She nods. Grandma nudges me gently. “And what about you Tenley, love? Anything happy to share?”
I smile.
“Tenley has a boyfriend,” Liv announces. “She’s dating her husband.”
Grandma laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t fully understand but if you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“So is the divorce off?” Mom asks, her green eyes wide. “Do I actually have a son-in-law?”
"I'm happy," I say firmly. "But I can't guarantee we'll stay married."
Grady takes the floor, telling people he was offered a contract extension, and I'm happy the conversation has turned away from me. I don't like being the center of it. Talking about Nash and me feels like I'm jinxing it. Probably because Nash hasn't responded to any of my texts since I left Los Angeles.
The wait feels like days but in reality, Callie is back in her room in under two hours.
You can feel the relief in the air as soon as she's wheeled by the waiting room and she flashes us one of her trademark grins. We take turns flooding her room. Conner, Mac, Liv, and Mayhem go first, with Uncle Devin of course. Devin never leaves Callie's room or her side as the rest of us take turns visiting her. After her kids, it's my mom and dad, Aunt Rose and Uncle Luc, and then Grandma and Grandpa. When it's finally my turn I go in with Shelby and Grady. I log everything I see in my brain for any future panic attacks. That she has color in her cheeks, that she's in great spirits even though she's groggy from the anesthetic, that the doctor told her that it went without a hitch, and that he has to wait for the results but he isn't leaning toward cancer.
Callie yawns. Devin kisses her forehead. “I think you need sleep now.”
“I was just in a forced sleep for two hours,” Callie complains. She turns her head to me, at the foot of her bed. “You’re falling for that Westwood, aren’t you?”
“A little.”
She smiles and I feel relief that she seems to approve. Callie’s opinion matters greatly to me. “I knew you had a little of Rosie in you and a lot more of your mom than me.”
"I'd argue that," I counter because everyone has always said I'm Callie's personality through and through. Callie has never argued that until today. "I mean you have my mouth and my snark but you're a softy when it comes to love, like Rosie, and you definitely have your mother’s fierce loyalty. Once she gave her heart to Big Bird it was all over, even if it took her years to realize it. Don’t take years, Ten. If he’s the one, let him know and fight for him.”
"Like I had to fight for Callie," Devin announces and she rolls her eyes. "She's softer than she thinks too, by the way. Showed up at my house with this big declaration of love like a dude in an 80s rom-com. It was epic."
“He exaggerates,” Callie says but she’s blushing and beaming at him, albeit sleepily.
I walk to the side of the bed and lean down to give her a gentle hug. “We are going to let you sleep.”
Shelby and Grady hug her too. She whispers something in Grady’s ear and ruffles his wild red hair, which is only eclipsed by his unbelievably wild red playoff beard.
We make our way out to the parking lot, leaving Aunt Callie with Uncle Devin who we know wouldn’t leave her side even if we demanded it. The late afternoon air in Maine is damp and heavy because it rained on and off all day. I stupidly forgot to grab a jacket when we left earlier today because I’m so used to Southern California weather I never think about layers anymore.
Shelby glances up from her phone. “Barbecue at Liv’s.”
My stomach rumbles at the mere mention of food. I was too nervous to eat anything all day. I’m also sleepy, but food will win for now. The drive to Aunt Callie and Uncle Devin’s lakeside house is one I could do with my eyes closed because my parents’ home is right next door and that’s where I grew up. Their long drive is lined with trees just starting to finally get their green leaves back after a long winter. The house looks like it always does, welcoming and breathtaking with its mix of river rock and stained wood. Behind one of the two towering fir trees, I catch a glimpse of the lake churning gently behind it.
We all walk around the side of the house instead of entering through the double front doors. We’re led by our noses because someone has already started grilling and the smell of charring meat is strong and delicious. Tate is bickering with Conner at the grill on the edge of the back porch. Mac is inside the house setting the long dining table just inside the French doors. Mayhem is curled up on the porch swing asleep. Liv raises a finger to her lips as she emerges from the house onto the porch with skewers of vegetables. “She hasn’t slept in days. No joke. I’ve heard her wandering around the house at all hours since she left school.”
I glance down at her. “I can’t say I fault her.”
Liv smiles. “I don’t either, but Dad is kind of freaking out that she took a break, especially from the team. She was supposed to enter the draft this summer, but now… well she’s going to have to finish her senior year and try after.”
“Why?”
“She bailed on her team during playoffs,” Tate says to me. “It’s not favorable for her odds and those were already stacked against her because?—”
“Because of the ridiculous misogyny that runs deep in the veins of the league but no one will ever dare admit out loud,” Grady announces and his jaw is tight. “She’s a girl so she needs to make it impossible to not draft her.”
“And leaving the team because of a family matter is…” I exhale, shaking my head. “Not something that a dude would do.”
“We all did it,” Conner says as he flips a steak. “And I could have rushed back tonight and made it for the game, maybe. But then it makes it seem like it’s okay to neglect my mother and makes Mae seem weak for not blowing this off.”
Conner has always called Callie his mom even though, biologically, she isn’t. His own mother is alive and well, but Conner insists on giving them both the moniker, although publicly he refers to Callie as Mama C. I like how blended we are that way. All my aunts and uncles have always parented their nieces and nephews, which is why this health scare with Callie hits us all enough to come home.
