That was gracious. “I just wanted to say that I know your situation and Andy’s might look a little different, but I’ll always be there for Drew.”
She raised her eyebrow, and I questioned whether I was going about this the right way.
“I’m lost.”
“Well, I mean, obviously with you guys starting over with a new baby, you won’t be at most of the games. She’ll have nap time and bedtime and then preschool in a couple years, and babies get sick, and…” I looked down into my coffee. “I know it isn’t what you planned, but I want you to know I’ll be there.”
Cheryl smirked. “Uh-huh. I see what you’re doing.”
I grinned. “Do you now?”
She sighed. “Mason, I have been a parent before. I can handle it again.”
“Cheryl, Iknowyou can handle it. You’re the best mom in the world. You and Andy are gold medal parents. I guess I’m just wondering whether you want to be gold medal parents again. I mean, you’ve sacrificed everything to give Drew his dream, and I guess I justwondered, with it sort of being your time now, if maybe you didn’t want to change your mind.”
Cheryl set her mug on the counter and crossed her arms. I had angered the bear. “Mason, no offense, but you don’t quite understand what it’s like. That little girl is mygranddaughter. And I didn’t even know she existed. Do I want to start over again? No. Not really. But it’s clear that Theodora isn’t going to step up.” She was getting kind of worked up. “She is going to sweep this under the rug and pretend it never happened. Someone has to be there for this girl. So it’s going to be us.”
I understood her point. If something happened to Amelia and Parker, George and Greer became mine. Of course, I would have two grandmothers and a lot of help, but sometimes I’d wake up in a cold sweat imagining if that ever came to fruition. It would wreck my life in a lot of ways. But they were my niece and nephew. I would never,everlet them be raised by anyone else. I knew I should shut up now. I knew I should set my mug down and walk away, but I couldn’t help but think of Daisy’s distraught face. And so I had to give this all I had.
I nodded. “But, Cheryl, Daisy would be an amazing mother to her. That’s all I wanted to say. She’s a nurse. And she’s kind and warm and she loves that little girl more than anything in the world.” I was surprised by the way my voice broke when I said that. But her broken heart broke mine. Or maybe this conversation was just reminding me of myownbroken heart. I had imagined what it would be like for Daisy, Maisy, and me to be a family. And now I was never going to get to see that come true. And that hurt. But all I could do now was move forward. And knowing I wouldn’t have to live the rest of my life with the knowledge that I had kept something as monumental as his own child from Drew was a small consolation.
Cheryl picked her coffee up again. “She’s a sweet girl, Mason. But she isn’t family.”
Now was when I should walk away. Even still, I couldn’t resist. I leaned forward a little. “If Drew and Sarah had come to you, Cheryl, if Sarah had told Drew she was pregnant, and they had sat you down in the living room and told you, what would you have done?”
“Cried my eyes out and mourned for my baby’s bright future,” she said, smiling just a little.
“Well, sure. I would have done that too.”
We both laughed. “But what would you have advised them to do?”
Cheryl sighed. “Mason, you’re the good-time guy. Don’t get deep on me now.”
I knew I shouldn’t push her anymore, but I had to hear her say it. “But Cheryl…”
“I would have told them that the right thing to do would be to give the baby up for adoption. I would have told them that they both had bright futures ahead of them and that, while babies were miracles, they were also a lot of work, and they should wait until they were older and ready for that level of responsibility.” She said it quickly, like she was running a race. “Okay? Are you happy? That’s what I would have said. But then she was a theoretical baby. Now she’s real. And I can’t not know my own granddaughter.”
That gave me a thought. “But what if you did know her? What if Daisy adopted her, but you and Andy always got to be in her life? You were her grandparents in a regular grandparent kind of way?”
Cheryl’s eyes filled now. “Mason,” she whispered. “I know you aren’t trying to be hurtful, but I need this conversation to be over. Andy and I have talked about this until we’re blue in the face. And this is what we’ve decided. We’re going to raise our granddaughter. I’m sorry if that upsets you. And if you don’t feel like we can coexist, I’m surewe can remedy that.” Her voice went cold on that last sentence. Ah. She had gone there. Did Cheryl and Andy have the power to have the new job I was so thrilled about taken away? I wasn’t sure. But I didn’t want to test it.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” I said. I meant that sincerely. “I just had to say my piece, you know?”
“Now you’ve said it.” She raised her eyebrow at me. “Want a muffin?”
I gave her credit for forgiving me so quickly.
“Yeah. I definitely want a muffin.”
I thought again about what a great childhood Maisy would have here, with her grandparents in their loving home. I knew that should be enough for me. That’s what we all wanted, right? The perfect place for Maisy. But I couldn’t help but think, as I buttered my muffin, that I had failed Daisy in the worst possible way. Again. Maybe I had hoped that this would be the grand gesture, that she would forgive me. But, as I took a bite, the taste of sweet cinnamon filling my mouth, I realized that the dream of Daisy and me was dead. We were all just going to have to move on.
DAISYMoral Support
I was just getting Maisy down and bustling around my apartment, popping popcorn, pulling out wineglasses, and organizing boxes of peanut butter M&M’s on the counter. Laura and Carmen had invited me to a movie, but, when I didn’t have anyone to watch Maisy, they decided to just come over here to watch one.
At the soft knock on the door, I looked over at the microwave. It was only seven o’clock, and they weren’t supposed to arrive until eight. My heart jumped all the way into my throat. As I cautiously opened the door, I let myself imagine, hope, pray… but as I opened it, I saw another man, one I wasn’t expecting. “Dad!”
“Clara,” he said, grinning.
