Page 31 of Below the Far Horizon
“All right then, Dad and I will be coming to your house to eat dinner with you and your mom, and then sometime during the meal, maybe we can suggest that we should go kayaking.”
“I think it’s important to try to keep them active. It seems like as you get older, you have a tendency to slow down, and people who slow down eventually leave us.”
He nodded. “I’ve been reading literature on that actually. That there is a direct correlation between people who stay active into their senior years, and people who live longer. I suppose I can try to do a little bit more to try to keep my dad active.”
“And I’ll try to keep my mom active, and hopefully the two of them will get together and keep each other active.”
They grinned together, and he felt satisfied. Theyhad a date for tonight, and another day kayaking, if they could get their parents to agree with it.
“Will your mom be able to with her hip still healing?” he asked.
“We might have to plan for next week, but we can see what the physical therapist says. I believe they said she was about seventy-five percent when they came last. So it’s not going to be long.”
“Good to know. It’s nice that her surgery and recovery has been uneventful.”
“I know. I can’t imagine trying to be in the hospital, trying to make the best decisions possible. I guess that was another thing that made me think I needed to get my mom to be more active. She’ll do better with these types of things the more active she is. Not that she wasn’t walking already.”
“Walking is good, but there’s so much more she can do.”
Grace nodded, and they continued walking together side by side. He didn’t know what she was thinking, but he was thinking about the two of them and being active together as they reached their senior years. Maybe he was just engaging in some wishful thinking, like he had in high school, where he thought they would be together.
There could be children too. They weren’t too old for that, and he would like that a lot. Of course, there was no way he’d mention that to Grace, and she hadn’t mentioned that or even hinted about it when talking about her husband, other than she had to give up her dreams. And again, he thought that maybe she still needed time to process and heal.
He felt impatient, and he tried to tamp it down and just enjoy the day and the woman who walked beside him. After all, it was the little moments like those that made a life.
Fifteen
“That cake looks really good. And it smells even better.” Gita stood beside the counter, looking at the Texas sheet cake that Grace had finished not that long ago.
“Just relax. It won’t be long, and we can try it out.”
“I remember telling that to you. I also remember making batter just so we could eat it. I feel like I should be reaping what I sowed, but I didn’t today.”
Her eyes twinkled, and she looked so happy that Grace almost grabbed her in a hug. When was the last time she’d seen her mom this happy?
Well, that was a very good question considering that she hadn’t been around a whole lot, so maybe her mom had been this happy, and she just hadn’t noticed. But she didn’t think so. She was pretty sure the imminent arrival of a certain gentleman was putting that spark in her eyes and that spring in her step even though she wasn’t far removed from hip replacement surgery.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make a special cake batter just for us to eat together. Maybe next time?” she asked, lifting her brows and giving her mom a baleful look. After all, her mom was an adult and shouldn’t expect to get batter every time they made a cake.
“I’ll make sure that there’s a next time, and I’ll remind you of your promise,” her mom said, but then she winked and grinned again, and Grace couldn’t do anything but smile back. Her mom’s face was fresh and cheerful, and the whole atmosphere of the house just seemed to be anticipatory.
If this was how her mother was when she was in love, Don was going to have no choice but to fall so deeply in love with her he couldn’t stand to live without her. She was attractive and irresistible and would surely pull him into her orbit.
Even on her worst day, her mother was an attractive woman with a compelling personality, but being in love had ratcheted that up to the next level.
Was that the way every woman wanted? Grace asked herself. Was that the way she was?
She could feel her lips wanting to turn up when she thought about Trevor and their bargain of deciding that they would try to be together in order for their parents to be able to spend as much time as possible together. It felt fun to have a little secret between the two of them, and it also felt good to be doing something so nice for someone else. Even more, it felt good to see her mom so happy. And it wasn’t exactly a hardship to be around Trevor. Maybe… Maybe him being around her would make him see that he still loved her after all.
That felt like maybe it was a long shot, but her hopes flew up and made her lips turn into a real smile.
“You look happy,” her mother said as she carried silverware from the kitchen into the dining room and placed it around the table.
She was walking without a limp, completely normally. Her physical therapist had been impressed with her progress the day before.
“I’m happy because you’re happy. You’re practically glowing. You and Don are good for each other.”
“I should hope so, because he’s a wonderful gentleman,” her mom said.
