Page 15 of Second Dance
“Maybe you should introduce me to one of them,” I said lightly. “If the app doesn’t work out.” The moment I said it, I knew I shouldn’t have.
“Did you put your profile up?” Bella asked, her expression suddenly sullen. “How could you?” She pushed away from the table. “I’m not eating this crap.” She grabbed her plate and tossed the whole thing into the sink before running out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. Once again, she slammed her door.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling defeated. She was so difficult these days, and I didn’t seem to have the answers. In fact, she totally befuddled me. She needed a mother, not some bumbling guy like me.
“It’s okay, Dad. She’s just sad today.”
I looked up to see Peter watching me.
“I know,” I said. “But I wish she could be a little kinder to me. I’m hurting too.”
“I’m sorry,” Peter said. “Maybe she’s just going through a stage.”
“Yeah. Hopefully.”
“And if you want to start dating, you should. As trite as it sounds, Mom would want you to find someone.”
“She told me that. You know, toward the end. But the thought of anyone but her was impossible at the time.”
“But now?” Peter asked.
“I might be open to the idea. I did put my profile up today.”
“No way. Have you had any hits?”
Should I tell him who I’d seen on there? If I did, I’d have to tell him the whole story.
“What is it?” Peter asked. “Just tell me.”
I chuckled. My boy could read me all too well. “I was browsing through profiles and I came upon someone I know. An old girlfriend. From before your mom. The summer before my senior year at MIT. We had this innocent romance and then something happened and she had to leave New York very suddenly. I never saw her again. And this is the even stranger thing. She’s here. In Willet Cove.”
“Oh my God.”
“I know.” I got up from the table to pour myself a glass of wine before returning to my seat.
“Does she have a kid? Like someone I would know?” Peter asked.
“She has a daughter. Bella’s age. Her name’s Grace. Grace Horton.”
Peter’s mouth dropped open. “I know Grace. Everyone does. She’s like the star of all the school plays. Do you remember when you took Bella and me to the play at the middle school last March? To seeBeauty and the Beast? That’s Grace. She played Belle.”
“The pretty blonde?”
“Yep. That’s her.” I sat there, stunned for a moment. The night of the play, Grace had reminded me of someone but Icouldn’t place who. Now, it was clear. She reminded me of Gillian. Although they didn’t share complexions, their faces were similarly shaped and there was a quality about her—sweet but smart and completely vulnerable. I’d once teased Gillian that absolutely everything she felt or thought was reflected in her face.
“Are Grace’s parents divorced?” Peter asked. “I’ve never seen her father around.”
“There isn’t one, as far as I can tell.” I told him the story then. About how in love I’d been with her. About our magical summer. And about the fateful phone call. “I was with her when they called to tell her that her sister and brother-in-law had died.” I told him that Gillian had adopted Grace, dropping everything to do so. “That’s the last thing I knew of her life. We said goodbye, and I never saw her again.”
“Dad, this is such a trip. Are you going to reach out to her?”
“I already did.”
His eyes widened. “And?”
“I haven’t heard back. I suggested coffee. Just to catch up. That kind of thing.”
“She’ll write you back. She’ll be too curious.” He glanced out at the setting sun over the Pacific. “I wonder if she ever searched for you? If so, it wouldn’t have been hard to find you.”
