Page 91 of The Summer of ’98

“That’s gracious of you.”

“Tiff told me that I should sleep with him to get back at my mom.” I stared at Cass with alarm. “I’m not going to,” she said. “But I probably would if I was single. It’s kind of a good idea. It’d be funny too.”

My next words surprised me. “Tell Tiff to do it.”

Cass and I burst into a bout of giggles. “She probably would if she wasn’t dating some college dude that she met in Florida over the summer.”

“Bummer.”

Cass’s amusement subsided and she sighed. “It wouldn’t even matter if I did do that to Mom. She’d just move on to the next man in five minutes. She hasn’t lasted with one of them for more than three months since Jamie left.”

“Maybe she’s never recovered after losing him. She might be trying to recreate what she had with him, but it doesn’t work because the way she loved your dad was so intense. It’s kind of awful if you think about it. Momma’s never dated again, either. Well, not that I know of. I doubt she’d tell me anyway, but people cope with grief in different ways.”

Cass stared at nothing; her gaze was distant as if she was contemplating what I had said. Perhaps she was realizing that she had more in common with her mom than she realized. It certainly seemed like they’d both given their hearts to undeserving men and didn’t know how to get them back.

Having said all of that, it made me think of Momma in a similar sense. Perhaps she was stuck in her grief too. She’d fallen in love and had been left behind to clean up the mess, raise the child, sacrifice everything just so that she could raise me. I’d accused her of being jealous, but maybe, she really was just scared that I’d be left in the same way that she’d been: heartbroken by the father of my child.

We set lunch out on our small table. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room for us all to sit. So we piled our plates up with food and wandered into the living area to sit on the sofa or floor. This wasn’t how Eleanor and Jacob were used to dining, but there were no complaints from either of them as they huddled on the couch and ate.

I had barely had a mouthful of food when the doorbell started ringing and I paused, glancing around with confusion as Leroy jumped up and strolled toward the door with a knowing smile. I watched him with puzzlement from where I sat on the love seat, and when he swung the door open and revealed Eric and Amber, I gasped with excitement.

“What?”

“Surprise!” Amber shouted as the two of them wandered in and gave brief waves to the family. I started to stand up, but she waved in dismissal. “Stay there, Momma. Look at that bump. It’s adorable.”

Despite her protests, I stood up and beelined straight for Eric, embracing him in a crushing hug. He seemed startled for a moment, but being Eric, he didn’t hesitate for long and he squeezed me back. “Thank you for calling Eleanor,” I leaned back. If he hadn’t snitched on me, I might still have been miserable at home, scanning adoption catalogs and sobbing over heartbreak.

“Of course, sweetheart,” he winked. “Someone had to save these ones,” he gave me a light poke in the stomach. Amber shuffled Eric to the side so that we could have a quick cuddle.

Eric and Amber were doing well at Emory together. Both of them lived on campus and had made a small group of friends. I realized that I needed to phone Amber more often so that I could keep up with the finer details of her life. She was my best friend, and I’d been so wrapped up in the pregnancy and having my life turned upside-down that I hadn’t seen any of the girls from school in a while. I needed to do better.

Amber sat on the floor beside my chair and cradled a sandwich in her hands. “Noah doesn’t seem so bad,” she whispered. “He’s kind of funny.”

“He has his moments,” I said and looked over at where he and Leroy were talking to Eric and Cass.

“You seem really happy with this family,” she smiled. “Happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.”

“I am happy. It does suck that you and Cass live so far away though.”

Amber swallowed her mouthful. “She’s cool. I like her. Yeah, I know what you mean. We all live so far apart now. It’s weird how much has changed in such a short time.”

“Tell me about it.”

After a half hour of eating, talking, and catching up, Leroy came and stood beside me. Cass was sitting on Noah’s lap, and Amber and Eric were on the floor beside them so that Eleanor and Jacob could have the other end of the sofa. Of course, the love seat was my throne and no one dared to steal it from a pregnant woman.

“One sec, everyone.” He cleared his throat and gathered the attention of the room. “I need to ask Ellie something. And I know how much the people in her life mean to her. Because I did consider asking her this question when it was just us. Perhaps during dinner. Or during a drive-in,” he grinned, and I could feel how utterly breathless I was becoming. This was happening. “But then I realized that this is the sort of moment that she would want to share with the people she loves. She’s generous like that. Loving and caring. Full of an untamable energy. Full of light and hope. The brightest star in the sky wouldn’t hold a flame to this woman. She’s going to make an incredible mother . . . and wife—” he fell to his knee in front of me and revealed a small box that popped open and held a beautiful diamond “—if she’ll have me. Ellie Livingston, would you be mine? Forever?”

I wasn’t sure what made him think that I would want everyone to see me losing it. Tears blurred my vision, my nose stung, my chin quivered. No one should witness that. But it didn’t matter. Because Leroy had just asked me to marry him and I was on top of the world.

“Of course,” I stammered and swiped under my eyes before I stretched out my trembling hand for the ring.

It was a beautiful ring, a teardrop diamond with micro-sized encrusted jewels in the frame. It was classic and enchanting.

“That was my mother’s.” Eleanor’s voice pulled my attention to her tearful gaze. She sat beside Jacob and their emotions were obvious. It made me blubber all that much harder. Leroy’s gentle fingers slid the ring into place, and I raised my hand out in front of me, marveling at how it glimmered and shone, almost appearing as though it belonged with the stars.

“I love you.” I threw my arms around Leroy and we both stood, embracing in a hold that was safe, sweet, and secure. There was nowhere else that I would rather be.

He whispered his words into the crook of my neck. “I’m sorry that your mom couldn’t be here. But I’m here Ellie, I’ll always be here.”

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