father and built a life with him. A person’s gender was never the primary reason I found them attractive. So, when you put me on those dating sites, I realized I was equally curious about the women as I was about the men.”
I can’t help but groan at my missteps.
“I bet Sienna hated me for that. Randall said I was out of line. I should apologize to you and to her.”
Ma lets out a giggle and I raise a disbelieving brow. She’s always freely expressed laughter, but giggling like a schoolgirl is new.
Oh, how love changes us all.
“Actually, the whole dating profile is what pushed her to tell me everything. If she never confessed how jealous she was, how much longer would it have taken to get our feelings out in the open?”
“Aha! My bumbling efforts were not in vain.”
“You should still have a talk with her about it. She’s not mad at you, although she’s worried about how you’ll take the news.”
“Worried? Is she kidding? I’m ecstatic. We should have you and Sienna over for dinner. A double date. Oh my god, that would be incredible.”
“It would.”
“How does this change things at work?”
“We have an appointment with human resources. I’m her boss, so we’ll have to sign all the consent agreements. She’ll move to another branch across town.”
“Well, since you won’t see her at work, maybe she’ll have to spend more time with you at home.”
“Maybe,” she agrees coyly.
“And now that your daughter isn’t around, you can really go wild.”
“Ordering the party lights and DJ as soon as we’re done here,” she deadpans.
“Ma, that’s not a house party, that’s a wedding!”
She chokes on the water she was gulping. When she clears her throat she gives me an amused side-eye.
“Don’t get any ideas. Randall was right that you stuck your nose into my business by starting a dating profile. No more messing with other people’s love life. Promise?”
“Are you sure? It’s never too early to check out venues for next summer,” I tease, holding my phone up like a prop.
“Elise!”
“Kidding! I’m just glad you’re with someone who makes you happy. You deserve all the happiness in the world,” I gush.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m happy for you and Randall, too.”
When we part ways I realize that “happy” is an insufficient word to capture everything I’m feeling.
There’s excitement for a future I couldn’t have predicted, as well as contentment that the changes enhance rather than overturn life as we know it.
I rush home, bursting with news of Ma and Sienna.
It’s one of the countless blessings that I’m looking forward to sharing with Randall.