Carl stood as they reached the table, giving Beck a friendly pat on the shoulder before shaking Seth’s hand. “Morning, you three. Everyone sleep well?”
“Like a rock,” Beck replied as Mom hugged Heavenly. “The sheets at that hotel have some serious thread count.”
“Everything was super comfortable.” Seth kissed his mother’s cheek before rounding the table and sliding across the bench to sit strategically beside her.
With all the wedding craziness, he wouldn’t have much time to talk one-on-one with her. He could practically feel the time ticking away before he had to walk her down the aisle and fly home again. Bending her ear while he could was critical.
Heavenly slid in after him, her thigh brushing his as she laid her hand over his and spoke to his son. “I’m surprised I could hear the traffic twenty floors up.”
Hudson took the chair across from her, beside Beck. “Really?”
She nodded. “It was crazy.”
His mom just laughed. “There’s a reason people call it the city that never sleeps, dear.”
“I had to see it to understand.” Heavenly flashed a self-deprecating grin before changing the subject. “How are you feeling with the wedding two days away?”
“Nervous but excited,” his mom admitted. “I’m so afraid I’ve forgotten something important, but Carl just tells me to relax.”
“Everything’s going to be perfect.” Her groom sent her a reassuring smile across the table.
As he, Beck, and Heavenly began comparing life in New York and California with Hudson hanging on their every word, Seth saw his opening. Time to start laying the groundwork.
“You seem happy this morning,” Seth said quietly as the waitress brought their coffee and paused to take their order.
After her departure, his mom smiled and stirred more cream into her cup. “I am, though I feel a bit run ragged trying to take care of all the last-minute details.” She glanced at Carl, her expression softening. “But I’m marrying a good man. I never thought I’d get another chance at this kind of happiness.”
“You deserve it.”
“Thank you, honey.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m so happy for you and Heavenly. Having you two here—and announcing your engagement—makes everything even better. And Beck seems like a wonderful friend. I’m glad he came, too. He fits right in with the family.”
Seth overheard Beck describe the last medical conference he’d attended with his usual sarcasm. They all laughed, and Heavenly poked gentle fun at him. But the tightness at the corners of his eyes told Seth just how much effort it cost him to keep that smile in place.
“I thought he would.” Seth leaned in close to his mom and dropped his voice. “Speaking of family, how are things with Jack and Connor lately?”
Her smile faltered slightly, her fingers tightening around her coffee mug. “Better. Not...normal, but better.”
“That’s progress.” And at least she wasn’t hostile anymore. Struggling, he’d expected. She even sounded a bit resigned. Maybe that meant she was trying to accept their choices?
“I suppose. I’m still trying to understand why they share women that way. The glimpse I saw… It was so shocking. I still can’t wrap my head around it.”
Seth’s throat went dry. How could he explain the completeness, the rightness of what he shared with Beck and Heavenly when he couldn’t admit yet that their relationship even existed?
“Have you talked to them any more?”
“A little. They’ve been respectful about my boundaries—no bringing women to the house, no flaunting one in public. And I’ve tried not to be intrusive.” She sighed, her voice dropping. “I love them, but I don’t know how to accept this part of their lives.”
“Are you hoping they’ll grow out of it?”
Her silence was answer enough.
“Mom…” Seth chose his next words carefully, as if he was defusing a bomb. “I’ve talked to them. This isn’t a phase. They’re not experimenting or rebelling. This is who they are, the way they’ve chosen to express love.”
“But—”
“I know you don’t approve, but if you want them in your life, you’re going to have to make peace with their choices.”
His mom’s eyes filled with tears. “You said the same thing last time we talked, and you made good points. I’m not trying to be old-fashioned. I’ve been praying about it, thinking about it...”
