Page 29 of Below the Far Horizon
“I suppose she comes back to visit,” Trevor said, hoping that he was right. Because it could disintegrate into sadness and negativity if she didn’t.
“They all do. Periodically. More than I should expect, I suppose. Since I’m just a boring old lady and they have much more interesting lives away from here.”
“I don’t recall you being boring,” Grace said right away.
“I haven’t been bored,” Trevor added, wishing he had the right words to make her feel better but knowing that this was something that everyone had to go through. Almost everyone. The idea that the kids were gone, the grandkids were gone, and maybe they weren’t as relevant as they used to be.
“But your mother has found happiness again. Are they thinking of getting married?” Mrs. Donegan asked, after visibly composing herself.
“I guess we’re wondering the same thing. We just found out recently and are adjusting. It’s so weird to see my mom with anyone but my dad.”
“And it’s tough for me to see my dad with anyone but my mom. Grace and I were just talking about how it’s been an adjustment for us.”
“I think anything like that is an adjustment.” She sighed. “Your mom was a lot younger than I was when she lost her husband. Perhaps I would have been interested in trying to find someone.”
“It’s not too late. I’ve heard of people your age and older finding someone and being happy.”
“I suppose I would have to move somewhere. Because I’m not currently in the path of any older gentlemen who might be interested in getting married again.” Mrs. Donegan seemed to have forgotten about her sadness and smiled gently.
“Well, I’m an eligible gentleman, and I somehow stumbled into your kitchen this morning. The coffee is delicious, by the way,” Trevor said. A little gentle flirting with an eighty-year-old lady wasn’t completely terrible.
She laughed, like she enjoyed it, and Grace smiled as though she appreciated his attempt at being kind as well.
“If you just came in here to flatter me, Trevor, I’m wise to your ways. Remember, I knew you when you were getting your diaper changed.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Trevor said, trying to pretend he wasn’t embarrassed, but he could feel the tips of his ears warming and figured they were red.
Yeah, after looking in Grace’s laughing eyes, he figured they were beet red.
Still, it was hard for him to look away, because the laughter on her face was so compelling to him. It drew him and made him want to get closer. Yet, he wasn’t sure they could turn their relationship into a friendship. Were they friends? Or were they just two people who used to date, who were dealing with the fact that their older adult parents were interested in each other?
“You’ll have to let me know if anything exciting happens. After all, everyone loves to hear a good love story.” Mrs. Donegan smiled, andwhile Trevor didn’t consider himself a great romantic, he supposed it was true that everyone loved to hear a great story with a happy ending, and love stories typically were. At least for a while.
He thought about Grace and what she had been through with her ex-husband. And to his shame, part of him was happy about it. After all, it was because her ex-husband had cheated and left her that she was available.
But she had been through so much. He highly doubted that she would be interested in striking up a relationship with him. How long had she said it had been? A year?
He didn’t know how long it took to heal from that type of thing, but as devoted as Grace was, as hard as that betrayal must have been, it would probably take her a while.
He was sure she would be a better person. She was deliberately trying to do that, to take what she had been given, the life that she had in front of her, and to make something beautiful out of it.
He admired that. So many people, when bad things happened, questioned God, shook their fists at Him, and got angry that He would allow something so terrible to happen to them. But she seemed to be seeing that terrible things didn’t have to have terrible results. It was a perplexing but truthful thing to say that a lot of times the best things happened out of, or because of, the worst things.
They chatted at the table a bit more, but before he knew it, his coffee cup was empty, and they were standing, with him promising to come and put up the birdhouse wherever Mrs. Donegan decided that she wanted it, and both of them promising to come see her again. Since he was moving into town, he could keep that promise, and he really hoped Grace would do it with him. Because it seemed like everything he did with Grace was better than doing it with anyone else.
Fourteen
“That was fun,” Grace said as they pushed open the gate and walked out of the yard.
Trevor turned around, making sure to latch it behind him. “I agree. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got there, but Mrs. Donegan seemed really happy to see us, and I admit, I had a good time. It makes me happy to think that our visit made her happy.”
“Isn’t that interesting? How making someone else happy makes us happy, happier than we would be if we were just running around trying to make ourselves happy all the time.”
“That was a lot of happiness, but I think I followed you,” he teased, and she laughed as he figured she would. They had so many good times together, and he was pretty sure she hadn’t forgotten any of them. No more than he had.
“I was thinking while we were sitting there,” she started.
“You’re scaring me,” he teased. What was it about Grace that brought out the teasing in him? It was probably just because he wanted to see her smile. Which she did.
