Page 30 of Brighton

“Mom, do you have time to come into town and meet your favorite son for lunch?” My leg bounced under the desk as we talked. I was a wreck already.

“Of course. Is everything all right, darling?”

“Yes. I just need to talk to you, and I’d rather do it in person.”

“That sounds ominous. Are you sick? Is Brighton unwell?” Great, now I’d scared the shit out of my mother. This was not off to a great start.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be. This is just a conversation I’d rather have in person. Can you meet me at noon at the Greek place you like over on Third Street, please?” For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the restaurant name, yet I knew exactly where it was. My mind was a swirling mess. “It’s good, I swear. Nothing bad is going on.” Unless he told me no. Which I didn’t think he would. But what if he did? Shit, was I prepared for that?

“Absolutely. See you then.” She hung up without another word and I was back to pacing the length of my office.

“What in the world has gotten into you, Edward?” my assistant, Dorine, said as she glared at me from the doorway.

“Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.” How much did I tell her, or did I tell her anything at all? I’d pretend like everything was fine when it was obviously not because I’d lost my mind.

“Have you had too much coffee this morning?” She glanced at the cup on my desk.

“That is completely possible. I need to go. I'm gonna step out for a while.” I snagged my coat and bolted past her. Before my feet even hit the pavement outside, I knew exactly where I was going.

“Edward, today is Thursday and you were here yesterday for your scheduled volunteer session. What's going on with you?” Ms. Kitty said, hands on her tiny hips as she curiously eyed me as I stepped inside the shelter lobby.

“I think I just need some time with the animals.”

“Ah, animal therapy. Some of the best kind in my book. Want some company?”

“Maybe in a little bit. I'm just gonna walk through and say hi to the dogs.” I loaded up my pockets with treats before I stepped inside the noisy room where they were. As soon as they saw me, they whimpered and whined, knowing full well I had goodies for them. I never came through without some. I opened each kennel and spent a few minutes petting each dog and told them how sweet and kind they were, what good pups they were and that soon they would soon go to their forever homes. The last was wishful thinking on my part.

By the time I got to the end kennel, that all too familiar one that served as Simon's temporary home, I was happy to see it remain empty. Generally, around this time of year the shelters tended to get full, and Ms. Kitty had a few empty spots, which was a good sign in my opinion. Currently, Brighton and I weren't in the market for another dog. I think we were pretty full having a dog and two cats, plus Ursula and Maleficent might shit in my shoes if I brought home another canine. By the time I reached the end of the row I felt better, like I could breathe again.You've got this, Edward,I mentally cheered myself on. I didn't know why I got myself in such a tizzy, but it was time to go meet Mother for lunch.

“Leaving so soon?” Ms. Kitty said as I grabbed my coat off the hook.

“I'm off to meet my mother for lunch. Spending time with the pups was exactly what I needed.” I kissed her cheek. “Thank you, my friend, I'll see you next week.”

When I stepped inside the restaurant, Mother was already there waiting. “Mother,” I gave her a hug. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.”

“Anything for my favorite son.”

“Your only son.”

“Not anymore.” She winked. That sly dog knew exactly why I called her here and didn't wait long to reveal her secret. As soon as we were seated, she started in. “Okay, so I'm guessing the plan is for you to propose at Christmas and you want these.” She slid a small jewelry box from her bag and placed it on the table. “Your father and your grandfather’s rings.”

Tears welled in my eyes seeing the familiar pieces of jewelry. “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess, Mother’s intuition, call it what you will. I see the way you and Brighton look at each other, you're meant to be. I also know how important it is to Brighton to have a family and how much he loves us . Nothing would mean more to him than to be wearing one of these rings. Your father's ring was always meant for you, your grandfather's ring I'm not sure why we never even thought about it, but it honestly would be perfect for Brighton, or vice versa. Whatever you decide. if you need help being sneaky and getting his ring size let me know. I could always do a fake jewelry shopping spree with Brighton and have him try on stuff with me.”

“Woman, you are a genius. I love that. I think a day of shopping and lunch with you and Brighton would be perfect. Do you think you could do that this weekend, that way I can get the ring sized and back in time for Christmas?” It was all falling into place and I’d gone from nervous to excited, though I knew Christmas morning I’d be back to all nerves.

“Leave it to me. I took the rings from Mom and stared at both. My father's plain gold band with three diamonds mounted on the top of it, Grandfather’s wasn't much different. His too was yellow gold but in it sat a single ruby stone. I traced them with my fingertip and felt their presence nearby. Were they watching this? Were they proud of me?

I was young when my grandfather died and was absolutely devastated. We were close and I loved to watch his creations come to life. He had a special stool he made for me out in the shop that I always sat on, it's still there to this day. I was truly blessed, there was no other way to put it. My family was wonderful and full of love and happiness. In my opinion, not only was my grandfather taken away too soon but my father was even younger when he passed. I finally had the love of my life like he and Mother had. A love so bone deep I couldn't live without it.

As promised, Mother took Brighton out for the day. The boy returned home with his arms laden with bags that I wasn't allowed to look in. It was December, after all, so I knew they had gone Christmas shopping. He ran and stashed them in the spare room, and I promised not to peek. When he came back, in one huge breath he filled me in on their day.

“Oh my God, we had so much fun, Mom and I.” I loved that he finally called her Mom now. It took him a while and I understood why, but much as it had the first time he called me Daddy, my mother's eyes glistened when he called her Mom. Family was everything to both of us. “We had lunch and tried on jewelry. I don't know why but it was fun, and your mother ended up buying herself a new necklace. It’s so gorgeous, sapphires and diamonds all the way around. I loved it but it’s not a look I could pull off. It was a little too fancy for me,” he smiled. “I can't wait for you to see what we got you for Christmas. It's gonna be so much fun. I love it when we get to stay there and wake up and Santa’s filled our stockings.”

I adored the joyful exuberance emanating from my boy. I knew from the moment I met Brighton that he was special. As he continued to speak, a text came through from Mom letting me know she got the information and which jeweler she left it with. All I had to do was take in the rings and the manager would be expecting me. Nothing a quick lunch trip on Monday couldn't handle. She also said they promised to have them back in time for Christmas. Perfect!

The weeks that led up to Christmas went by in a blur. As usual, work was insane, and sales were up across the board as we sailed past last year's numbers. I gave my crew the traditional Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, scheduled the volunteers for the day after and closed the store. Brighton had everything packed by the time I got home, and we drove straight out to Mother's house. He was so excited this year that he got to pick out something for Suzette as well as Mother.

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