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Jean moved out of the way, and Robin crowded in with Kristen.
Eloise took Jean into a hug, and she got passed through the crowd. She kept saying, “Thanks,” and “Thank you for coming,” and “You didn’t have to do that.”
It was incredible to see all the love which had gathered here in the lighthouse…for her. For Reuben. For Heidi.
At last, she stood beside Clara and sipped a Shirley Temple. “How are things with you and…everyone?” Jean didn’t want to name Robin specifically, though the conflict had definitely originated there.
Robin could be scary, and Jean had taken some months to get used to her louder personality. She cared so deeply, and that came out in different ways than it did for Jean.
“Okay.” Clara took her own sip of her drink. Scott laughed loudly from across the room. “I texted her and suggested we go to lunch together, just the two of us.”
Jean swung her attention to her sister-in-law. “Oh? What did she say?”
“It took her four seconds to say yes.” Clara smiled. “She came up to me before you got here, and we’re going to try a new place on Rocky Ridge next week, on my day off.”
“The White Whale?” Jean asked.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“She’s been wanting to go there for a couple of weeks.” Jean didn’t say that no one wanted to ride the ferry for forty-five minutes when they had a plethora of restaurants and café right here on Diamond Island.
No, not all of the women in this room lived on Diamond Island, but a lot of them. Jean didn’t see going out to lunch in her immediate future right now, and that was absolutely okay with her. She could have people here, and once she knew how to handle a baby in public for more than a few minutes, she’d resume going to the luncheons.
“All right,” Reuben called, and the chatter in the tiny room of the lighthouse quieted. “Thank you all for coming. My mother has made more food than all of us can eat, but we should try.” He grinned out at everyone and met Jean’s eye. She went toward him though he didn’t ask her to. She just knew he wanted her at his side.
She took his hand and beamed at him.
“We’re so glad Heidi is loved by so many,” Reuben said. “It’s taken Jean and I twenty years to get her, and we hope and pray we can be the parents she deserves.” He paused, his throat working as he swallowed a few times.
“We love you,” Jean said, her voice strong and sure. “And we’re glad you love us.” She looked over to Kristen. “Did you want to say grace?”
“Yes,” Kristen said, her hand firmly in Theo’s. “I’ll say grace, and then I’ll pass Heidi to someone else.”
Jean thought if Kristen didn’t give her to Robin, they’d have a mutiny on their hands, but she stifled her giggle and bowed her head for the prayer.
ChapterThirty-One
Clara looked into her daughter’s eyes and knew she wasn’t going to win this conflict. “All right,” she said. Giving up wasn’t the end of the world. It didn’t sting the way it once had. Besides, Clara knew now that she could give up and still be a good person.
She could quit and open doors to a better future.
There were some things she was glad she hadn’t given up on: her marriage with Scott, her relationship with her daughter, her own mental health and well-being.
“Mama has to go to an appointment after lunch,” she told Lena. “You’ll have to sit by yourself on the couch for an hour.” She raised her eyebrows. “Can you do that?”
“Can I bring the tablet?”
“Is it charged?”
Lena turned away from Clara, who’d accidentally let it slip that she was going to lunch with Robin that day. Lena loved Robin, and she’d instantly gripped onto the idea of skipping work in favor of riding the ferry—twice—to eat with Robin.
Clara had tried to get her to choose work instead, using the ferries and the fact that Lena didn’t like riding them, as well as how her boss needed her at the supermarket.
Nothing had worked, and Clara honestly didn’t mind if Lena came to lunch too. She didn’t think Robin would either.
“It’s not charged,” Lena said.
“I need to ask Robin if you can come,” Clara said.
