“Yeah, Mom,” Sloane said. “How do you think she got this way?”
Mom sighed, and I finally pulled away from Kyle.
“Living in sin with a baby,” Mom said. “It’s a new day. Im getting too old for this.”
Jack walked through the back door, cautiously. “Is it safe to come in now?”
Mom motioned for him to come in and said, “I’ll get the guesthouse ready.”
“It’s OK,” Kyle said. “Em can stay with me.”
I shook my head. “No way. I have to get back to set tomorrow. I want us all together, one big, happy family. Let’s spend the night at Jack’s!”
“Yay!” Caroline cheered.
Mom looked up at Jack. “You wanted them, remember? You wanted to know them and be in their lives. This is what you get.”
“Yeah, Grack,” Sloane said, patting Jack on the back.
We all laughed hysterically.
And I realized that this was one of the many, many reasons that I loved the movies. Things working out like they should. Everything being OK. Happily ever afters. And now, finally, it looked like I might just get mine.
FORTY-ONE
ansley: everything you never wanted
Iwas on Kimmy’s farm with Taylor, AJ, and Jack when I got the call. Emerson, who was three days past her due date, would be induced in two days. There was so much to do. We were already packed, but I needed to call Caroline and Sloane, book a flight, get a hotel room... But before I rushed off to tend to the to-dos, I looked over at Kimmy, the produce girl who, little by little, had wormed her way into my heart and finally, after all these years, had broken down and let me give her an alliterated nickname like everyone else in town had: Kohlrabi Kimmy. The town still preferred Kale Kimmy, but she had insisted that kale was too trendy for her. Kohlrabi, her favorite root vegetable, evidently was a classic.
Taylor and AJ were running after the chickens while she showed them her crops. It was a little-boy paradise, and it made me realize that I should bring them out here more often. I leaned against Jack, the hot midday sun beating down on my face as we sat on the dusty ground, and I was glad I had remembered my SPF that morning.
He kissed my head. “My grandchildren are a miracle,” he said. Then he looked at me. “Am I allowed to say that now? My grandchildren?”
I laughed. He had accidentally said that several months earlier while helping me with the boys when Sloane was out for the night, and I had nearly panicked. Inside, I mean. Externally, I thought I had done a fairly good job of keeping it together. Obviously not.
Kimmy was kneeling in front of Taylor, showing him one of her namesake kohlrabis. She was one of those rare people who was a bit awkward with grown-ups but an absolute genius with kids. It was a gift to be that way, I believed. I smiled at them before turning back to my husband.
“Yes, Jack. I’d say that you can legitimately call them your grandchildren now.”
“I get to be there when one of them is born,” Jack said excitedly. I looked up and kissed him softly. My kids were lucky to have him. So were my grandkids.
“Funny how sometimes getting everything you never wanted can make you so happy,” he added.
We both laughed. “It’s peaceful out here, isn’t it?” I asked.
He nodded. “Maybe we should get some land.”
I shrugged. “Maybe we should just borrow Kimmy’s. I think she likes it when we come out here.” Judging from the glow on her face, I think she loved it, actually.
“Speaking of that, what do we do about the houses?”
I jerked my head up off his shoulder. “What do you mean, what do we do about the houses?” I could feel that I was glaring.
He put his hands up in surrender. “Hey, calm down. I’m just asking. Do we keep two houses right next door to each other?”
“I can’t possibly part with Grandmother’s house,” I said. “All of my best memories are in that house. My mother died in that house.” That was something I always thought I would consider a black mark against a place. Instead, I still loved walking onto that calm, peaceful porch and remembering that was where my mother took her last breath, that we were all under the same roof when it happened. It felt special, not creepy.
“Can you part with my house?”
