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Tracey shrugged her shoulders and said, “Come on, Dad. You can’t think we would just let you get away with not celebrating. Especially after the past month, we’ve had as a family.”
Dean turned first toward the kitchen, where he locked eyes with Alex, who’d apparently hidden himself kitty-corner from Elise. He reached out to shake his son’s hand as his eyes welled with tears. “I’m so glad you’re here, Alex. Here with your sisters. Three of them! What kind of lucky guy are you to have three sisters?”
Alex laughed good-naturedly and hugged his father. As Dean walked toward Elise, Alex hurriedly dotted his cheeks of tears.
“There she is,” Dean said. “My California runaway.”
“Hi, Dad,” Elise said.
Saying the word Dad feels so strange.
“Happy birthday,” Elise said as she fell into a hug. “I’m so glad I could make it back to celebrate.”
Dean crept around the kitchen then entered the living area to greet the others. He held Cindy close and thanked her for being the “ever-sensible eldest.” He patted Michael on the head and said, “Oh yes. The problem child is here,” then he beamed as Margot fell into another round of giggles, as was her way.
Brad had seated himself on the ground directly near Michael. When Dean stood before him, he stopped short and furrowed his brow. Diesel rushed up and strung out his massive pink tongue, all across Brad’s cheeks, covering him with spittle.
“Hey, buddy!” Brad cried, trying to stabilize the dog, who’d apparently taken to him with a huge amount of love.
“He sees it the way I do,” Dean said solemnly. “You’re the spitting image of me, son. You’re what I used to see in the mirror around fifty years ago.”
Brad took this news solemnly. Slowly, swiping his sleeve across his cheeks, he stood up and faced his grandfather. Elise gasped. As they stood, face-to-face, you could see the resemblance even more. They were even the same exact height.
When I found that photograph of Dean Swartz at the library, I’d seen an antique Bradley Fletcher peering out at me from all those years ago.
It broke my heart to see it.
Dean turned slowly to catch Elise’s gaze. “I take it you brought a few surprises for me, huh, Elise?” he said.
Elise stepped toward them. As she went, she gripped Penny’s hand and led her toward her grandfather. When they reached him, Dean’s eyes filled with tears. He gripped both Penny and Bradley’s hands and gasped for breath.
“When I look into your face, Penny, I see your grandmother. I see the way she was all those years ago. Your mother even tells me you’re an actress, just like she was.”
Penny’s eyes were like reflecting pools. “I always wanted to be like her. My whole life. She taught me so much about what I know about acting. She used to make me act out all our favorite scenes from movies.”
Dean shook his head ever-so-slightly. He looked on the verge of either bursting into tears or laughter. Elise was stricken with the image of them altogether—two different generations, years and states apart, now meeting here on this snow-capped Halloween night.
“Happy birthday, Grandpa,” Penny whispered. “I never thought I’d ever say anything like that after my father’s dad passed away. I’m so grateful to have you.”
Moments later, Cindy broke the spell—as was her custom, as the oldest, the woman who had to keep the ship running. She insisted that they all pile around the dining room table for birthday dinner.
Cindy had cooked an extravagant meal: ham and stuffing and ricotta-stuffed shells and freshly-baked bread and Brussels sprouts. Wine was poured and hands were held for grace, which Dean said for them.
“Thank you, Oh Lord, for these tremendous gifts on my seventy-second birthday. I haven’t done enough in this life to deserve all you’ve given me. From the west coast to Chicago, all the way to the heart of Mackinac Island, may our love as a family be enough to see us through. Amen.”
The food was sinfully delicious: a smorgasbord of simmering flavors and spices dunked down with wine glass after wine glass. Old family stories were told from all sides of the family. Dean recited an old story about teaching Cindy how to ice skate for the first time.
“She insisted she already knew how,” Dean said, chuckling. “Even stomped her foot when I asked her if I needed help. She went out on the lake on this blisteringly cold day, all stubborn, and then immediately—whack! She fell right on her bottom. I had to force myself not to laugh. She never would have forgiven me.”
Cindy grumbled. “I don’t remember it that way. I remember getting out there and skating away beautifully, just like the ice skaters in the Olympics.”
“Yes, something like that,” Dean teased.
“Emma, you were like that, I think. Remember?” Tracey said to her daughter, who sat next to Penny and seemed to reflect so many of her facial features and even the way they tilted their heads when they listened.
“I don’t know about that,” Emma said. “Is this ‘drag your daughter down a peg’ day or something? Grandpa’s allowed to do it because it’s his birthday but the rest of you? I don’t know about that.”
Penny gave Elise a playful look and said, “Yeah, Mom. You better think twice before you say anything.”
