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Tom grabbed ahold of my hand and squeezed. “You’re ... you’re moving by us? Are you serious?”
Rachel nodded. “You and I lost so much time together, Dad, and I don’t want to miss any more. And I could use Mom’s help with the baby, and all of yours too.” She gestured to the Widows who nearly burst with the sizes of their smiles. “It’s a beautiful little community. Great schools. So safe. It’s where we want Emma to grow up. So, we did it. We bought a house there.”
“Oh, my God!” I screamed and leaped up, racing over to tackle her with a hug.
My shriek woke Emma, who started to coo and almost cry, but Tom hurried over and scooped her in his arms, gently lifting her up and down as he smiled and said, “Don’t cry, Emma. Pops has got you. That’s right, Pops has got you, and he’s gonna get you all the time now!”
“I love this so much.” I pressed a hand to my chest, my mind running wild with all the wonders awaiting us as we watched Emma grow up just down the street.
She stopped fussing as Tom held her against him. He looked up at Rachel, his eyes welling with tears. “You have no idea what this means to me. I dreamed of this. I didn’t dare believe it would ever be a reality, but my God did I dream of a world where I could see my daughter every day. Make up for so much of that lost time we never got.” He looked down at Emma and kissed her head. “And I can experience some of those missed moments now with my beautiful granddaughter. First steps. First words. First ... well, everything.”
“I’m so glad you’re happy, Dad. I can’t wait for those things too.”
They locked eyes, and he reached out and slid an arm around her shoulder, pulling her up against his chest along with Emma. My heart nearly exploded as he cocooned both those girls in his arms, his chin resting on Rachel’s head as she hugged him tight.
“I can’t believe this,” I said as I turned to the Widows. “Now I’ll have everything. You gals. Tom. Rachel and Blake. Emma. It’s too perfect. It’s just all too perfect.”
“We’re going to have so much fun!” Doris clapped and bounced up and down.
“Oh, Emma, darling. Aunty Alice is going to spoil you so rotten.”
“I call dibs on babysitting!” Marge lifted her hand.
“No! I do!” Doris planted her hands on her hips and frowned.
Alice sat there and then shrugged. “I don’t babysit, but I will pay for a nanny if you need one.”
After we all finished talking about the exciting new turn of events, Marge snuck off and returned holding our basket, a bottle of whiskey, a notepad and pen. “It’s our last night here. What do you say we Widows kick out the rest of these old farts and get down to wish making business?”
“I think that’s our cue to go home,” Rachel laughed. “We don’t want to expose Emma to your whiskey-fueled insanity.”
“Yet.” Alice lifted a finger. “Someday, we’re going to teach her about whiskey and wishes. We don’t want her to wait to be a widow to live life to the fullest.”
“Let’s just stick with milk for now,” Rachel said with a smile. “But someday, yeah. Let’s do that. I want Emma to learn from all of you how to live ... really live. And I don’t want her waiting her whole life before she does it.”
I gave Emma a kiss. “If there’s anything I know I can teach her, it’s that she needs to find some of the bestest friends and start making a list of wishes long before she’s looking back on her life thinking she missed it.”
“I would love that, Mom. And now that we’re going to be living only two blocks away, I look forward to watching you do it. It’s part of why we decided to move back. The way you live your life now has taught me to go after what I want with both hands and never let go. And I want this. I want to raise my daughter with you and Dad, and the Wilder Widows, in her life every single day, teaching her to be the best person she can be.”
I hugged Rachel tight, kissing her on the forehead as I threw up a silent prayer that even though I’d made a ton of mistakes, somehow I’d raised the most incredible woman ... and now she was going to raise my granddaughter to be as strong and confident as she had become.
With my heart full to bursting, we bid goodnight to everyone. They all went home, and Tom went upstairs to go to bed early. The Widows and I gathered around the fire, each taking turns swigging off the whiskey as we laughed and regaled in the tales of our latest adventure.
“Remember? It was just like ‘Pow!’ and boom. Down I went. Man, I can see now why they used to have kangaroos box. That baby packed some power!”
Alice pointed at Marge’s face. “At least your one eye isn’t black anymore. Only a little yellow. The rest of your face still looks like shit though.”
Marge grinned her toothy grin, leaning toward Alice to freak her out.
“Stop! God! When can they get that implant in?”
“Never,” Marge responded. “It’s worth missing a tooth just to watch you gag when I smile.”
“Monster,” Alice turned away. “A real monster.”
We finished drinking enough whiskey to catch a good buzz, then we grabbed our notepads and pens.
“Here we go, ladies. Make ‘em good,” Marge said.
