December 11th #3
“The offer of the carriage house stands. There’s room for all three of you when Damon visits. And I’m sure he will as often as he can. But I think you and the baby will need your own space. Tell Sammy he can live in the main-floor guest suite. It has a private entrance.”
“Can I see it? And can we video-call him? I called him earlier, crying and all depressed.”
“Of course you can.”
I hug her. “Thank you, Mom.”
“Grandma,” she says with a smile. “Did you know that I already have a grandma name picked out?”
“No, I didn’t. When did you decide that?”
“Surprisingly, just the other day. I had lunch with my friend Ellen, and her son and his wife are expecting their first. We had a long discussion about it. I told her mine would be Niki. Even though my name is Nicole, no one has ever called me that. Do you think it’s cute?”
“I think it’s adorable, Mom.”
“May I?” she asks, holding her hand out in the direction of my belly.
“Oh, I, um … I want Damon to be the first to feel the baby kick, if that’s okay?”
Mom’s grin turns down, but she says, “Of course.”
And at that moment, the baby gives me a swift kick in the side.
I don’t know if that was an I agree with you for waiting kick or an I’m mad at you for not letting Grandma feel me kick.
“Do you have any ultrasound photos?”
“I do, but—”
“Of course, after you show Damon,” she says.
“Let’s get Sammy on the phone.”
“Are you okay?” Sammy asks the second he answers. “Did you go to your mom’s? Did you tell her? Or did you just wallow in ice cream?”
Mom pops her face into the screen. “Hi, Sammy!”
“Nicole. How are you?” he asks.
“Well, to be honest, I’m a little shocked to learn that my daughter is pregnant and hasn’t told the father. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, even on the sly!”
“I wanted to, trust me, but your daughter—well, she can be stubborn sometimes.”
“You are forgiven. And I’m very happy that I’m going to be a grandma.”
“And Grandma happens to have a three-bedroom carriage house on her property that she’s graciously offered. It will be perfect for me and the baby.”
“And Damon, when he comes to visit them,” Mom adds.
“So, you’re ditching me?” Sammy asks, looking distraught.
“She’s not,” Mom says. “We’re going to be like one big, happy family. And while you are welcome to stay in the guesthouse, I have another space that might be better suited for you.” Mom turns to me and says, “Why don’t I just show you both?”
She leads us around to the side of the house, just off the garage.
“This space has its own entrance,” Mom says to Sammy while I pan the area to show him the beautiful, lush landscaping.
“It’s gorgeous,” Sammy says. “I’m sorry, Nicole, but I don’t know exactly where you moved to.”
“A few blocks’ walk to the Country Club Plaza.”
“Perfect location,” he says, but he’s looking at me curiously, and I can tell he’s not so sure about living with my mom. “I would love to be able to walk to work.”
Mom opens the door, and we find a beautifully designed guest suite. Upon entrance is a hallway with a sparkly mirror hung over an ornately carved wooden console table. Next is a kitchen, which is open to the living space. Beyond that is a set of French doors.
It’s decorated in soft creams and blues with lots of gold sconces and beautiful paintings. The furniture is baroque, possibly a little bit gaudy for Sammy‘s taste, but then he starts squealing.
“Oh my gosh, tell me that it will be furnished and I get to live in that space as is,” Sammy gushes.
“Well, that’s up to you. We can have the furniture put into storage if you want to bring your own, or you can keep it how it is now.” She pushes open the double doors, revealing a large bedroom suite.
“It is literally divine,” he says, and when he sees the marble-clad bathroom, he looks so happy that he could cry.
“So, what do you think?” I ask him.
“I think it sounds like a fantastic idea. You are both amazing, and yes, yes, yes, I would love to live there. So, I’d be here, and Ainsley and the baby would be in the guest cottage?”
“I think Ainsley needs to talk to the father of her baby before she makes another decision,” Mom says.
“For sure she does,” Sammy says seriously. “But she’s stubborn. It doesn’t matter what I say. She refuses because she has some warped sense of trying to protect Damon even though he’s a grown man and he doesn’t need it.”
“Look, we aren’t gonna discuss this right now. I’m telling him tomorrow.”
“I also think you should make the decision about where you live with him. About what job you will take.”
“I’m taking the dream job! There is no discussion about that!”
“Ainsley,” Sammy says, “you need to consider all possible options. Damon is going to want to take care of his baby. Bond with his baby. Live with his baby. And I’m only saying this now because you’re standing there with your mother and not in the same room with me. I’m sorry.”
I turn and look at my mom. “And we’re paying you rent.”
“Sweetheart,” my mom says, “I’m not paying rent, so therefore, neither are you or Sammy. It’s a big, beautiful home, and I think we should enjoy it because it’s not very often that you are given a gift like this.”
“One hundred percent,” Sammy agrees. “Like, I can’t even. Can I see the rest of the house?”
“I’ll tell you what,” Mom says to me. “Why don’t I take the phone and give Sammy a tour while you go sit down and put your feet up? You look exhausted. Oh, and did I mention that the house comes with a chef?”
“What?” Sammy calls out. “What are you even talking about?”
“Well, Lori and Van have a chef, and he likes to walk to work, and because he lives nearby, he’s going to continue to use this kitchen to make their meals.
He will then drive them out to their new house, but because, in some ways, that will be inconveniencing us”—Mom laughs—“it also means that he’ll cook for us too. His food is amazing.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” Sammy says.
I don’t sit down, but rather give my mom the phone and follow her outside.
She gives Sammy a view of the front of the house, then enters into the marble entry with its massive two-story staircase.
There’s a beautiful den off the front, a billiards room, and a bar as part of the entertaining space, and then we go into a grand great room with a two-story marble fireplace that looks like it was dropped in from an old French estate.
Sammy is oohing and aahing and screaming with delight over how beautiful the place is. He comments on the design elements and how he’s going to find so much inspiration here.
Next stop is the designer kitchen, outfitted with every possible top-end appliance. My mom stops in front of a set of wooden doors and opens a hidden refrigerator. Inside is all sorts of food.
She looks at the containers and says to me, “How about a chicken enchilada? You’ve always loved those.”
“That actually sounds really good,” I tell her, causing her to pop it in the microwave.
While it’s heating, she sets me up with a trio of warm queso, chips, and salsa—something she planned for us to snack on later. As soon as the enchilada is warm, she serves it to me, then takes Sammy on a tour of the rest of the house.
I eat the main dish quickly, realizing that I was really hungry, then snack on the rest.
About twenty minutes later, they come back. Mom excuses herself for a moment while I talk to Sammy.
“Well, what do you think? What do you think of the cottage? What do you think of this living arrangement? Like, seriously, Sammy, it’s gonna be different, or it’s like moving home with our parents or something.”
“Yeah, rich parents. I mean, are you kidding me? A chef? Did you see the pool? The fitness room? I mean, did your uncle not take any of the furniture? Like, why is it still fully furnished?”
I laugh. “I don’t know. Probably wanted new stuff for the new house.”
“Well, regardless, free rent, free food. I really don’t know how we would turn that down.”
“Agree,” I say.
“Can I say one thing that I’ve wanted to say for a while?” Sammy asks.
“Sure.”
“I do appreciate the fact that you’re trying to protect him. It’s wildly romantic in a twisted sort of way.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“And Sammy is going to be an amazing fairy godfather.”
“I know you will be.” My eyes fill with tears. “And I really appreciate your support.”