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Emily getting married meant giving up control. She wasn’t the kind of mother who would dictate wedding plans. She was too involved in her own life. As a matter of fact, the less she had to do to prepare for a wedding, the better. The big concern was, how much would Emily expect from her?
“We are!”
“What plans do you have so far?” Rob asked.
“Gosh, none, really,” Emily said. “We haven’t really talked about it.”
“You’ll be the first to know,” Paul said, looking at her with a smile.
Wheels turning in her head, Alice felt herself being pulled toward Paul. It wasn’t her nature to be bowled over, to be taken in, to be swept off her feet.Shewas the leader.Sheset the tone.
“I’d like to meet your parents,” she eked out, wondering why something that should be second nature to her, controlling the situation, would suddenly be like pulling teeth.
“Okay, I never thought about that, but you should meet Paul’s family. Mother, you can’t believe the food. A meal to choke a horse today. I had to consciously stop and remind myself that my mother was expecting us for dessert. And this pie is awesome, by the way.”
“Should I have them here?” Alice asked, wringing her hands.
“Oh, God no,” Paul and Emily chorused.
“There are at least thirty people who are the core group, and about six kids who come with the package.”
“Oh, okay, right,” Alice said, laughing. “I’ll be happy to be a guest.”
“I’ll talk to my mother and set something up soon,” Paul said.
She’d learned the physical signs to watch for, and Emily could see Paul had had enough. Hints of shadows under his eyes, his pale skin contrasting with a five-o’clock shadow that he usually had by early afternoon meant that he was exhausted and reached his limit of social interaction.
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m beat. Can we eat and run?”
“No problem,” Alice said, pushing away from the table. “I’ll stick this in a pie saver…”
“Mom—”
“Alice, if you don’t mind, I’d like another piece later tonight,” Rob said.
“Thank you, Colonel. I definitely don’t need to take a pie home.”
She didn’t mention the pans of food they’d left in the car.
As quickly as she could head to the door without being rude, Emily led Paul out, her parents’ congratulations echoing in the night air.
“We didn’t need to leave so fast,” Paul said.
“It’s fine. It’s late and we’re both beat.” She rested her head against the seat. “I have one more week before school starts.”
“I don’t even want to think about that. Maybe I’ll win lotto so you can quit and be available to me twenty-four seven.”
“Like endless summer when we were kids? It just went on forever.”
Paul took her hand and kissed it. “I wish I’d met you then. I’m glad we aren’t too old.”
“Ha! We’re young. Look at Charlie and Lila. I bet they are so happy they finally met each other. It sounds like they’re perfect for each other.”
“Maybe they’re perfect because of what they’ve been through. Maybe it wouldn’t have been great if they’d met when they were younger. There would still be a big age span. Plus my dad was super involved in my brother’s and my lives. Every game Oliver played, every horseback ride I went on, Charlie was there. My mom, too. You’d think that would have been enough.”
“Oh, Paul, maybe it was enough at the time. You’ve said how wonderful your summers were, going to the beach, hanging around the pool at home while your mother waited on you hand and foot.” She laughed, reminding him. “My mother never did that.”
“She worked though, didn’t she? My mother was a schoolteacher, so she had the summer off. I’m not sure how Charlie took care of us the way he did on a firefighter’s salary.”
