“Was this good?” Erik asked.
“I think so,” she said, her smile so shy that it tugged at his heart.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he heard himself tell her. “Not just at dinner, but here in town, both of you.”
“It’s been really amazing,” she told him. “Gael is really enjoying himself, and we’re both learning a lot about the area.”
“What kind of quality time did you have today?” Erik asked.
“We went to Amish country,” she told him.
He listened as she catalogued everything they had done and seen. And he laughed out loud when shetold him about Gael’s reactions to the Esh family’s goats.
“Sam said you guys brought us treats, but she didn’t mention where they came from,” he told her. “And they were long gone by the time I got back to the Center.”
“How did you spend your day?” Jenny asked.
“Wedding prep,” Erik said. “Just handling a few last details. Speaking of which, I hope it’s okay that I set up a dress fitting for you tomorrow.”
“Oh wow,” Jenny said worriedly. “I never even thought about that.”
“Lydia didn’t get to try it on either. She asked me to order a dress online and have it delivered here so it would be waiting for her,” Erik said. “Ana is ready to make rush alterations. I’ll text you the details. The shop is right here in town and Gael is welcome to hang out at the Center if he doesn’t want to go with you.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Should I be helping more with the wedding stuff?”
“No, no,” Erik told her. “You and Gael are here for a vacation. I’ve got everything else handled.”
“Lydia didn’t know how lucky she was,” Jenny said, then her cheeks blushed pink.
Erik tried not to smile, but it felt good to see even a flash of how Jenny really felt.
“I know you said things were complicated,” he offered.
But the waitress came at just that moment with his steak and her grilled chicken. He figured that by the time they were on their own again, she would take the opportunity to change the subject.
“I guess I did say we could talk about it over dinner,” she said when the waitress had gone, surprising him.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he told her. “I don’t want to pressure you.”
She toyed with the condensation on her water glass for a moment and he hoped he hadn’t already made her feel cornered.
“When I lost Jason,” she said softly, her eyes still on her glass. “I thought that was the end of the line for me, as far as… romance.”
Erik nodded. She had loved him, and her heart was broken from the loss. That was natural.
“And then Gael came to me last year,” she went on, raising her eyes to Erik’s. “And his loss was so much more terrible, but he bears it with so much grace.”
“He does,” Erik agreed softly.
“He put my whole world into perspective,” she went on. “He made me see that I should be grateful to have had Jason at all, instead of feeling sorry for myself that he was gone.”
“He’s a remarkable child,” Erik agreed. “I can see that after just a few days of getting to know him.”
“Everything about my life got one-hundred percentbetter when Gael came into it,” Jenny said firmly. “It’s wonderful to be a parent, of course, to have a child to love and care for. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Gael. He’s taught me so much about compassion, resilience, and joy. And I… well, all I really have to offer him in return is stability.”
Stability was hardly the only thing Jenny had to offer. Even Erik could see that. Jenny understood Gael, built her days around what made him happy, honored his grandmother in their lives, and made sure he knew she had his back, always. She even kept her sense of humor in the face of the boy’s impulsive instincts, letting herself be carried along on adventures that Erikknewshe would never have chosen for herself.
The two of them were made for each other.
