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“Oh, don’t tease him. He’s just fulfilling his life-of-the-party duties.”
I look over into the kitchen and my sister, mother, and wife are shifting around each other like they’ve done this a thousand times. Dylan looks over in my direction as if she knows I’m watching. She smiles with a little wink. I love how she looks with my family. She’s comfortable, settled, and just plain happy.
Hayley seems either a little irritated or flustered. This is the first family event we’ve had since she’s basically moved out. If I know my sister, she’s thrown off by not being here for the kitchen smells and the preparations from minute one.
The smells coming from the kitchen pale in comparison to the visuals they give once on the table. My mother and father pair toward one end, Gran and Pops fill the other, with Wes and Hayley across from Dylan and me. The meal is full of laughter, reminiscing, the slightest hint of work talk, which my mother put a stop to quickly.
As the meal portion of our time winds down, my grandfather stands at the head of the table. “Lily, that meal was outstanding.”
“Thank you, Andy. I couldn’t have done it without Dylan and Hayley.”
“And I suppose I did nothing?” my father jokes.
“Oh, Jack,” my mother snickers.
“Well, thank you to one and all if it will keep the peace. I hope you’ll indulge me before we indulge in what I’m sure is a dessert for the ages. Fifty-two years ago this week, I married the love of my life. Some could look at her and think she was crazy to marry someone like me. When we started, I barely had two dollars in the bank. We struggled for a while until the dream that I believed in, that my father believed in, took off. Now we have a legacy that has been preserved by our son, our grandchildren, and I’m starting to believe their children as well.
“All of this started because this woman, this woman who is more beautiful now than she’s ever been, said one of the easiest and hardest words in the world. She said yes. Evelyn darling, we’ve shared good times and not so good ones. What has seen us through it all is communication, respect, but above all love.
“Let this be a road map for you young ones. If you have those three things, you’ll be able to manifest anything. Please raise a glass with me. Evie, I love you more today than the day we said I do. I hope I can share another fifty years with you. Anything less than that won’t be long enough. I love you. Cheers.”
What my grandfather said seems so simple, yet so many people get it wrong. It doesn’t take much to be happy with your true soulmate. Talk to them. Honor them. Love them. It’s an honest and true road map to fulfilling your destiny as an individual and as a part of something bigger.
It takes a few seconds before anyone is able to speak again. Not even Wes can claim the only dry eye in the house. Hayley seems unable to stop, so she excuses herself while we clear the table for dessert. My instincts are screaming at me to go after her. I can see her out the window standing poolside.
I set a serving dish on the island in the kitchen and as I’m about to go to her, Wes finally gives me the sign that he’s got it. I hate when my sister is sad nearly as much as I hate it when she’s hurt.
Wes
I close the French doors to a crack. The farther I walk away from the opening, the more the noise from inside begins to fade away. My girl is unhappy, and I hate it. Her arms are across her chest in a way to seemingly keep herself warm, even though it’s unseasonably so tonight.
I reach for her slowly in case she doesn’t hear me coming. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Pops is mushy all the time. Can you imagine being with someone for fifty years?”
“Before you, Hayley, I couldn’t imagine fifty days.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I didn’t mean it to be. It’s the truth. Hey. Look at me.”
She spins like a fragile doll in my arms. Her eyes are red, and her nose is pink. Wow. She’s really upset. “This really got to you. Why?”
“Communication. Respect. Love. Wes, we’re really good at the love part, I think we respect each other. But our communication sucks sometimes.”
“Whoa. Where is this coming from?”
“Especially the last couple of days, I feel like we’re alone together. I don’t need to be with you all day, every day. That’s not reasonable. What I do need is for us to be us when we’re together. I know work is crazy right now. I get that. I’m sure one day, not too far from now, that will be me too. I’m communicating that I need your time. I’m communicating that I’m sad. I’m also going to communicate again that I need to meet Hannah.”
“Look, I know I’m pretty old to say this, but this is the first real crack at this boyfriend thing. I’m going to fuck up. I don’t want to. I know I will. You’ve said what you need. I hear you. I’ll do better. I promise.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m unhappy. I’m not. This is new for me. I’m used to being able to help you clean up, not be part of the mess. Does that make sense?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. It does. Okay. I want you to dry your eyes and find your smile. When you smile, the sun dims because the energy is yours.”
“Wow. That was cheesy. I don’t hate it though.”
“That’s a step in the right direction.” I massage my thumbs over the tender skin under her eyes, wiping all of her tears away. “There’s chocolate cake inside. I know you don’t want to miss that.”
