“Well,” Duncan said. “Eddie has been alone for a while. It’s nice that he’s making friends. He rarely hits it off with people so quickly.”
“Oh,” Rory said. “I’m glad I could make him comfortable enough to talk to me.”
“He’s raised Parker for the last four years by himself,” Catherine said.
“What happened to Parker’s mom?” Rory asked.
“She was in a car accident,” Duncan said. “He and Isabella married when they were twenty. She had Parker at twenty-four. They didn’t think they’d be able to have children. It was wonderful when they did. But then she passed away on Parker’s second birthday.”
“That’s awful,” Rory said. “That poor man. And his son, losing his mother so young.”
Eddie raised his son alone for four years and ran a business on top of it. He must be exhausted.
“Yeah,” Catherine said. “I tried to set him up a year ago. But he said no woman could replace Isabella.”
“I’m sure it must be hard to move on after something so tragic.”
“He did say no woman,” Catherine said. “We knew he was bisexual. But we didn’t know what kind of guys he’d be interested in.”
Eddie mentioned his parents forced him into the marriage. He might be looking for the right man now.
“Oh,” Rory said, “I get what you’re saying.”
They wanted him to set Eddie up with Bernard. Bernard said he wasn’t ready to date. He’d introduce them after he got to know Eddie better and see what happens.
“We’re glad you see it,” Duncan said. “So, we’ll leave it at that.”
Rory needed to breach the subject with Bernard. He didn’t want to just come out and say it.
He said his goodbyes and headed home with an extra piece of cake and a piece of cobbler. He was going to enjoy this food, no matter what his mother thought.
Rory put his desserts in the fridge and sat on the couch.
“Mina, what am I going to tell Bernard? I’m not sure if Eddie would be right for him. But what if they hit it off?”
Bernard deserved to be happy, but what if Rory’s feelings for Bernard were more than friendship? Rory wanted to understand these feelings before it was too late. He didn’t know if he should tell Bernard about Eddie. If Bernard and Eddie hit it off, then where would that leave him? Would he find love? Rory needed to sort this out. He had some choices to make.
Chapter Eleven
Bernard
Saturday, May 16
BERNARD WRAPPED THEgift for Sarah. It wasn’t the best-looking wrap job he’d ever seen, but the ribbon was cute. He smiled at the memory of his mother teaching him to take the edge of scissors and scrape it across the ribbon to make a curl.
The telltale sting of tears stung the back of his eyes. It had been twenty years since he held his mother’s hand, hugged her, or heard her voice.
He picked up the phone and called his dad.
“Hello,” his father said.
“Hi, Dad,” Bernard said in Portuguese.
“Hey, Bernardo. How are you, son?”
“Just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m doing all right, how are you?”
