“I chose the wine,” Vance said. “So no need to worry about that either.”
Everyone laughed and began to gather their things. After everyone was gone but Delphine, Annie and me, we coaxed Poe back into his carrier with yet more treats. He’d be an even fatter cat if we kept this up. Annie hoisted the carrier up, met with a loud yowl from Poe.
“Shush, Poe, you’re fine,” Annie said, turning to walk toward the door.
Delphine lingered behind, taking my hands. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. Never more sure of anything in my life.”
We locked gazes, and the promise was in her eyes, as I’m sure it was in mine. This was it. We had found each other at long last.
“Guys, come on. The party’s waiting,” Annie called from the back door, holding the carrier. “And Poe’s getting impatient.”
To prove her point, he let out another long yowl. So long in fact that I was surprised it didn’t collapse his lungs. Regardless, I took Delphine’s hand and we all walked out the back door to thecar together. And I thought,yes, this is it. This is my family.One spoiled cat, one amazing teen, and the most exceptional woman I’d ever known. Joy flooded through me, causing me to stagger slightly.
Delphine looked up at me. “You good?”
“Better than good.”
We shared a smile while Annie put Poe’s carrier in the car. Then, I set out with my family to celebrate with our friends who had cheered us on, wiped our tears, and given advice. And to the kids who had set the whole thing in motion.
By the timewe arrived with Poe in his carrier, the party had already started. Gillian had had a huge banner made that said:Congratulations Dorian and Delphine. Food and drinks galore were spread out on the big island, with the French doors wide open to the patio. A summer playlist came through the speakers.
Trevor, Esme and Grady’s sweet yellow Lab, was asleep under the shade of a chair. Lucky, on the other hand, was out and about, his puppy energy taking him from smell to smell, tail wagging and occasionally barking enthusiastically.
Poe was having none of it.
We unzipped his carrier, but he refused to come out, turning around so his butt was the only thing showing.
“He’ll be fine,” Delphine said.
“You don’t have to convince me,” I said, chuckling.
Soon, we had glasses of champagne or sparkling cider in our hands. Vance made the toast.
“I’ve known Dorian since we were kids. We’ve both gone through some stuff since we were tossing a frisbee back and forth on the beach. I’d like to think all of it made us better men.I know there is no better one than Dorian Flynn. Delphine, to say we’re happy for you doesn’t even come close. May your love grow stronger as the years pass. Here’s to all of us growing old together.”
Glasses clinked as everyone congratulated us again.
Annie raised her glass of cider. “I’d like to make a toast too.”
Everyone quieted.
“First, Dorian, thank you for loving my mom as much as I do. I knew you were the one for her. And for me too. Now I’ll have a dad just like everyone else here. The five of us kids set out to find the perfect partner for our mothers, even though we knew we could get in big trouble. Although we’re not directly responsible for all of the marriages in this group, we’ve decided that our interference was a disrupter enough to set everything in motion. Robbie can mathematically prove that to be true, if anyone’s interested.”
“No one is,” Grace said cheerfully.
“You’re all welcome,” Robbie said.
Everyone laughed, which seemed to perplex Robbie as he clearly hadn’t thought what he said was funny.
“Here, here,” Grady said, holding up his class. “To Robbie’s equations and compatibility tests.”
More clinking of glasses.
After the toasts, the party loosened into itself. The kids put on their swimsuits to jump in the pool. Adults gathered in clumps in various spots on the patio, talking and laughing.
I stepped to the edge of the patio, just for a minute. The air had already turned into that quick coastal cool that arrives the moment the sun lets go of the day. Below me the water held the last of the light, bright orange bleeding to pewter. Waiting fog was a low gray line offshore, ready for its cue.
