44. Nellie
FORTY-FOUR
NELLIE
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Zoe says, standing from the table with her glass held high. “To finding the love of your life not once but twice, and to believing second chances are sometimes very worth it.”
“Hear, hear!” my dad cheers, raising his glass a little too enthusiastically as lemonade sloshes over the side onto his plate of salad.
“Thank you, Zo,” Teddy says lovingly, squeezing my thigh under the table.
It’s been a long two months. Teddy has been very good at following doctor’s orders and letting me do as much as I can for him. My parents and his family have stepped in from time to time so I could go back to work a couple of days a week once my body was feeling better. Tonight’s dinner marks the end of my parents’ stay and our final week of being here for the foreseeable future.
“Um, Nellie,” Zoe whispers from across the table. “Why does your neighbor keep glaring over at us? Are we being too loud? ”
I look back in time to see Mrs. Dipietro’s lip curl when she catches sight of Kevin zooming around the yard, right before she turns back to her precious tomatoes.
“I believe she’s just upset that dogs exist.” I shrug. “Don’t let that miserable woman ruin your night. Be as loud as you want. You too,” I call to Kevin who is now squirming around on his back, legs swimming through the air.
“What time does your flight leave tomorrow?” Teddy’s dad asks my parents.
“Two-thirty in the afternoon, thankfully. We couldn’t believe there was a flight at a reasonable time.”
“Straight through, or do you have a layover somewhere?”
“A quick stop in Vancouver, and then straight to Manila. But we then fly from Manila to the island we’re living on. That’s the part of the trip I’m dreading.” Mom shudders. “Feels like a plane made out of popsicle sticks.”
“The woman who doesn’t love to fly married a man obsessed with birds.” My dad laughs.
“My wife hated to fly too,” Teddy’s dad says sadly. “Yet she wanted to be thrown into the wind.”
I look over at Teddy, knowing he hadn’t been there for that part, but he’s chatting with his brother and didn’t seem to hear.
While we’re cleaning up, Zoe pulls me into the hall, and I watch as she pulls a small pouch from her purse. “I, or we, have something for Teddy, but I’m not sure how he’ll respond,” she whispers.
“What is it?”
She tugs the strings on the bag and shakes out a black rope bracelet with a silver ring.
“It’s lovely, but I’m confused why you think he’d have a problem with it. I don't think he’s against wearing a bracelet.” Maybe there’s some history there I don’t know about, but I can easily see it on his wrist .
“We kept some of Mom’s ashes,” Zoe falters, her voice breaking and I automatically pull her into me. “He had been…” She pulls back and looks down at the bracelet, her thumb tracing the circle. “Well, let's just say he wasn’t thrilled about Mom’s post-mortem plans. I think he had felt betrayed by her for leaving and then wanting to be spread so far away from us. So we held some back, some of Mom. I had no idea what to even do with them until I saw a video online of putting some ashes into jewelry. This way, she’ll always be close. It sounds nutty when I say it out loud, but he wasn’t handling it well even before he found out about…”
“The second aneurysm,” I finish.
Zoe gives me a grateful smile. “Yeah. I’ll never forgive myself for not telling him.”
“He understands, Zoe. Obviously it hurt him, but he understands why you did it, why you respected your mom’s wishes. I think he’ll be incredibly touched by this gift.”
“Would you mind…”
“I’ll go get him and Will and your dad, then leave you to it?”
She tilts her head and mouths a quiet thank you.
Teddy is standing at the kitchen counter, sorting plates when I walk up behind him, wrap my arms around his chest, and rest my head against his back. “I’m so glad they all came, but I cannot wait until I get you all to myself,” he says quietly.
I answer with a soft “mmm” because since we’ve been home there has always been someone else here, and until his doctor gave him a solid progress report, I had refused to do anything more than kiss him. I’m as desperate as he is to be alone.
“Your sister wants to talk to you in the living room.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll finish this. You go talk.” I step beside him and bump him with my hip. He drops a kiss on my head before turning to leave the room.
I step outside and let Will and his dad know Zoe wants to see them, and then I sit with Will and Zoe’s wives, Stephanie and Jordan, and my parents on the deck so they have the house to themselves.
“What’s going on?” my mom asks, nosy as ever.
“Family meeting,” I say.
Will and Zoe’s wives look at one another before looking over at me, both with tears in their eyes.
“Seriously, what is happening?” Mom pleads, leaning to look through the deck door.
“I’m sure she’ll tell us later, ducky,” Dad says, patting Mom on the arm.
“I love that you call her ducky,” Stephanie coos. “Will calls me baby, and I kind of hate it.”
“Does he call anyone else baby?” Jordan asks.
Stephanie looks appalled by the question. “No.”
“Then embrace it. Sure, it may be a common endearment, but only one person is calling you that, and it happens to be the one you swore to love, honor, and cherish until the end.”
“What does Zoe call you when we aren’t around? I’ve only heard her say Jor.”
Jordan blushes and shakes her head. “That’s only for us,” she says as she absently rubs her very pregnant belly.
“Nellie?” Stephanie turns to me. “What does Teddy call you?”
“Other than ‘The One,’” Jordan adds with air quotes.
“He doesn’t call me ‘The One,’ I can tell you that.” I laugh.
“Maybe he doesn’t say it to you, but that’s how he has always referred to you. We never heard him say your name. We only found out what it was from Zoe. ”
My parents both look like they’re about to melt into a puddle as they watch me blush.
Nellie, Nell, LG, and once in a while when he’s making me feel good, pretty girl. But I don’t feel like sharing with anyone right now. If he uses them in front of others then they can know, but they won’t sound right on my lips. However, if he uses pretty girl, we may have to have a very serious conversation and also never see any of them again.
Thankfully the Fletcher clan joins us before they ask me again. It’s clear to everyone that tears have been shed, and I watch my mom scrutinize every single person before her eyes land on me. I can tell she’s desperate to ask what happened.
Teddy sits beside me, and his hand immediately goes to my thigh. I look down to see the bracelet affixed to his wrist. When I look up, my eyes meet that serene smile I love most.
I do not doubt that this is who is supposed to be next to me until I cease to exist. Teddy told me George had called our relationship years in the making, like it was inevitable. And you know what they say about inevitabilities.