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I smile and look away, shyly.
“Also, to my son. James— What a lucky man I have been to see you grow into the young man you’ve become. I couldn’t be more proud.”
I feel tears brimming my eyelids. I watch my husband. I don’t want to give him up. His shoulders drop. His face relaxes. “To family and friends.”
I hold up my wine glass and repeat after him. “To family and friends.”
Mel is standing beside me. “You really are the luckiest,” she says, beaming. Her hand rests on her still flat stomach.
“The luckiest,” I agree.
She gasps and turns to face me full on, as though she’s about to share the depths of her soul. “I can’t wait to find out what we’re having.” She lowers her voice. “Tom says he doesn’t want to know. But I think he’ll come around. Otherwise, I have no idea how I’ll keep a secret like that from him. Can you imagine?”
“No,” I say. Then I remember. I’m supposed to talk with her. Grant will ask if I set it up. “Do you have time for tea on Tuesday?”
“Tea sounds perfect,” she smiles. She lightly touches my arm when she speaks. She trusts me. She has no idea.
“These are for you,” Grant says to our son. I can’t see what he’s holding from where I’m standing but I can guess. He presses the button on the garage.
James covers his mouth. “NO WAY. A Volvo.”
Grant looks at me and grins. The model he has chosen is one of the safest cars around. He slaps our son on the back and then makes his way over to where I’m standing. “Now,” he says leaning in. His lips graze my ear. “You don’t have to worry so much.”
He’s wrong.
“I have another surprise,” he announces. “One that’s more for you.”
James comes from behind and throws his arms around me. “Thanks, mom.” I turn and pull him into a hug. He’s taller than me, has been for a while, and it’s awkward. “You have your dad to thank,” I tell him, and then he’s off, obviously thrilled, as any kid his age would be. My eyes find my daughter. She’s standing against the car trying not to look as envious as she feels.
I walk over to where she stands. She pulls out her phone. “It’ll be your turn soon,” I say.
She chews her lip and stares at the pavement.
“Plus,” I say pulling her in close. “I have a surprise for you tomorrow.” I’m taking her shopping. She’s been so withdrawn lately. She’s retreated into herself, to a place I can’t reach.
She looks at me and offers a small smile. Fourteen is rough. Everyone says that. Grant told me the other night at dinner I shouldn’t worry so much. He doesn’t know what it’s like to be someone’s mother. He doesn’t have to. He doles out worries. I handle them.
“Cake,” Grant says slinging his arm around Avery’s shoulder. “Let’s have cake.”
She crosses her arms and plants her feet. “I hate cake.”
“Envy isn’t very becoming,” he murmurs. This time she goes with him.
I watch as they walk toward the house, his arm still slung over her shoulder. “Just think.” I hear him say. “By the time you’re driving, your mom will have relaxed a bit. You won’t have to have a safe car.”
“Yeah, right.”
He glances back at me. I raise my brow. “Yeah, right,” I say.
Back inside, the party resumes. “It’s almost time for the grand finale,” Grant whispers in my ear.
“The grand finale wasn’t the car?”
He bites the tip of my ear lobe. “You shouldn’t underestimate me, Mrs. Dunn.”
“I’m so proud of you for losing the weight,” he told me the other night over dinner. “I wasn’t sure you had it in you.”
“I told you,” I said picking at my salad. “It was just my period.”
