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Marco lifted the albums that were sitting on the table and set them on his mother’s lap. Then he leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “We’ll be back in shortly.” He turned to his mom. “Try not to talk her ear off too much, and keep those potty-training pictures to yourself.”
“Shush, you,” Aleah said. “We’re starting with your baby pictures and going from there.” She stated it matter-of-factly. “Potty training is nothing to be ashamed about. Every child goes through it. You will do it with your own children. And we will laugh about the pictures later.”
“Mom,” Marco complained. “You can at least wait until the second visit to show Eve pictures of me sitting naked on a toilet.”
“Fine, I will acquiesce to your wishes,” his mother said. “Now, shoo.” She flicked her wrist. “Go help your father.” Once he left the room, Aleah turned to me, grinning. “Let’s start with the potty training, shall we?”
I giggled. “Whatever you’re willing to show me, I’d love to see. My parents have very few baby pictures of me and my brother. I can’t wait to see all the adorable pictures of Marco.”
“Why do you have so few photos?” she asked.
I hadn’t planned to get into that with her, but if we were going to have real conversations, it was going to come up eventually. “My parents went through a pretty bitter divorce starting when I was two and my brother was a newborn. There wasn’t a lot of time or wonderful family moments to stop and take pictures. Or so I’ve been told. Don’t get me wrong, we do have a few. There are the standard ones at holidays and birthdays, but very few day-to-day, around-the-house ones. I don’t think it would’ve even occurred to my mother to take a potty-training picture. Then, when my parents finalized the divorce a few years later, I went to live with my mom, and my brother went to live with my dad. Both my parents worked full-time, so they were gone a lot.” I shrugged. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, because I didn’t know anything different. I was happy for the most part. My mom and I have a great relationship. But as we got older, my brother came over less and less, and I went to my father’s less and less. It was just easier that way.”
Aleah made a clucking noise as she patted the top of my hand. “It sounds like your parents made the best decisions they could during a very tough time. Not every parent gets it right, but most of them do try. There aren’t any rulebooks out there to follow. At least I haven’t found any perfect ones. I would love to see the baby photos you do have one day. I’m sure you’re as adorable as my Marco, with all that red hair and your gorgeous smile.” She patted my hand a few more times, then opened the first book, pointing to a picture of a newborn Marco swaddled in a hospital blanket with little ducks all over it.
My heart literally melted.
This woman was truly a gift. Yasmine hadn’t been lying in the least. She was so comfortable and easy, full of love. “He’s so cute. Look at all that hair.”
“Oh yes, he was born with a full head of dark hair. Wait till you see him when he begins to crawl.”
We’d been at the albums for a while when Marco and his father finally came back in. We’d been laughing and cooing over Marco. The potty-training pics had been hilarious. He’d been so proud of himself for getting it right.
“It’s time to eat,” Marco said, taking my hand and helping me off the couch, then his mother. As we walked into the dining room, where Antonio was busy placing the food on the table, Marco leaned over and whispered in my ear, “How’s it going?”
“It couldn’t be better,” I assured him. “Everything is perfect. Your parents are amazing.”
________
“Oh my goodness, Marco’s mom sounds precious,” Jenny said, taking a fork to her pancakes. “And so kind. If you and Marco get married, an amazing mother-in-law is a rarity that needs to be cherished. Not saying that mine isn’t great, because she is. But she has her moments. Getting the gold standard in-laws is hard to come by.”
Summer set her orange juice on the table. It was nine thirty in the morning, and we were gathered at the Egg’s Nest for breakfast and a debriefing. “I haven’t met Xander’s mom yet, but we’ve video-chatted a few times, and she’s completely lovely. But Aleah really does sound like the gold standard. You’re so lucky.”
I finished a bite of omelet and reached for my coffee. “She was beyond amazing, and so was Antonio. We had such a lovely dinner. I can’t wait to go back. And honestly, the baklava she made was out of this world. She promised to teach me how to make it the next time we come over.”
“Her cooking is to die for. So yummy,” Yasmine said. “And Matt’s mom is standard nice. She tries, but it’s not as effortless as it is with Aleah. I’m going to miss seeing her on a weekly basis.”
“Speaking of that,” I told Yasmine. “She wants you and Matt to join us for dinner sometime soon. She’ll be sad if you don’t keep in touch. She asked all about you and would absolutely welcome regular visits from you.”
“See?” Yasmine shook her head. “How many women would be that gracious after you and her only son break up? I didn’t expect them to be so nice about it. I mean, I knew they would be okay eventually, but I expected them to have hurt feelings. Kind of makes me wish we’d done it sooner, but we were so scared to let everybody down. Hindsight is everything. I’m happy with how things have turned out, though. I feel very lucky.”
“Marco feels the same,” I said. “He’s beyond relieved that his parents are fine with the news and even seem excited about the future.”
“Speaking of the future, does everyone have the thirtieth marked on their calendar?” Poppy asked. “Zoe’s Lager is making its debut to the world. It’s less than a month away, so it’ll be here before we know it.”
“It’s so exciting,” Summer said. “And the brewpub looks beyond excellent. Poppy has done such an amazing job.”
Poppy raised her finger and wagged it. “Ah, ah, ah. There’s going to be no more peeking. From this day forward, everybody has to wait for the big reveal. I want it to be a surprise. I mean it.”
Summer shook her head. “Um, that’s not going to work for me. Xander is there so often, that means I am, too, but I promise I’ll only squint sideways while I’m there.”
“Obviously not you. You can’t stay away from Mr. Raw Sexy for five minutes.” Poppy snorted. “But everybody else has to steer clear.” Crossed her arms, making it known she was serious. “Stay away or the unveiling won’t be as much fun.”
“Summer told me that the bar is already getting reporters and critics reaching out,” Jenny said to Poppy. “I hope that’s spilling over to you. A decent amount of the credit should go to you.”
“A few people have reached out,” Poppy replied. “Mostly in the interior design world. But it’s pretty standard to have reporters and critics interested in the grand opening of a bar slash restaurant.”
“She’s going to get a lot of work from this,” Summer asserted. “I’ve seen the work drawings, and they’re incredible. If you manage to pull all that off, you’re going to be the talk of the town.”
“Maybe your old firm will want to hire you back,” I suggested.
Poppy made a face as she reached for her latte. “They can try. I’m having so much fun with this job, I’ve decided I’m going to incorporate and everything. Interior design will be my full-time job from now on. But only on my terms, never again with a big firm.”
We all hooted and hollered, and there was a round of congratulations at the table.
I raised my coffee cup. “Here’s to the future and everything that comes with it.”
We all clinked glasses.
I was incredibly lucky to have such great friends.
