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“Yeah. It was fine. Don’t worry.”
We all take our seats around the table as Violet coos to herself and plays in a baby walker. I like the sense of history here. The idea that baby Reese crawled on the exact same paths as his daughter is doing now. That toddler Reese sat here scowling at his broccoli, that teenage Reese wolfed down meals fit for men twice his size, and on and on like that. Years’ worth of him and Grams and the parents he left behind.
I want to make memories like that. I want a table of my own and kids of my own to go around it. And I want my own mom there, too, I realize. Right now, she’s not the biggest fan of Reese. To be fair, the last week or so hasn’t given her many reasons why she should be.
He’s trying, though.
We’re trying.
Not long after we start eating, Grams casually speaks up. “So when are you planning on marrying this lovely mother of your child, Reese’s Cup?”
Reese promptly chokes on a bite of honey-baked ham, while I splutter on a sip of water.
Grams folds her hands on the table, looking a little bit smug and a lotta bit amused. There’s not an ounce of shame on her face as she arches an eyebrow. “Well?”
He looks at me, at her, at me, at her again, then at Violet, just in case the baby has any idea what’s happening. No dice there, though. Finally, he looks at me again. “Did you?—?”
“I guessed,” Grams interrupts.
“How the hell did you guess? She’s not that far along!”
“I’ll tell you like I told her: a seasoned woman knows. I can’t believe you thought that I wouldn’t catch on, Reese. I’m not that senile.” Her smirk deepens. “You never answered my question, however.”
Reese stares at Grams, dumbfounded. I can’t blame him. I felt the same when she sprung the question on me.
Marriage, though?
I chance a look at Reese. Marriage isn’t a new concept to either of us. He’s all but properly proposed to me already. And with everything going on, marriage seemed like something to put on the backburner.
My eyes meet his. There’s a warmth in them that I don’t expect as the shock leaves his face and something new settles in. “As soon as possible,” he says quietly. “When it’s the right time.”
My heart skips a beat and I look away with a flush.
I can hear Grams’s smile in her voice. “No pressure. I just want to know when I get to start planning things.”
Lunch goes on with light conversation. My mind wanders to what happens after all of this. When Holly is no longer a problem, when the dust settles, what’s next for me and Reese? Do I want it to be marriage?
I push the idea away as the day moves on. We take Violet outside with us to play. Grams’s backyard is huge with a pool and huge, leafy trees that offer plenty of shade when it gets too hot. Violet loves the old woman like nothing else.
As much as I like playing with ViVi myself, I like watching her with others, too. It reminds me that Violet will always be taken care of, no matter what. That gives me a sense of calm that I didn’t have before we visited here.
Even if my own world burns down, hers will be okay.
I like that.
When the evening rolls through, I think that we’re going to head home. Instead, Grams speaks up. “You two are staying the night, right? I’m not keen on having you out on the highway in the middle of the night.”
“You do know it’s safer to drive during the night than during the day, right?” Reese says, amused.
“Nonsense. All the crazies are out at night. Come on, stay. Don’t make me beg you. I’m an old lady but I still have my pride. Besides, you can leave early enough to make it back at a decent hour. And,” she adds, winking at me with a friendly elbow nudge, “I make a mean breakfast spread.”
I don’t protest. Hitting the bed now feels better than getting crammed into a car for the next few hours. Reese has a room here and we settle in with Violet safely bundled up in the room beside ours. Part of me wants to bring her into bed with us, but I know it’ll make going home tomorrow harder if I do.
Since we didn’t bring any clothes to sleep overnight, I strip down to my bra and panties. I realize as I do so that it’s the first time Reese and I will be sharing a bed in weeks.
I’m not apprehensive like I was when we reunited. Maybe it’s how tired I am now that we’re settling in.
Aw, hell, who am I trying to kid? I missed Reese. And this day with his grandmother and Violet has only made it clearer to me just how much I’ve missed him. It’s funny how I can be so annoyed with him and still want him so bad. I guess that’s what love is. A cacophony of emotions that shouldn’t make sense together and yet somehow, they do.
