Eleanor would have been happy to sit there for a while, just kissing in the car like a pair of teenagers, but she only allowed herself a moment or two before she pulled back.
“We can’t miss June’s performance,” she said, a distinct pout in her voice.
Garrett sighed as he pulled away, but he refastened his seatbelt, flicked on the blinker even though the road was empty, and pulled back onto the main road.
“You know,” he said conversationally, “I take it all back. This right here, having to stop kissing you to go to a restaurant? That is annoying.”
“You like my friends,” she reminded him.
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I do.” He sounded sour about it, and Eleanor reached over to pat his knee affectionately. That was her curmudgeonly boyfriend.
Herboyfriend.
She stifled a squeak of happiness.
When they arrived at Anchor Bistro, they were… well, they wereverylate, actually. As soon as they had parked, Eleanor and Garrett hurried out of the car and crossed the parking lot. Inside, the restaurant was bustling, a bit more than usual. This was largely in part due to the big group of their friends, all of whom had shown up to support June.
Miriam and Diana were sitting in a booth, Benjamin between them, looking as though he was about to bounce out of his seat with excitement. He had an array of comic books, coloring pages, and crayons in front of him, but he was ignoring it all to gaze adoringly at his mom where she was shifting her weight nervously near the side of the makeshift stage that the bistro put up for their open mic events.
Across from them in the booth was Isabelle, who wasnotignoring the toys laid out in front of her. She was focusing intently on a picture of a dragon, whose scales she was illustrating in different shades of pink and purple.
And next to her?
Both her parents. CadenceandTyler. Looking very cozy indeed, if Eleanor did say so herself.
She caught Cadence’s eye as she and Garrett crossed the room to join their friends, giving her eyebrow a significant waggle. Cadence blushed and ducked her head, but there was a smile on her face.
“Hey, all,” Eleanor called.
Miriam made a production of glancing at her watch. “Well, well, well,” she said. “Finally the lovebirds grace us with their presence.”
“Sorry,” Eleanor said, not feeling sorry at all. “Myboyfriendand I were just having a little chat in the car about how wonderful everything is.”
“Ooh, boyfriend,” Diana said in the singsong cadence of a middle schooler.
This caught Benjamin’s attention briefly. “Do you have a boyfriend, Ms. Ellie?” he asked in his piping child’s voice.
“I do,” Eleanor confirmed, squeezing Garrett’s arm.
“I would have waited to say it if I had known I was going to get teased by kids,” Garrett grumbled.
“I do not believe you,” Eleanor returned.
Isabelle was not to be left out. “If you’re boyfriend and girlfriend,” she asked, tapping at her chin with a purple crayon, “does that mean youkiss? Does it mean you’re inlove? Are you going to get married and havebabies?”
Tyler reached around Cadence and playfully put his hand over his daughter’s mouth.
“Sorry,” he said as Izzy giggled behind his palm, using her own hands to clasp his more firmly against her face. “We have not yet managed to instill the lesson about personal questions.”
“You can make it up to me by buying me a beer,” Garrett joked.
“Deal,” Tyler said. The two men headed over to the bar. Eleanor slipped into Tyler’s now vacant seat.
“So…” Eleanor said to Cadence, keeping her voice low so that Izzy didn’t overhear anything. She didn’t know what her friends had told their daughter. She didn’t envy them. Her own divorce had taken place after her son was grown, which had left her able to talk with Jeremy as an adult to an adult. She was still his mother, of course, but it was different. With little kids, you had to be careful.
“I know,” Cadence said, shooting a glance over at her daughter, who had already gone back to her intent coloring project. The dragon was getting a surprise patch of orange scales, now. It looked great. “It’s still very early days, but… it feels right. I feel good.”
Eleanor wrapped her friend in a quick hug. “Good. You know that all any of us wants for you is happiness.”
