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Feeling light as a feather, I practically skip into the dining hall, where Gerta, the woman in charge of the kitchen, hooks me up with the good stuff, all of it packed expertly into a beautiful basket.
But when I return to my mother and Georgina outside, holding the basket in one hand and a red blanket in the other, Mom bursts into tears at the sight of me.
My stomach drops. Shit. “It’s okay, Mom. We don’t have to do this if—”
She launches herself at me. “This is the best day of my life!” She pulls back from our hug, smiling broadly. And I’m relieved to realize her tears are happy ones. She asks if I got a sandwich for Lee, her boyfriend.
“Of course. And don’t worry, I remembered you telling me once that he hates mustard with a fiery passion, so I specifically made sure Gerta didn’t put a drop on his sandwich.”
Mom touches her heart, looking like the name “Eleanor Rivers” was just announced after the phrase “And the Oscar goes to...” And, again, Georgina flashes me a look that makes me feel like I could jump, from standing, straight to the moon.
Biting back a wide smile, I say, “Come on, Mom. I know we can’t have a picnic without Lee. That dude’s the life of the party.”
Mom looks like she’s about to cry again, so I tell her to go find Lee while Georgina and I set up our feast.
Wiping her eyes, Mom heads off, leaving me alone with Georgina... who’s now staring at me like I’m Superman who’s just saved the world from a hurtling meteor.
“It’s just a picnic,” I say, my cheeks burning.
“It’s not just a picnic.”
I’m blushing too much to reply, so I hold up the blanket. “Help me spread this out, will you?”
“My pleasure.”
We spread the blanket and lay out the food, and by the time Mom appears with Lee, the blanket looks ready for a photo shoot with Better Homes & Gardens. Brief introductions are made between Lee and Georgina, and a conversation about yoga ensues. At first, Georgina tries to include Lee in the discussion, but when she realizes that’s a fool’s errand, she leaves the silent man alone to quietly eat his mustard-free sandwich and stare at my mother like she walks on water.
And what am I doing in this Happy Family Portrait? A whole lot of nothing, really. Smiling. Looking around at the trees and flowers and birds and bees. Enjoying a damned good sandwich while listening to my mother and Georgina chatter away. And it’s amazing. I tilt my face up toward the sun and enjoy the sensation. The peace infusing me. The certainty I feel that I’ve found The One. I can’t believe Georgina is here. And that she knows everything about me, and loves me, anyway. No, actually, as she’s told me repeatedly, she loves me even more because of what she’s learned about me.
All of a sudden, I feel like I’ve been hit by a lightning bolt of pure joy and peace and certainty, and I realize this, right here, is the happiest moment of my life. Which is a crazy thought, considering it’s such a big, fat nothing of a moment. A simple picnic in a garden with my mom and the woman I love. Plus the man my mother loves. But it’s enough. It’s not the way the storybooks show families. Or love. But this is what I have. And it’s mine.
Moisture threatens my eyes, but, as usual, I push it away. I look at Georgina. She’s laughing with my mother—who, in this moment, looks ten years younger than she did when I visited her by myself last month. How did Georgina do this? Nobody in my “real life” has ever entered this secret vault, this place where I visit my mother and wish in vain she could be different.
But, contrary to my fears, the sky isn’t falling to have Georgina here. I feel nothing but good. Happy. Free. My eyes drift to a little brown bird hopping across a nearby tree branch. And then to a rosebush that’s bursting with colorful blooms. I look at my mother’s smiling face as she chats with Georgina. And I know, as surely as I know my name, I truly do love Georgina Marie Ricci with all of me.
Chapter 23
Reed
“Are you flying out of LaGuardia or JFK this time, Mr. Rivers?” Tony, my driver, says, as Georgina and I settle into his backseat.
“Teterboro, actually. We’re flying private today.”
“Yes, sir.” Tony pulls away from the curb. “Did you have a good visit with your mother today?”
I look at Georgina and smile. “We had a wonderful visit. My mother wouldn’t let Georgina leave until she promised to come back with me next time. Or without me. Either way.”
Tony’s eyes crinkle in the rearview mirror with his smile. “You’re heading back to LA now?”
