“Okay, I take that back,” Sheldon says now. “I think you two are being ostracized more than ogled.”
“Thank you, Sheldon.” I clench my teeth. “Thanks for the dictionary lesson.”
At the tap on my shoulder, I turn to face Daphne as she kneels next to me. “Hi, Daph,” I say quickly.
“Hi. Look, I’m sorry I haven’t called. I’ve been…”
“I know, busy,” I say.
“Well, that’s not really true,” she says. “I just haven’t known what to say because I don’t think I understand the kind of love you and Jenson have for each other.”
I did not expect that to come out of her mouth. “You’ve been married for years. And you love Todd.”
“And yet I don’t understand. You and Jenson are willing to risk being kicked out of the family and to suffer complete humiliation from Liberty Falls in order to be together. That’s really big.”
“Well…thanks, I think.”
She gives me a hug. “I admire you,” she says just as Mom calls across to me from her table.
I gesture that I’ll be right over, but my mother apparently can’t wait. She stands up and hustles over to me, practically knocking Daphne out of the way.
“See you later,” Daphne says as she gives Mom a look and goes to sit down.
“Hi, Jenson.” Mom moves over so that she can kneel in between the two of us.
He says hello to her, and then she turns to me. “Oh, Olivia, HypnoFantasy was fabulous!”
I close my eyes for a second, hoping when I open them, my mother will have instantaneously vaporized back to her table.
But no such luck. Mom’s still talking, and I open my eyes to see Jenson grinning at me.
“Sooo freeing,” she says. “So invigorating. I found myself speaking out loud all these secret fantasies I’ve had for your father and never had the courage to act on!”
I resist the urging to cover her mouth. “That’s great, Mom. Maybe we can talk more later…”
“I just wish you could have joined us,” Mom says. “Bea said the same thing. All night she said, ‘I wish Olivia was here, too. Imagine the years’ worth of fantasies she’s buried for Jenson!’ And I told her I agreed. Honey, you must try some sexual fantasy evocation on your own.” Mom turns to Jenson. “Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Jenson?”
“Absolutely,” he says, and his eyes brighten on mine. “I’m glad you enjoyed the class, Nora.”
“Mom, can this wait?” I say. “Today is awkward enough. Please, let’s talk later.”
Mom shushes herself and creeps back to her table just as Jenson’s mother approaches the front of the hall and takes the microphone.
Cindy asks for our attention, and without any pausing or small talk, she immediately tells the room the truth about Jenson’s conception and birth.
My head immediately turns to my father. His face is ashen.
Cindy’s attention is also focused directly on Dad. “I never wanted to hurt either of them,” she pleads to my father. “Please believe me.”
My father’s kind eyes are warm when he nods at her. “It will be okay, Cindy,” he assures her. “No one’s getting kicked out of this family. You, Dee, and Jenson are all part of the Grahams.”
Not everyone has the same response. Gasps echo through the room, followed by calls for Dee, the “poor man who didn’t know any better.”
A raucous clamoring for Dee ensues with Cybil standing up and shouting as Patsy holds her by the elbow to keep her steady. Cybil cries loudly for Dee, begging somebody to please call him up and get him over here before he dies of loneliness.
Jenson finally holds up his phone to show that he has Dee on the line. “He’s getting a haircut,” Jenson announces to the room. “He’ll stop by afterward.”
Cindy returns to the microphone and says that she would also like to add, for clarity’s sake, that Jenson and I are not related by blood, and therefore any children we have will not come from the same genes.
Patsy breathes a sigh of relief. “So it’s the best of both. Jenson and Olivia are both in the family, but not in a gross way. So they’re keeping it all in the family by being together.”
Another silence before Cindy says, “Thank you for your input, Patsy. Let’s eat, shall we?”
Dad steps to the microphone now. He recommends that everybody enjoy the meal Cindy organized “for all of us, and I suggest everyone take a moment to bow their heads and think about forgiveness and acceptance. Life isn’t perfect, and neither are people,” he adds. “Let’s let Dee and Cindy work this out between the two of them.”
The flash from the cameras is constant, and when I look over at Glenn, he gives me the thumbs-up.
“I think your dad just came up with his re-election theme,” Jenson whispers in my ear.
I take Jenson’s hand in mine. Our love is no longer a secret, and being able to fully live our story at last is the best part of all.
