Page 34 of Bewitched

Squaring her shoulders, Faye gave her daughter a stern look. “You listen to me, young lady. That is not what I was asking. Do you think your daddy and I would have spent all that time and money educating you, giving you every lesson that you showed the slightest interest in, and encouraging you to follow your dreams if all we wanted was to marry you to the first man who came along?” Slapping the table, she shook her head. “I assure you it wasn’t. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. He seems like a good man, but he may not be the one for you. Hell, you may never marry. I don’t care what your picture of happiness looks like. I just want to make sure that you find it.”

A tear slipped down Paige’s face. “I know, Mama. You’re right. I don’t know why I take everything you say the wrong way.”

Smoothing her daughter’s hair, she smiled. “It’s what happens between girls and their mamas. Same thing happened to Grammy and me. Every bit of help she offered me felt like a criticism, which it wasn’t. Every time she gave me a suggestion, I assumed she thought I couldn’t do it on my own. It eventually passes, and someday all you’re going to hear when I speak is how much I love you and want the best for you.”

Grammy dabbed her eyes. “It’s true. Your mama used to complain about me constantly. Then, when you girls became teenagers, I was her best ally. We are strong, opinionated women, so it’s not surprising.”

Paige got up and peppered both her mother and Grammy with kisses. “Thank you both for loving me as hard as you do.”

Faye kissed her daughter’s hand. “Now that you’re going to be a mama, you’re going to like me and need me a whole lot more. Circle of life. It’s finally swinging in my favor.”

“I thought you were going to try to convince me to marry Blake the first chance I got,” Paige said as she sat down again.

“Good Lord, why would we do that? As you aptly pointed out, you hardly know the man. Marrying him would be foolish. He will always be welcome in our home, and we figure he’s going to be around in some form or fashion in the future. As the father of our grandbaby, we approve. As far as being the man for you—Daddy and I have no idea. We show our approval and enthusiasm because we think he’s a good man and we want that for our grandchild.”

Grammy ate a cookie and nodded her agreement. “Does he know that we only have girls in this family?”

“I told him, and that was the only thing that seemed to give him pause. He said she couldn’t date until she was thirty.”

“Let your father speak to him. Nobody knows how to survive women better than Phillip Bennett,” Faye commented.

The front door opened and Blake called out a hello. “We’re in the kitchen,” Paige answered.

Mama and Grammy stood and started collecting dishes. “We’ll get out of your hair. We have some errands to do,” Faye said, as she rinsed the cups and loaded the dishwasher.

Blake walked in and waved. “Hi, ladies.”

“We’re on our way out. It’s nice to see you again,” Grammy said as she collected her coat and purse.

“Hope you’re not leaving on my account,” Blake said as he pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge.

Faye patted his arm as she passed. “No, not at all.” Opening her arms, she gave her daughter a big hug. “Love you, baby. Call me if you need anything.”

“You all have fun,” Grammy called as she walked toward the front door.

Paige followed the ladies out and waited at the front door until they got in their car. “Love you all,” she called as they pulled out of the driveway.

The breeze picked up the scent of her roses and drifted into the house. For the first time since she got home, she felt peace. Maybe every decision in the world didn’t have to be made right away. The pressure she had put on herself started to ease. The man, the baby, the job would all work themselves out. Whatever they ended up looking like would be fine.

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