When we pulled apart, Tilley was singing, and Mason swept his hand toward the stage. “So, did you notice?”
“I noticed that Tilley is killing it if that’s what you mean.”
“No, no. Did you notice my grand gesture?”
“Oh, is that what that was?”
His face fell. “Did you really not notice?”
I hugged him and said, “Of course I noticed. It was the grandest of grand gestures.” I pulled away and looked at him. “But I don’t need a grand gesture. I just need us to communicate.”
He nodded. “Got it. Are you sure you want to move in with me? I’m kind of a work in progress. Or maybe a fixer-up—”
“No one ever said anything about moving in with you!” I blurted out. Speaking of bad communication… I said it like I didn’t want to, but oh, how I did. “You don’t need that kind of pressure.”
Mason furrowed his brow. “Well, I just figured that if you were going to move, it would be with me. I have this three-bedroom house right near campus, and you could walk to the hospital, and we could walk through town and go out to eat, and…” He trailed off and studied my face. “Is that not what you want?”
In that moment, I knew. “It is exactly what I want. But I don’t want it to be too much too soon.”
Mason slid his arms around my waist and leaned his forehead against mine. “It’s not too much. It’s barely enough.”
“Mason Thaysden, if you had ever told me that the ne’er-do-well baseball coach would take a step this quickly…”
“Ne’er-do-well? Really?”
“Aunt Tilley is my best friend. I’ve picked up some vocab.”
As if I’d summoned her, Tilley rushed off the stage in a state of glee and wrapped her arms around the two of us. “You are a star!” I said. “A true, bona fide star!”
“You are, Till,” Mason said, kissing her cheek.
“Oh, and, um, I think there’s a present waiting in your dressing room,” I said.
“A present? Formoi?” Tilley asked grandly. “Why, I never…” She scurried off.
Mason took my hand. “Hey, Dais.”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, you know.”
I smiled. “Yeah. I know. And I love you too. Very much. And, Mason, I know this is kind of scary, but I really think it’s going to work.”
“I know it will.” Mason wrapped me in his arms again and kissed me as cast members flooded off the stage, bumping and jostling us. It was a crazy, discombobulated scene. But, in that moment, Mason and I might as well have been the only two people in the world.
TILLEYSpring Chickens
Tilley truly felt like she was floating on air, like if she tried, she could lift her arms and fly away. Being onstage was a high she had forgotten, a thrill she had longed for, a balm that her soul had needed. And not only had it helped her move forward, but it had also brought Daisy and Mason back together, those two darling things, who were, as any fool could see, more than meant to be together. Sure, she had been a little disappointed to look out into the audience and not see George. But he was a busy man and, after all, he had said he wouldtryto be there for opening night. Of course, there was always the possibility that he had gotten home and realized he couldn’t move forward with her, that it was too much. And she, with her gentle heart, would more than understand.
She was ready to get to her present in the dressing room, but she saw something even better than a present approaching her. Her beloved. Her child, who, at long last, knew he was her very own baby boy. He wasn’t happy about it, necessarily. But he had continued to show up, which was perhaps more than she had hoped for.
Robbie handed Tilley an armful of lilies, her favorite. She inhaled them and kissed him on his cheek. “You were sensational,” he said.That was enough for her. But he added, “And I love you so much. Thank you for sacrificing your happiness for mine.”
She could have burst into tears. But she was an actress, as she had been reminded tonight. So she did not do that. Instead, she hugged her son, the flowers between them. “There is so much in my life that is hazy, that I don’t remember or understand, that I cannot explain. But the one constant, the single truth.” She looked up at him, and locked her eyes on his so he would know she meant it: “I have only ever loved you.”
“How many people can say that?” He kissed her cheek. “See you at dinner?”
“See you at dinner,” Tilley agreed.
