Page 32 of Below the Far Horizon
There was a little bit of a feeling of something being not quite right, but Grace pushed it aside as usual. She and Trevor had decided that the feeling stemmed mainly from the fact that they were not used to theirparents not being with their other parent. It had nothing to do with any real problem in the relationship.
It was nice to have Trevor to talk things over with so that she could organize her brain and not continually wonder what the problem was. Now that she knew what it was, she ought to be able to put it to rest.
“We should light candles,” her mom said.
Grace smiled to herself. Her mom was really going all out.
“Don’t you think you should take things a little bit slow?” she said, teasing her mom a bit. After all, that would be something that her mom might have said to her back in the day.
“I am taking things slow. We have chaperones, and we already decided that we’re not going to see each other again until next week.”
“All right,” Grace said and was a little surprised at the disappointment that rumbled through her. If they didn’t see each other until next week, she wasn’t going to get to see Trevor until next week either.
But that wasn’t supposed to matter. And she could use the extra time to really dig into her mother’s business and see if there was going to be a spot for her. If there wasn’t, she was going to need to find a job.
There was a knock at the door before she could say anything else, and to her surprise, her mother hurried to answer it. Well, she didn’t hurry exactly, but she walked gracefully, which Grace had to stop and take a minute to watch. It was amazing how her hip replacement had gone so smoothly, and she was thrilled that her mom was doing such a good job. It didn’t hurt to admire that and to be happy for her.
“Hello, Donnie!” she heard her mother say and then watched as Don and Gita embraced.
Don murmured, “Hello, Gita Baby.”
Grace met Trevor’s eyes, standing slightly behind his dad as their parents embraced, and they shared a smile. It was a laughing, they’re using their nicknames kind of smile, but also a we’re happy for our parents kind of smile too.
She truly was happy for them.
She could tell by the look on Trevor’s face that he was too.
“Trevor, it’s good to see you,” her mom said with the typicalhospitality that she displayed so easily. “Come on in, both of you. That smells delicious,” she said, indicating whatever it was that Trevor carried.
“This is more of the cauliflower that we had yesterday, since it was such a big hit,” Don said, indicating the small crockpot he held.
“And this is tuna casserole, which, considering that you’re dealing with two unmarried men, is no small feat.”
“I thought I smelled tuna noodle casserole. I haven’t had that in forever, and I can’t wait to try it. I hope it has lots of cheese,” her mom said, leading them to the table.
“You’re not limping,” Don observed.
“Nope. The physical therapist told me that I’m doing awesome, although I still need to be very careful not to fall. So, I just take it slow, make sure my steps are measured, and I’ve been doing pretty well.”
“You have. You’re back to your graceful self.”
“The pain is mostly gone. Every once in a while, I feel a twinge, but I can’t believe how well I feel.”
“The doctor said it was because she was so active.” Grace felt like she could throw that in there, so hopefully later when they suggested they take the double kayaks onto the lake, they would be agreeable.
“That’s good news. Whatever the reason,” Don said as they sat themselves in chairs at the table.
Don said grace, and then they passed the food around. It did smell really good, even though it was simple, and it tasted even better.
Grace was on her third bite when Trevor cleared his throat, and she looked up to meet his eye.
He lifted a brow, and she nodded ever so slightly. Whatever they were going to do, he was going to get started on now, and that was just fine with her.
“So,” he said, getting the attention of both Gita and Don as they chewed. “Grace and I met on the road on the way to Mrs. Donegan’s house. We had such a great talk, and you know we have history, and we decided that…”
As he seemed to struggle for words, Grace decided that she could try to help him. “We decided that we would like to develop a relationship together. But we didn’t want to interfere with yours and Don’s,” shesaid, looking at her mom. “So we were hoping that you two would be our chaperones,” she said, lifting a brow at Trevor.
They hadn’t exactly talked about that, but it seemed like a good enough excuse for them to try to be together and to get their parents to be together too.
