“She gets that from you.” Irene turned to me. “Mia’s so good with her. And you’re the type of woman she needs in her life, Lila. Gentle. Reassuring. That woman—she took this precious child and taught her how to be small. Unnoticed. When I think of it, I want to chew nails. Or maybe use a nail gun on that scrawny butt of hers.”
Vance laughed. “Mama, you’ll scare Lila with that kind of talk.”
“No, I’m with you,” I said. “My ex basically did the same to Mia. Fortunately, I was here to compensate for the damage he did.”
“I really hope it’s not too late for Margot and me,” Vance said.
“It’s not,” I said. “You’ve already made such progress.”
“Thank God for Mia,” Vance said.
“She’s a good egg.” Irene reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “Well done, Mama.”
“Thank you. I’ve had a village. And she’s always been easy,” I said. “I lucked out.”
“And I hear she’s the one who put you on the dating site.” Her eyes twinkled. “I find that quite endearing.”
“My friends and I couldn’t believe it,” I said.
“Tell me everything. Have the others met anyone yet?” Irene asked.
I told her about Alex and Gillian. Irene listened intently, clearly delighted by the story.
“Maybe I should get on there,” Irene said.
“Really, Mom?”
Irene laughed. “God, no. All I need is a man causing me headaches.”
“That’s what I said.” I reached for Vance’s hand. “But so far, this one hasn’t caused even one headache.”
“Your friends sound very supportive of one another,” Irene said.
“They are. In fact, Seraphina’s throwing a celebration party for me tomorrow night. I think Mia mentioned it to you? Will you be able to join us? You can meet everyone.”
“I’d love to,” Irene said immediately.
“All my friends will be there. Their families. I think it would be good for Margot—to be with all the kids. They’re like Mia. All of them sweet as can be.”
“It’s an unusual group of kids who decide to put their mothers on a dating site,” Irene said, chuckling. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
I stood to clear plates. “We should clean up a bit before we have dessert.”
Irene rose to help, waving off my protests. “You cooked. I’ll clean. It’s only fair.”
“We’ll do it together,” I said.
We worked side by side in the kitchen, Vance drying while Irene washed and I put the leftovers away.
“What a lovely home,” Irene said, handing me a plate. “I can hardly wait to see the house when it’s finished.”
“I hope you’ll both be pleased.”
“It’s about time the old girl had a facelift,” Irene said. “I had a happy childhood in that house. It’ll be good to hear the laughter of children in those rooms again.”
“You must have a thousand memories,” I said. “I’ve tried to keep the past in mind while bringing it up to date.”
“How’s filming going?” Irene asked. “It was such fun to be on set. All the people it takes to make a show astounded me.”
