“Why do Ihave the feelingyou guys are going to stop visiting at night?” Cash asked.
“Well, I share Angora’s feelings,” Lily said. “You’ve been holding out on us. This was a fantastic Mother’s Day, thank you.”
“Yes, thank you.” Angora reached across the table and cupped her daughter’s cheek. “I’m so glad we did this. It was a wonderful day.”
“And Mother’s Day isn’t over,” Cash said. “Go ahead, Clover.”
“Okay.” The boy gave his dad an odd expression, and Sable pinched her eyebrows at the exchange. Had they planned a gift for the grandparents without her? She hadn’t gotten her mom anythingother thanthis meal, and she was worried. Did she need to run out and buy—or steal—her mother some jewelry?
“Grandma, this is for you,” Clover said, handing Lilly a bag Sable hadn’t seen him bring into the restaurant, and her fears were confirmed. She would have to steal a necklace for her mother after this.
“Thank you, baby.” Lily accepted the gift and pulled the sparkly tissue paper out of the bag. “Oh my, look at this.” She withdrew a replica of the Precieux Egg and set it on the table.
“I made that myself in art class,” Clover said, his chest puffed up with pride. “We were supposed to make our mom’s presents, but I made this for you instead since… well, you know.”
“I do, baby.” Lilly pulled him into a hug, and Sable felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Clover had no mother to make gifts for, so he’d crafted the egg for his grandmother. Of course, she wanted the boy to be close to his grandparents, but it didn’t erase the sting.
“Do you like it?” Clover asked.
“I love it!” Lily passed it to her husband so he could see. “How did you make this look like the real thing?”
“He did an amazing job, didn’t he?” Cash said. “He put more hours into it than any of his classmates.”
“Dad helped, though,” Clover admitted. “He’s the one who can get close to the real egg.”
“But you did most of the work.” Cash ruffled his son’s curly hair.
“It’s stunning,” Lilly said. “I’ll put it on the mantle where we’ll always see it.”
“I’m so glad you like it.” Clover beamed as he practically fell against Lily. They hugged for a long moment, and then hestood with a conspiratorial grin. “I made something else.” He withdrew a second bag and handed it to a surprised Angora. “This is for you since you’re my grandma too.” He grinned sheepishly, and Angora almost burst into tears.
“I’m not blood, but you best believe I’m your grandmother.” She dragged the boy into a hug, trying desperately not to sob and ruin her makeup, and Sable looked away to stop herowntears only to catch Cash studying her.Not wishing to cause a scene, though, shesimplyoffered himshrug.
“He didn’t want your mom to feel left out,” he explained, his lips curving in a comforting smile.
“Because he’s perfect,” Sable said, and Cash wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tight.
“He is the best son… for now.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I don’t want to say the besteverbecause I plan on loving all my kids to death.”
Sable twisted in his hold and kissed his lips. She remained silent though, to keep from crying and embarrassing the table. She would love all their children as well,onlyshe would always have one less kid than Cash.
“Oh my goodness, how cute,” Angora crooned as she withdrew her gift. It was a sculpture like Lily’s egg, but this one was a pair of ears identical to the ones sitting atop Sable’s head.
“I was going to give you an egg too, but Dad said I should make something unique,” Clover said. “So, I made ears like Sable’s.”
“These are perfect.” Angora held them up against her real ears. “I love them. What a nice surprise.” She pulled the boy into another hug, and Clover grinned so wide that Sable worried he would hurt himself.
“It was a wonderful surprise, thank you,” Lily agreed. “This has been such a lovely afternoon. Does it have to end? Maybe we can go to the park?”
“We’re scheduled to visit my son,” Angora said. “My youngest boy just had a baby, and this was his wife’s first Mother’s Day. They wanted to spend the morningby themselves, but they asked if we would come for dinner to give my daughter-in-law a break. Her parents live abroad, so I’m her stand-in mom for the holiday.”
“Oh okay, maybe another time,” Lily said. “It was so nice meeting you guys. We should hang out as a group more often.”
“Grandma, just because Grandma Angora has to leave doesn’t mean you need to.” Clover moved to sit, but after staring at his chairfor a moment, he walked around the table and stood before Sable. He stared expectantly at her, and not sure what he wanted, she released Cash’s hand and leaned back in her seat. Clover instantly sat in her lap, curling sideways against her chest like a toddler and not an eleven-year-old boy. “Can grandma and grandpa go to the park with us?” he asked.
“Of course.” Sable wrapped him in her arms, unsure why the kid was suddenlyactinginsecure. “Why are you asking me, though?” she whispered. “You don’t need my permission to see your grandparents.”
“But I wanted to,” Clover said. “You know, because everyone always says, ‘Go ask your mother’.”
