Merry’s mother clinked her glass and signaled her daughter to join her. “Now that everyone is here, let’s eat.”
* * *
“Time to open the room,”Merry said to Carlisle before heading to the wall.
With one employee, she started undoing the latches. They quickly had them all undone and folded the wall. Carlisle hadn’t noticed that it was actually a partition dividing a larger room into two. The other room had round tables set with holiday ware, each holding a different centerpiece.
“Oh, Papa,” Grace breathed from beside him. “It’s beautiful.”
“You get to sit at our table,” Alex said. “Mama always leaves room in case we have extra people come. She loves to make decorations.”
“Which one is yours?” Carlisle asked the little boy, curious if the one with a miniature Hogwarts castle might be theirs.
“That one.” Alex pointed to the table next to the Harry Potter themed one.
Carlisle took Grace’s hand, and the three of them stepped closer to examine it.
“Your mother made this?” he asked, impressed with the attention to detail in the woodland scene of miniature animals and sparkling fairy lights. It would fit well in a room with a log cabin decor.
“Yeah.” Alex made a face. “I wanted superheroes.”
“It’s beautiful,” Grace said, her little face at the perfect height of the table to be at eye level with it.
At a quick flash of light behind Carlisle, he glanced back to find Merry with her phone held out.
“That was too precious to miss.” She stepped beside him and held up the phone so he could see.
Merry had focused on Grace, who had one arm resting on the edge of the table and the other one holding her head as she took in the tiny scene.
“Will you send it to me?” he asked.
“Of course.” She started typing on her phone.
“Have you ever considered doing interior decorating?”
“You’re not the first one to ask me that.” Merry looked suddenly tired. “But it’d mean going back to school. Happy Ducklings and I already split Alex’s awake hours about fifty-fifty. At least while he’s little andlikesmy company, I want to be there with him.”
The others assigned to their table arrived then, and she made introductions. Her words about time with her son stayed with Carlisle throughout the meal. There were a few other people who’d brought well-behaved children, but it appeared most of the attendees had treated it as a date night. From a few comments, others at the table were making the assumption that he and Merry were there as a couple. He didn’t correct them. What did it mean that Merry didn’t either?
For the first time since Cressy’s death, Carlisle wondered if he might be ready to move on. How would that affect Grace? He admired Merry’s philosophy of spending as much time with Alex as she could. Looking back on his own time with his daughter, his throat tightened. She’d certainly received the short end of the stick. Did she resent the time he’d spent on the project? Had he prioritized it over spending time with her?
His stomach knotted at the thought. He feared he had, and his sweet Grace deserved better. Carlisle was not the only one who’d lost someone precious on that terrible day. He’d needed a reason to face the slopes again. Though he doubted he’d ski anymore, he’d forced himself to go to the resort several times a week for the transceiver project. He made a pledge to himself and the memory of Cressy to do better by Grace.
While the guests were finishing their desserts, Linda walked to the front of the room. She did quite a good job as a speaker, with a nice balance of seriousness and self-deprecating humor. Apparently, there had been an office contest with humorous awards such ashaving the most skill in dancing around the issueor beingthe most likely to give unwanted advice. She and members of the audience referred to things which must be inside jokes because they meant nothing to Carlisle.
His grandfather would not approve of Linda’s laissez-faire approach to running a business, but it was clear her employees enjoyed working for her. It created a different atmosphere from the one Carlisle had with his team. He could learn a lot from her.
“You’re quiet,” Merry said, leaning closer. “Is this too boring for you?”
“No. I’m finding it quite educational.”
Before he could say more, Linda called an end to the meal and directed everyone back to the other room. The caterer’s staff was already removing the dishes.
“Now we’re going to have a gift game.” Merry extended her hand to Alex. “You weren’t warned, so you don’t need to worry about contributing.”
“Ah, but we brought candy ala Torta. I nearly forgot.” Carlisle’s thoughts went back to the moment earlier when he’d considered kissing Merry. It’d made him forget his manners. “It’s still in my overcoat. Let me retrieve it.”
When Carlisle returned, everyone had gathered in the first room again and had taken seats in a large circle. Merry waved him over to where she sat with Alex and Grace.
