Katherine and Ed are already seated in the restaurant when we arrive. It’s the first time the four of us have been together since the wedding.
We all hug and take a seat. Katherine is beaming as usual. There’s something different about the dynamic between Hunter and Ed. They seem closer somehow. Like a barrier that was between them has been broken down or something. Hunter told me about flying to Boston to get things back on track with Ed after the honeymoon, and it’s obviously worked.
“How’s the new house?” I ask. “I can’t wait to visit.”
“You have to come stay soon.” Katherine pauses. “Well, not too soon, because the entire thing’s a mess. We have so much to do.”
“Everything needs changing,” Ed says. “But it’s our forever home, so we don’t mind if it takes a while.”
“Just not too long,” Katherine says.
“How’s Mom with everything?” I ask.
Katherine winces. “I mean, not great. I’m getting the Lucy treatment. She’s being snippy and making snide comments.” She and Ed share a glance, and I can tell my sister gets strength from the man she loves. Strength to cope with the disapproval of our mother.
I nod, knowing exactly what Katherine is going through.
“She’ll get used to it ...” I stop myself. “Well, she might never get used to it, but you’ll get used to her disapproval.”
“Ed says I need to train myself to tune it out.”
Ed and Hunter exchange a look. They’ve clearly had a conversation about this: our mom and the power she wields over us. Or at least, she did. Her power is waning as we move forward in our own lives.
“We have news,” I say, squeezing Hunter’s hand under the table. “We’re apartment-hunting.”
Katherine squeals. “You’re moving in together?”
We’re not just moving in together. It’s more serious than that, but from the outside looking in, we’re taking the next step.
“Yeah, we’re looking in this area, actually. A few blocks south.”
“So we can both walk to work,” Hunter adds. “Eventually, the nanny will walk the kids with us, so we can have as much time with them as possible.”
Katherine’s eyes flare. “You’re pregnant?”
Hunter laughs. “Not yet.” He turns to me. “Are you?”
It’s my turn to laugh, and I shake my head. “Very definitely not pregnant,” I confirm.
“Right,” Hunter says. “But later on. When we have kids.”
“So this is a real thing,” Katherine says.
I shrug. “He’s it for me.”
Hunter grins, leans across, and kisses my cheek. “She’s more than enough for me.” He laughs, and I elbow him in the ribs. “In the best possible way. She’s the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want her to be the mother of my children and ... yeah, I want us to grow old together.”
Katherine sits back in her seat. “Well, this isn’t what I was expecting to hear today. I thought you were going to tell us you’d split up and that it was all amicable, but that was that, or that you’d only ever pretended to be together to keep me happy.”
Hunter squeezes my thigh, but neither of us say anything.
“I didn’t think that,” Ed says. “I knew when Hunter came to Boston that things had changed for him. And Lucy was that change.”
“You’re right,” Hunter says. “Lucy showed me the man I want to become.”
I glance across at him. How did I get so lucky? I feel like he plucked me out of a hurricane of desperation. Desperate to be the good sister, the loved daughter, the capable paralegal. And now I’m ... me. Not desperate to be anything or anyone but who I am.
“You were always that man,” I say to him.
