Chapter 75
This has been a dream come true,” Dot said to Mary and Harper as they finished a light bite of bagels and coffee on New Year’s Day at Blackstone in the West Village in Manhattan.
“I can’t believe we pulled it off. New Year’s Eve in the city with our guys from Wisconsin?” Harper said.
“Wonder if they’re freaking out about the prices,” Mary said, watching Jake, Tommy, and Danny ordering for them at the register.
“They’ve been really good sports,” Dot said. She’d planned the trip after Election Night—three days in Manhattan over New Year’s Eve with Danny, Jake, and Tommy.
“We showed them a good time,” Harper said.
“They’ll never be the same.” Mary winked at Jake as he looked back to check on her.
“How are you feeling about taking Jake to Sunday supper before his flight back to Milwaukee tonight?” Dot asked Mary.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said. “I have a feeling everyone’s going to love him more than me. He’ll be the family favorite.”
“Your Nonna is going to make him sit next to her,” Harper said.
“I imagine she’ll be pushing him to move to New York.” Mary knew Jake was up for the challenge of running her family gauntlet. She just wasn’t sure if she was.
“Tell me about it,” Harper said. “I know my brother is going to hit it off with Tommy at brunch today. He’s shocked that I’d date anyone who wasn’t a hardcore lefty. I can just hear him gloating from across town.”
“Danny was a hit at Christmas dinner in Providence,” Dot said.
“My mom and dad told me after that he seemed like an all-American boy with great manners. That’s high praise, coming from them.
And my sister said, ‘He’s the brother I always wanted.
’ They talked about sports most of the time.
To be honest, I was happy to just sit and listen. ”
For Danny, visiting Rhode Island at Christmas was the first time he’d not been at the Taylor farm in many years. Dot wasn’t surprised when Danny fit right into her family flow.
Over the visit, the Clarks mostly steered clear of politics, except to talk up Dot’s work on the campaign and how much she got out of her Wisconsin adventure, both personally and professionally.
When they’d left to travel south to Manhattan, her parents and Anne had gone to the train station to see them off and waved from the platform.
“You made quite an impression on them,” Dot told him.
“It feels good to have them in my corner. And you next to me,” he’d said as they held hands, sipped the Starbucks they’d purchased for the trip, and watched the New England coastline fly by.
For New Year’s Eve, the six of them had gone to a special dinner and dance party at the Summit One building near Grand Central Station.
They’d stayed out until after two in the morning, then all went back to The Standard, where they were staying.
They’d really splashed out on the three-day trip, agreeing that it was worth the money to show them New York to repay them for the good times they’d had in Wisconsin.
The guys brought the coffees and bagels back to the table. They were short a chair, so Mary got up and then sat on Jake’s lap to make room for him.
Danny made a toast. “To The Crew!”
“I’ll drink to that,” Harper said, grateful she’d had plenty of water the night before and hadn’t taken an allergy pill. She had learned her lesson about drinking on Zyrtec during the Wisconsin tornado night fiasco. With everyone gathered, she decided now was the time to tell them about her plans.
“I have some news.” Harper reached for Tommy’s hand. Dot’s eyebrows shot up in anticipation.
“Go on,” Mary said, eager to hear it.
“Well, you gave me that little push of encouragement, and so I applied to a master’s program in creative writing. And I just found out that I’ve been accepted. But here’s the best part, it comes with full funding.”
“Harper, that’s amazing!” Dot said, grabbing her friend’s hand. “Where is it?”
Harper smiled. “Well, you might be surprised. It’s not here in New York. It’s in Iowa. My great Midwest adventure continues. It’s about a four-hour drive from Cedar Falls.”
“Four and a half,” Tommy said. “So it won’t be that hard for me to drive across to see Pippi.
” He put an arm around Harper to show her he was joking and reached into the tote bag to pet Pippi, who was snuggled next to Harper’s side.
Harper leaned into him, glowing with a newfound self-assurance and contentedness.
“And the idea is that when I complete the workshop, the book should be done. Then I can try to find an agent who would be willing to take me on as one of their authors.”
“Wow. Harper! That’s incredible. I’m so proud of you!” Dot said, getting up to hug her.
“Me too! This has been an incredible year for you.” Mary reached across the table and squeezed Harper’s forearm, amazed at the transformation of Harper in just a year. “Kai, who?” she whispered and winked.
“Exactly! It’s kind of amazing it’s all worked out without any of my worrying or planning.”
“What are you going to do until then?” Dot asked.
“A friend of mine from NYU teaches at a pod some parents put together in Brooklyn. She’s pregnant and due any minute, so I’m going to take over for her for one semester. Then I’ll figure something out for the summer.”
“Why not come spend the summer with me? I’ll dedicate your corner at the bar and give you unlimited Diet Cokes,” Tommy said, and she cocked her head and raised her eyebrows.
“I just might,” she said. They’d already talked about that idea, and it was a real possibility.
“Wait. Did you say, ‘teaching pods’? I thought that was just some weird thing they did in Texas,” Mary said.
“I thought so too, but I’ve learned it’s becoming a lot more common even around here. It’s less expensive than paying several tuitions. Instead, they just pay a couple of teachers very well and get better results. Win-win.”
“Who knew!” Mary said.
“Well, here’s to you, Harper,” Dot said. “You’re like a cat, landing perfectly on your feet.”
The group raised their glasses to cheers.
“Well, we need to get going,” Mary said, looking at Jake. “It’s time for him to get the full Staten Island treatment.”
“Think you can handle it?” Danny asked Jake.
“I’m up for the challenge,” Jake said. “I’m prepared to answer every question and eat everything they put in front of me.”
“Careful what you wish for!” Dot said. “The first time I went to Sunday supper at Mary’s house, I couldn’t move for hours.”
“We’re out of here, too,” Harper said, putting on her coat and wrapping a scarf around her neck. “Next stop, Brooklyn. It’s time for Tommy to meet the Adlers.”
“Wow, Brooklyn,” Mary said. “You’re brave.”
“Don’t worry, Tommy,” Dot said. “You’ll fit in perfectly in the People’s Republic of Park Slope.”
“And Climate Change Denier got Rangers’ tickets for himself, my dad, and Tommy. For once, my dad will be outnumbered politically.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Tommy said. “I need these guys to like me.”
“At least you’ll crush in the hockey trivia,” Jake said.
“How are you getting to Brooklyn?” Dot asked Harper.
“Full New York city experience. All aboard the F train—as in effing slow.”
“Yep, I’m bracing myself,” Tommy said. “Kind of hope it’s like the movies. Give me something to talk about at the Sin Bin.”
“Well good luck with that, man.” Danny stood and gave Tommy a bro hug with two slaps to his back. Tommy and Jake repeated the custom.
“All right. We should go,” Harper said, standing to make herself actually get going.
Pippi poked her head out of Harper’s tote at the word “go.” The little dog had loved all the new smells at Central Park and smugly looked at the bigger dogs who didn’t get to go everywhere she did.
“We’re going to walk her in Prospect Park for a little while before we meet up with my family.
My brother is so envious I have a dog. I’m going to make him pay me just to hold her. ”
“All right, guys. See you soon,” Mary said.
She, Jake, Tommy, and Harper headed toward Blackstone’s front door, bracing themselves for the cold.
Jake held the door for them, and Mary was the last in line to leave.
Before she stepped out, she turned and said to Danny and Dot, “Love you. And I mean it. See you soon.” She kissed her fingertips and blew them a kiss.
And then it was just them.
“So, what should we do now?” Danny asked Dot. And she braced herself for what was next.