Chapter 22 Six Months Later
SIX MONTHS LATER …
Our house on Driftwood Lane quickly became a home.
We’d moved in just before Christmas after Lila had helped us choose furnishings that made the beautiful spaces feel even more like us.
A vintage surfboard hung on the living room wall.
Vases I’d picked up over the years at estate sales were carefully placed in different rooms. Bookshelves were filled with Robbie’s science textbooks, Mary Oliver volumes, my favorite romances, and children’s books.
We’d chosen comfortable couches and chairs for the family room, all meant for a casual lifestyle rather than a showcase.
The farmhouse table Lila had found seated twelve, which meant I could finally host my friends for our weekly dinners.
And this afternoon, in front of our friends and family, Grady and I would exchange vows.
Technically we were already married, but I’d promised Madison a real wedding.
In truth, I wanted it too. It didn’t have to be huge or fancy, just an occasion to make our vows in front of our friends and family.
I’d decided a wedding at springtime when the flowers were blooming and the salt air mild was the perfect choice.
We’d decided to have the reception on our patio and enjoy a low-key reception afterward.
We’d just moved into the new house when I’d gotten a text from Jeff, the first one since he’d moved to Austin.
Jeff
Heard you got married again. To a rich guy.
Guess you won’t need my hard-earned money any longer.
But if you want to make it official, I’m willing to sign away my rights in exchange for dropping the child support claim.
I’m about to hit it big with the startup and don’t want all this hanging over my head.
I didn't even hesitate. Whatever Jeff wanted to tell himself about why he was doing it was his business. What mattered was what it meant for us.
So, the following week, all four of us stood in front of a judge, plus Trevor waiting in the car because Madison had insisted he be part of our celebratory lunch.
With a signature and the approving thump of a judge’s gavel, Grady legally became their father.
Robbie shook his hand. Madison, however, broke into spontaneous cartwheels down the aisle of the courthouse. Even the judge laughed.
After some discussion, Grady and I had decided to keep our businesses.
Now that we didn’t rely solely on that income, the joy they brought us made it impossible to sell.
However, I’d cut back on my hours at my shop after hiring a young woman named Clara.
She was only twenty-three and had come to us through Harborlight.
I was training her the way Helen had trained me.
She had an innate ability for composition and symmetry.
In addition, flowers were her passion. She’d told me when I interviewed her that her mother’s flower garden had saved her after the assault.
Their pure beauty reminded her of the good in the world.
When Grady had suggested she apply for my position at the shop, she’d jumped at the chance.
After a week or so, I couldn’t remember what it was like before she’d come to work for me.
A few weeks after Clara started, Dr. Mark Brenner came in to order flowers for a nurse at the hospital who was retiring.
He and Clara got to talking while she put the arrangement together, and he stayed for forty-five minutes.
He came back the next day for flowers he definitely didn't need.
And the day after that. By the end of the week, Clara mentioned, very casually and without meeting my eye, that he'd asked her to get coffee.
"The pediatrician?" I asked, trying not to smile.
"He's very nice," she said, blushing to the roots of her hair. "And he likes Mary Oliver."
I thought about telling her that he'd almost been mine—that an algorithm had once declared us ninety-seven percent compatible.
But looking at the two of them, I understood something Robbie's data had missed.
Mark was never meant for me. He was meant for someone who needed exactly what he was—steady, patient, gentle, and in no rush at all.
On the deck below, workers were setting up for the ceremony.
I’d designed my own arrangements and bouquets, but Clara had insisted on assembling them.
“A bride shouldn’t arrange her own flowers,” she’d said, in a tone that made it clear this was not negotiable.
She’d dropped everything off that morning, and my bouquet was sitting on the kitchen island, waiting for me.
I’d built it around golden and wide-faced sunflowers, anchoring the center like small suns.
Pink peonies surrounded them for warmth, white roses for classic beauty, blush ranunculus for softness, and sprigs of eucalyptus woven through to tie it all together.
It was wild and romantic and a little unruly, which felt just right for this particular bride.
Grady was out this morning doing a few errands. My friends were coming later to help me get ready.
I went upstairs to check on the kids. Madison was already awake, sitting cross-legged on her window seat in her pajamas, looking out at the apple tree.
It was in full bloom, with white blossoms covering every branch.
As I’d known it would, the garden below had come out of its slumber.
Rosemary had erupted into purple flowers.
Daffodils and tulips lined the stone path, and our coastal sage was silver-green, smelling herbal and clean, sharp as eucalyptus but warmer.
Trevor, lying next to her, lifted his head and wagged his tail.
“Morning, baby girl,” I said from the doorway. “It’s finally here. Our big day.”
She turned to me with enormous eyes. “I’m so excited to wear my dress.”
“I’m excited too,” I said.
Her dress was hanging on her closet door, a confection of pink tulle with enormous ruffled flowers cascading down the skirt, making it look like a bouquet of peonies.
Madison had chosen it herself after rejecting seven other options on the grounds that a flower girl should wear a dress that looked like an actual flower.
My girl was quite literal. She’d also insisted on a flower crown of pink peonies and baby’s breath and a matching one for Trevor to wear around his neck.
“Can I get dressed now?” Madison asked.
“Not yet. Breakfast first and then we’ll get you in the bath and wash your hair.” Madison had asked for an “updo” like one she’d seen in a magazine. Grace had generously offered to help, doing two practice runs to make sure she had it just right.
Madison scrambled off the window seat, with Trevor at her heels.
“Feed Trevor,” I called after her.
“I will, Mommy.”
I walked down the hall to Robbie’s room, knocking softly. “Robbie, you up?”
“Yes, Mother. You may enter.”
He was at his desk, working on his computer doing whatever he did with his mysterious coding. Two monitors, a keyboard, and a stack of printed research were arranged neatly around him. He’d been happy as could be since we moved in, spending hours in here with his school work and projects.
We’d also paid for his summer program at USC in full.
I’d never seen him as excited about anything in his life.
When Grady’s mother had set up the trusts for her children, she would have had no idea what it would give to me and my children.
During a recent trip down to L.A. to visit Mara and her family, I’d asked Grady to take me out to the cemetery to visit her grave.
I’d had quite a talk with her, telling her about my kids and how happy her decision had made all of us.
By the end, I’d felt her presence in a warm breeze that tickled my skin. She approved.
I laid a giant bouquet of sunflowers next to her gravestone and promised to come back soon.
“You all ready for today?” I asked Robbie now.
“Adequately prepared. I’ve revised my toast four times. The current version is optimal. And no, you may not hear it. Maximum impact can only be achieved if it’s new to you as well as our guests. A preview would diminish the effect.”
“Fair enough. Do you need anything? It’s about to get busy around here.
” His suit was hanging in the closet. He and Grady had shopped for their wedding attire together, coming home with nearly matching beige suits, light blue shirts and brown leather dress shoes.
Robbie had insisted on a bow tie, as it was a momentous occasion, whereas Grady had opted for no tie at all.
“I am quite prepared, but thank you,” Robbie said. “Tyler and Peter have offered to assist me in my best man duties if I should need them.”
“All right, then. There are some bagels downstairs for breakfast. Please eat one. We have a big day.”
“Yes, Mother. He went back to his monitors for a moment before turning back to me. “Isn’t it interesting that your perfect match had been right in front of us this entire time?”
“Yes, it really is.”
“I have to think about that in regard to Seraphina and Delphine. Perhaps we know their matches already too.”
“I have a feeling you’re right.”
“Mother, one last thing.”
“Yes?”
“You’re happy, right?”
“Very much so. Everything’s exactly as it should be. Now.”
A slight smile. “This has been a most satisfying endeavor. Three down and two more to go.”
“I should never have doubted you kids. You were absolutely right to push us into choosing something for ourselves.”
“I’m pleased to hear it, Mother. I wasn’t sure the dating app was a good idea.
In fact, Tyler and I were both skeptical.
But there’s a kind of intelligence that operates on an instinctual level.
Mia, Grace and Annie all possess it. I do not like to stereotype based on gender but perhaps there’s something to this women’s intuition thing after all. ”
“I’m glad they talked you boys into their crazy scheme.”
“As am I.”