Reno: I do, I do, I do. Now, how is my wife feeling?
Juliette: Excited to husband you up.
Reno: That doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but I’ll let it slide. I love you.
Juliette: I love you too.
A knock interrupts us, and I go to the door of the bridal suite in the pretty venue that luckily had an opening for today. I open it to find Elizabeth, Reno’s mom.
“Hi, sweetheart. I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I brought you a little snack.” She holds out a plate of fruit.
“Heck yes,” I cheer, letting her inside. “Besides your son, you’re my favorite person right now.”
Elizabeth laughs and hands me a large linen napkin, which I tuck into the top of my dress like a bib. “Well, I had to feed my daughter-in-law and my precious grandbabies.”
We take a seat on the pretty pink settee, and I dig in. “Thank you for this,” I say before spearing a bite of juicy pineapple on the fork and smiling internally atthe fruit.Pineapple Island… where it all began.
Elizabeth and I chat while I eat, and when I lean back into the small sofa, my future mother-in-law shifts and pulls something from the pocket of her green velvet dress. “I wanted to talk to you, but here. You might need these.”
I take the small packet of tissues, already feeling the tears welling up. “I have waterproof mascara, so let me have it,” I tell her, and she laughs softly.
“I just wanted to welcome you to our family, Juliette, and let you know how happy I am to be a part of yours.” Then she takes my hand. “I’ve always worried about Reno. I know he’s shared some of his childhood with you, so you know what I’m talking about.”
Nodding, I say, “I understand.”
Elizabeth averts her eyes and blinks at the wall. “I was worried I’d messed him up by not getting out sooner than I did, but I felt so… trapped.”
I squeeze her hand. “Oh Elizabeth, you were doing the best you could, and Reno turned out to be a wonderful man, and that’s all because of you and his grandparents.”
She plucks one of the tissues from the packet and catches a tear of her own before it falls. “I’m proud of my son and everything he’s accomplished.” Her green eyes meet mine, so much like her son’s. “But I’ve never been more proud of him than when he asked you to marry him.”
Oh hell. That does it.
A sob escapes, and I blot at my eyes with the tissue, taking a moment to fan my face until I can speak without turning into a complete basket case. Because what better words could a bride ask for from her groom’s mother?
“That means more to me than you’ll ever know,” I say, my voice raspy.
“And if you’d like to, I’d love it if you called me Ma.” She quickly adds, “But don’t feel obligated.”
Dabbing away more tears, I nod. “I would love that… Ma.” We share a long moment of silence, just two women who are now bonded together by our love for the same man. Placing my hand over my belly, I say, “And thank you for being so understanding about the unexpected pregnancy. I know it’s—”
Elizabeth cuts me off. “It’s perfect,” she fills in, “because they will be arriving to two parents who love them. And an entire family of people who adore them.”
“That’s the truth. I’m so lucky to have all of you and a husband who is so supportive.”
She sighs and rolls her eyes to the ceiling. “I’m just happy Reno turned out relatively normal. At least I didn’t completely fuck up the whole parenting thing.”
Now I add a side of snort-laughing to my tears becauseElizabeth Swain just said fuck. I can’t wait to tell Reno.
“You did a great job, though he does have a bit of a shopping obsession for baby things. I put my foot down last week and threatened to take his phone away, and he seems to have gotten better. Not as many packages have arrived this week.”
She lifts her dark eyebrows. “Or… he’s having them shipped to another address.”
“He didn’t!” I gasp, and Elizabeth grins.
“A box arrived at my house this morning with two baby bottles shaped like beer bottles.”
I burst into laughter. “Okay, that’s actually kind of funny. But keep me updated if he gets too crazy.”
