To a little slice of heaven
We left Senior House with big smiles on our faces. “Gosh, I hope Ash doesn’t think we...” I started to say.
“Honestly, Grace, she sort of set it up.”
“Not forthat.”
“Well, we don’t need to tell her everything.”
About halfway down the block, I stopped. “Full disclosure?”
“Always.”
I looked down at my feet. “I almost had an abortion.”
He looked at me steadily. “What stopped you?”
“I couldn’t do it.” My eyes started to well up.
“Please don’t cry. This is such a happy day—the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.” He kissed me.
“I know. I’m just so happy I made the right choice.”
“Me too,” he said, quietly, as he held me on the street.
We found Ash and Tati standing outside of a building. “Come in, this is so cool,” Ash yelled.
We walked in, and upon entering we realized it was a gallery, with a man standing in a suit. Tati introduced him as the owner of the gallery. “He agreed to let Ash put up these photos, and he loved them so much that he wants to run a show for the next two months.”
I looked around, stunned. They were all Matt’s photos of me blown up and mounted professionally. The first one was a color photo of me playing the cello in the old dorm room–a picture I had never seen before. The title tag next to it read “Grace in Color.” I started to cry then, big, happy tears.
“These are beautiful. God, Ash...” Matt was emotional, too; he could barely speak. We both hugged her between us as we walked through the gallery, staring at all the memories, admiring Matt’s talent and seeing his reaction to the photos, each so precious to him. It wasn’t long before all of us, including Tati, were crying.
Huddled together near the door, Ash said, “There’s just one more place. I have to go first, so give me a few minutes.”
“No clue?”
“No, this one is a surprise,” Ash said.
We all hugged and then Tati walked Ash to a cab. Just before Ash got in, she called back, “No more crying, you guys!”
“Okay, kid!” Matt called back.
Once Ash was gone, Tati walked up to us and put her hands on her hips. “Listen up. That little girl has been planning this for a long time. I told her it wasn’t a good idea and she promised me that if things don’t go her way, she won’t be heartbroken.”
“What is it, Tati?” I asked.
“I told her I wouldn’t tell.” She turned her attention to Matt. “Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen with your weird little family, but I have something to say to you personally. You saw how handy I am with a bow, right?” He nodded, with an amused smile on his face. “I will shove that thing so far up you-know-where, my friend, if you hurt either one of my girls.”
He immediately threw his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “I would never. They’re my girls, too,” he said quietly.
They pulled away and Tati pointed to the taxi behind her. “He knows where to take you. Go find your daughter.”
In the back of the cab, Matt and I held hands. I don’t think either one of us expected to pull up in front of City Hall, but that’s where we ended up. “How did she know?” Matt asked.
“Tati must have told her the story. Look, there she is.”
Ash was sitting on the steps, waiting for us. “Clever girl,” Matt said.
