The man standing at the stove cooking something looks vaguely familiar, but I just can’t place him right away. As we walk toward him, he wipes his hands on a dishtowel that’s draped over his shoulder. His kind grey eyes shine at Mom as she approaches him. “Melanie, I’d like you to meet Evan.”
He extends his hand toward me and shakes mine firmly. “Hi, Melanie. It’s good to see you again.”
“Hi, Evan,” I say, but it comes out sounding more like a question than a statement.
Mom notices the clumsiness of the conversation and chimes in to clarify. “Evan is Reid’s stepdad’s brother. You met him back in December, remember?” It feels like way more than just a few months has passed since then, but once she mentions it, I do remember him.
And then as Mom steps next to Evan and he gently pulls her to his side, another kind of awareness dawns on me. “Oh my God!” I point between the two of them rapidly. “Are you two …?” I feel like the world just tilted off its axis. My Mom, the woman who swore off dating for years, has finally found someone!
“Yes, we are, Melanie,” Mom says sternly as she looks up to Evan for reassurance. I think she’s mistaken my shock for anger, but that’s the last thing I’m feeling. Sure, I don’t know much about Evan, but I saw how he looked at her when she walked into the room. I see the way he’s holding her close to his side. I’m not an idiot.
She’s happy. That’s all I need to know.
A warm feeling blooms in my heart and a smile splits my face. “Well, it’s about freaking time.” I wrap my arms around her and squeeze her as tightly as I can. I feel her exhale deeply on a sigh as she relaxes. The three of us don’t get much time to chat as Reid walking through the door interrupts our conversation.
Watching him hug Maddy, while gently rubbing her growing belly, makes my heart skip a beat. In the thirty minutes that I’ve been home, I feel like my heart has been recharged. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Peyton excuse herself from a conversation with Linda. When she stands next to me, she whispers, “So that must be the baby daddy, huh?” Elbowing me in the ribs, we share a giggle and make our way over to the happy couple for one last introduction.
Reid walks away from Maddy and pulls me into a tight embrace. “Hey, Mel. I’ve missed you.”
“Me, too Reid. It’s so good to see you.” In the time that he’s been with Maddy, Reid really has become like a brother to me. All of these years, I wished for siblings. Now, that I finally have them, even if not by blood, I feel like the luckiest person on earth.
“How about lunch sometime this week? I’d love to come and see you at work, maybe catch up with Dylan too.” I miss my weekly lunch dates with Reid and I’m mad at myself for letting too much time go by since I’ve seen him.
“Nothing would make me happier, Mel.” Reid smiles down at me before we catch a suspicious glare from Maddy.
She snickers as she was over to us. “My God! You two are in the same room for less than two minutes and already you’re scheming something.” I could deny her accusation; I could tell her we’re just planning a regular lunch, but where’s the fun in that.
Reid and I exchange a conspiratorial wink and Maddy huffs at us.
Before long, Evan and Mom call everyone into the kitchen to grab some dinner. Apparently as a retired New York City Firefighter, Evan is a culinary whiz and knows how to make one hell of a baked ziti. Dinner is fantastic and not just because the food is great. Everyone is chatting lively and laughing at each other. Even Peyton joins in on the conversation.
I can’t help but smile at Mom and Evan exchanging sweet looks at each other. If I’m not mistaken, I think they’re holding hands under the table too. I am so going to have to get the run down on them later, but for now, I think I’ll keep my mouth shut and not embarrass Mom.
Around eight o’clock, Linda starts to leave and Maddy and Reid follow her. Maddy shares a sly wink with me as she walks out the door. She let me in on her little plan to throw Reid a surprise party in a few weeks to celebrate his new job. I love that I finally get the chance to help her pull a fast one over on him.
Mom and Evan are still in the kitchen cleaning up when Peyton sits next to me on the couch. “So what gives?” she prods, but I don’t know what she’s getting at.
“What do you mean?” I ask as I absentmindedly flip through the channels.
“Well, with all that ‘Melanie doesn’t love herself’ crap, I just figured you were from some kind of broken home or something like that.” She pauses to survey the room before her eyes settle back on me. “But this place is pretty great and you clearly have a bunch of people who really love you.” As she tucks both of her legs underneath her body, she adds, “So, I ask again, what gives?”
Dumbstruck, I can’t think of a single logical explanation. So I simply say, “I don’t know, Peyton. I just don’t know.”
An “ahem” from behind us, interrupts our non-conversation and Peyton stands from the couch. Mom and Evan must be done in the kitchen and they’re now standing behind us. “I’m going to go grab a shower and get ready for bed. I want to hit the road early tomorrow.” I nod as she walks past me. “It was nice meeting you guys. Thanks for having me.”
“You’re welcome here anytime, Peyton.” Mom gives Peyton a small smile and Evan nods at her as she climbs the stairs.
Grabbing his coat from the rack in the entry way, Evan says, “Alright, Lucy. I think I’m going to head home too. I’ll let you girls catch up.” I get up to say goodbye and Evan tells me, “It was really great to see you, Melanie. Hopefully the three of us can get together before you have to go back.” Evan extends his hand to me once again and I politely shake it in return.
I excuse myself and allow them a little privacy for whatever they might have to say to each other. But, peering out of the kitchen, I can’t help but catch a glimpse of Evan tucking Mom’s hair behind her ear and kissing her tenderly on her cheek. When she places her hand on his chest as she leans up on her toes to reach his lips, I feel another piece of my heart come back together.
The door closes and I hear Mom walk into the kitchen. “Can I make you some tea, Mom?” She knows what I really mean to say is “Sit your butt down and fill me in on every single detail.”
“I think I’ll pass on the inquisition for tonight, Mel.” She laughs as she gets a dishwasher tablet from under the sink. Loading one last dish and popping the tablet into its slot, she closes the door and hits the start button. Conversation would be pointless now over the loud humming and whirring of our ancient dishwasher.
When she smirks at me, I know that was her plan. She’s a smart one! Wrapping my arm around her waist as we walk out of the kitchen and up the stairs to our rooms, I tell her, “Fine. You’re off the hook for tonight, but tomorrow I want to know everything.”
She squeezes me back and kisses the top of my head when we get to the top landing. “You got it. Love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I stand there and watch her walk down the hallway toward her room and all I can think about is Peyton’s question from earlier.
Surrounded by Mom’s love daily, how is it that I never learned to love myself?
12
Peyton is up around six the next morning and she leaves before Mom even gets up. Needless to say, Mom is disappointed. “I wanted to get to know her better.” She shrugs her shoulders and adds, “Maybe next time, huh?” Reaching for the coffee pot as it beeps, she offers me a mug. We sit at the table sipping our coffee for a few minutes before I finally break down and start grilling her about Evan.
“He’s cute.” I drop that out there and wait to see what happens.
Before she asks, “Who?” her eyes shimmer with the tiniest flash of happiness.
Fine, I’ll bend first. “Evan. Besides, Reid was the only other guy here last night and that would just be weird.” I shiver and make a gross throw up sound in my throat. She giggles at me and I reach out to grasp her forearm. “I’m really happy for you, Mom.”
When it seems like she finally believes me, she relaxes and her face takes on this dreamy, far-away look.
