Happily Ever After

by Jae

  Dawn chuckled and went to help her mother pack up the last few items in the kitchen.

  “You’re humming,” Grace said as she closed the last moving box.

  Dawn looked up and smiled. “I am? Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. It isn’t bothering me,” Grace said. “I love seeing you so happy.” After everything that had happened to Dawn last year, Grace had feared her daughter would never again be truly happy.

  “I am happy,” Dawn said, smiling even more brightly.

  “Oh, just wait until she starts to squeeze the tube of toothpaste from the wrong end.”

  Dawn laughed. She abandoned the moving boxes and walked over to Grace, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Mom,” she whispered. “Thank you for your support and for welcoming Aiden into the family.”

  “Hush,” Grace said, feeling tears threaten. “You’re my daughter. You’ll always have my support, no matter what. And Aiden is a wonderful addition to the family. I know your father would have thought so too.”

  “He would have kicked your butts for standing here chatting while there’s still so much work to do,” Del said from the doorway.

  Grace let go of Dawn and turned to her best friend. Del’s dark eyes were a little moist too, but Grace ignored it with a smile, not wanting to embarrass her. “That’s what you’re here for.”

  “Yeah, and I even brought help,” Del said. “Kade and her mother are in the living room. And I think Austen pulled in after us.”

  “Kade’s mother?” Grace asked. She had barely gotten used to the fact that Del had a girlfriend, and now it seemed there was a whole family involved.

  Del nodded. “She came to visit Kade a week early, and now she’s giving Kade a hard time about not bending over backward to spend time with her.”

  “So you brought her with you to help us move? Del, really!” Dawn shook her head. “I doubt that was what she had in mind when she came to spend time with Kade.”

  Del shrugged. “She has a big chip on her shoulder, and she’s less than supportive of Kade, so I thought it would be good to introduce her to Positive Family Interaction 101.”

  “And you want us to teach that course?” Dawn asked.

  “Oh, no. Just be yourselves. If Sophie is as clever as her daughter, she’ll learn just by watching,” Del said.

  Dawn gave her a skeptical look. “What if she’s also as stubborn as her daughter?”

  “Well,” Del said, “then anything could happen.”

  Aiden couldn’t help staring as Kade entered the living room. She had never seen her in anything but custom-tailored power suits. Seeing Kade Matheson in jeans and an old T-shirt with her red hair pulled back into a ponytail would take some getting used to.

  “Hi, Kade.” Their working relationship had slowly developed into a timid friendship over the past few months, so Aiden stepped forward and hugged her for a moment.

  It felt…wrong. Well, not really wrong. It wasn’t that she felt guilty for hugging Kade. Dawn always encouraged her to build a friendship with Kade, so she would be fine with them hugging. Aiden embraced Kade for a few seconds longer while she tried to figure it out.

  Kade was a few inches taller than Dawn’s familiar five-four. Her less obvious curves met Aiden’s body in all the wrong places. Aiden realized that she had been comparing everything in her life, and every woman she met, with Dawn on an unconscious level for some time now. The cooking of Ray’s wife was not as good as Dawn’s, Austen’s eyes were not as expressive as Dawn’s gray-green irises, and Kade’s confident elegance was no longer more attractive than Dawn’s gentle warmth.

  With a laugh, she let go of Kade. Only then did she realize that they were not alone in the living room.

  Sophie stopped in the doorway and watched as the stranger greeted Kadence. The warm embrace surprised her. She had never seen anyone greet Kadence in such a way. Were they…? She let her analytical gaze slide over the short-haired woman. Wasn’t she one of the officers working with Kadence? She had met her daughter’s colleagues only once, so she wasn’t sure.

  Finally, Kadence and the stranger separated and turned toward her, but at the same moment, the doorbell rang and half a dozen more moving helpers arrived while others came in from the bedroom. The noise level went up as all around Sophie hugs were exchanged, jokes were thrown back and forth, and children chattered excitedly. She suppressed the urge to cover her ears. What was this—moving day or a wild party?

  “Grandmother Sophie?” a young voice said behind her. “What are you doing here?”

  Sophie turned and came face-to-face with her granddaughter. “Laurel? I could ask you the same question.”

  “I’m helping them move. Aiden is Evan’s half sister.” Laurel pointed at someone within the throng of laughing and hugging people.

  “Aiden? Evan?” Sophie still didn’t understand what Laurel had to do with this group of adults.

  Laurel nodded and tugged on the sleeve of someone right next to them. “Grandmother, this is Evan—my girlfriend.”

  Sophie stared at her granddaughter, who fidgeted but kept clutching the girl’s sleeve. Her gaze shifted to the other teenager. Good God! She took in the worn leather jacket, the tattoo peeking out of the V-neck T-shirt, and the girl’s very short hair. No wonder Laurel had broken her arm when she had been with this…this… She shook her head. How could Laurel’s parents allow this? She needed to have a serious talk with Douglas Jr.!

  The girl wiped her hand on her jeans and offered it to Sophie. “Hi.”

  “Hello.” Only her good manners made her shake the girl’s hand.

  “It’s really super of you to come and help them move,” Laurel said. “Has anyone introduced you to Dawn? I know you’ll love her. She really is the coolest woman. She’s even letting me ask her all these questions about becoming a psychologist.”

  Sophie stopped her granddaughter’s rambling with a raised hand. “Becoming a psychologist?” She frowned.

  “Yeah. That’s what I want to do. My grades are good enough.”

  “I think it’s great,” the girl next to her said.

  Sophie shot her a quick glance but didn’t bother to answer the irrelevant remark. “Your grades are good enough to do anything. Why would you want to become a psychologist?” No Matheson had ever made her living dealing with other people’s problems and inadequacies.

  “I want to help people and make a difference in their lives, just the way Dawn and Evan’s new therapist did for Evan,” Laurel said.

  Kadence joined them before Sophie could think of a reply. “Mother, would you mind riding in the moving van with Cal and Dawn? We need the space in Del’s SUV to transport a few more moving boxes.”

  Riding in a moving van. Sophie sighed. I wonder what the rest of the day will bring.

  Sophie cleared her throat and gave the blonde woman who had introduced herself as Dawn Kinsley a pointed look.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Ms. Kinsley said, finally noticing that she had hummed along with some rock song for the past five minutes.

  Sophie breathed a sigh of relief as Ms. Kinsley turned off the moving van’s radio. She glanced at the man behind the steering wheel and then at Ms. Kinsley, who was practically bouncing in her seat. While Sophie normally didn’t approve of such wriggling and fidgeting, she gave the younger woman a lenient smile. It was good to see a young couple so happy about moving in together. God knew it hadn’t been like that for Sophie.

  “So, this is the big day,” Sophie said, trying to be nice to Kadence’s friend.

  Ms. Kinsley beamed at her. “Yes.”

  “No need to ask if you’re looking forward to it.”

  “Yeah.” The man behind the wheel frowned. “I can’t remember you being this excited when we moved in together.”

  Sophie looked from one to the other, her brow wrinkled.

  “Come on, Cal.” Ms. Kinsley reached over Sophie and squeezed his arm. “We talked about this. It has nothing to do with you.”

  S
ophie tried to understand what was going on. “So you are not moving in together?”

  “Been there, done that,” Cal grumbled.

  “No.” Ms. Kinsley shook her head. “We’re divorced.”

  “Oh.” They were barely thirty and already divorced? She and Douglas Sr. had always stuck together, through good and bad times. Neither of them had cried for a divorce at the first sign of trouble.

  “I’m moving in with Aiden,” Ms. Kinsley said.

  Aiden? During the chaotic introductions, she had lost track of all the names and faces. Well, it couldn’t be too hard to figure it out. Most of Kadence’s friends seemed to be women. She discounted the tall, black detective, so that left only their younger colleague. Hadn’t his name been Rufus or Ruben or something similar? “Oh, so it’s that dark-haired detective with the nice smile.”

  Ms. Kinsley nodded with a broad grin.

  “Then I’m happy for you,” Sophie said.

  For a moment, Ms. Kinsley blinked before beaming at her. “Thank you.”

  Why was she so surprised by a few polite words? Kadence really had some strange friends.

  On legs that felt a little rubbery, Sophie let herself be helped down from the cabin of the moving van and looked around the new neighborhood. Just across the street was a park that looked nice enough but was a little too busy for Sophie’s taste. Children were screeching on a tire swing; the players on a basketball court were shouting at each other, and dogs were barking. The familiar plopping sounds of tennis balls drifted over from somewhere.

  Sophie followed Ms. Kinsley over to a three-story house.

  Just as they reached it, the front door opened and an older woman stepped outside. “Oh, new neighbors,” she said when she saw the moving van. She looked at all the people walking up with moving boxes. “Which one of you is moving in?”

  “That would be me,” Ms. Kinsley said with a bright smile, “and her.” She grabbed the arm of the tall woman next to her and held on to it for a moment before letting go to shake her new neighbor’s hand. “Dawn Kinsley and Aiden Carlisle.”

  Sophie couldn’t help staring. That was Aiden? Ms. Kinsley was moving in with a woman? She looked at the moving helpers. All but three of them were women, and none of them had come with a husband or a boyfriend.

  Good God, has the whole world suddenly become gay? She turned to look at Kadence, who just stared back and raised one eyebrow, daring her to say something. Oh, no, Kadence Matheson! Her parents had taught her better than to make a scene, but that didn’t mean she approved of this circle of friends her daughter had suddenly cultivated.

  The new neighbor looked a little startled as well but held open the door for them while the group of helpers moved past her with boxes and furniture.

  Sophie was the last one to remain outside.

  The neighbor looked at her expectantly, so Sophie sighed and followed the others.

  Grace put down a potted plant in the only corner of the living room that was free of moving boxes. When she turned to make the trip downstairs again, she realized Sophie Matheson was lingering in the doorway.

  Among all the moving helpers clad in jeans and T-shirts, Sophie looked out of place in her elegant slacks and expensive blouse. Tim, Jamie, and Ray’s four daughters were running around the mostly empty apartment, and the adults were busy assembling furniture or carrying moving boxes up the stairs. Everyone knew his or her place and task. Everyone but Sophie Matheson.

  Grace walked up to her. “Why don’t you come with me and give me a hand in the kitchen?”

  Kade’s mother seemed more than happy to escape the chaos in the living room and followed her willingly.

  Grace began to unpack various cold beverages, coffee, and paper plates they would need later.

  Sophie stood by and watched, clearly not used to doing much in the kitchen. She peeked into the living room, where her daughter and Del were struggling to put Dawn’s bookcase back together. Del handed Kade a screwdriver and said something that made both of them laugh.

  “She’s a good woman,” Grace said.

  “Kadence?” Sophie asked distractedly, still watching the women in the living room.

  Grace smiled. “Kade too, but I meant Del.”

  Sophie turned back around. “I’m sure she is.”

  Grace heard what she didn’t say. “But?” she prompted.

  “Well, I just don’t understand why Kadence would… She is not… My daughter isn’t…”

  “Gay?” Grace helpfully supplied, and when Sophie flinched, she decided to answer her own question. “No, technically she isn’t. Bisexual would probably be a better description. But that doesn’t mean she can just choose to stick with men, marry, and make you a happy grandmother. She can’t choose whom she falls in love with.”

  “I’m not talking about love,” Sophie said.

  Grace smiled. Sophie was going through all the stages of denial, and Grace knew them only too well. She had experienced them firsthand when she had found out that her daughter was gay. “No? Look at them.” She pointed at Del and Kade.

  Kade held one of Del’s hands in both of her own, cradling it tenderly while she tried to remove a splinter from Del’s finger.

  Sophie watched them with an expression as if she had bitten into a lemon. “I’m Kadence’s mother. I’d know if she were…gay,” Sophie labored to utter the word, short as it was. “This is just a phase. People don’t just turn gay overnight!”

  “No, they don’t,” Grace said. “I know it’s not my place to say this, and you should really talk to Kade about it, but I suspect Kade has known she’s attracted to women for a long time. She just never wanted to admit it to herself—and certainly not to you.”

  “You don’t even have the faintest idea!” Sophie cried. The iron self-control slipped for a moment as she stared at Grace, obviously bewildered that a stranger was interfering with family matters. “You don’t know how it feels to see your own flesh and blood descend into…” She trailed off, probably searching for a word that could describe the awfulness of the situation.

  Grace had no intention of letting Sophie get away with this self-pitying, homophobic attitude. “Yes,” she said with determination, “I have more than just a faint idea. Do you think you’re the only mother of a gay child?” She wanted to tell Sophie to get over herself but stopped just in time. If she wanted her to listen, she had to keep this polite. “Dawn is my daughter.”

  Sophie’s stare told her that she had guessed right—Sophie hadn’t even known who she was when she had pulled her into the kitchen.

  “I said all the same things about Dawn just a few years ago,” Grace said. “I told her it was just a phase, she was confused, or had been hurt by men one too many times. As you can see,” she pointed at Dawn, at Aiden, and at the whole apartment, “I was wrong.”

  Sophie looked at her with wide eyes. “How can you be so calm about it? Didn’t you ever dream of a big wedding, a good husband, and children for your daughter?”

  “Of course I did. And that’s exactly what she’ll have—a big wedding, a good wife, and children.” It had taken years, but she could finally say it without any feelings of disappointment, guilt, or resentment.

  Sophie was still shaking her head.

  If she were a child, she’d be covering her ears, crying la la la la la, I can’t hear you.

  “Dawn was married to a man,” Grace said. “It only made her unhappy. How can I wish for something for my daughter that will make her unhappy?”

  “You don’t think it would be better for your daughter if she were…normal?” Sophie asked with a frown.

  “Normal?” Grace echoed. “Believe me, Dawn and Aiden are more normal than most of the heterosexual couples I know.”

  Sophie ran her manicured fingers through her perfectly coiffed hair. “I don’t know. My parents taught me that it’s wrong, abnormal…unnatural.”

  “Even parents make mistakes.” Grace smiled meaningfully. “When Dawn told me she was gay, I thought it was
a catastrophe, the end of the world. I got all tangled up in ifs, buts, and whys—until Del finally helped me to understand that the only thing abnormal and wrong would be for me to stop loving and supporting my daughter.”

  “Excuse me,” Sophie said as she stiffly marched into the living room.

  “Mom?” Dawn asked when she saw her mother standing stock-still in the kitchen. “Everything okay? Do you need help?”

  Her mother jerked and forced a smile. “Oh, no, I can manage unpacking a few beverages on my own. Thanks, sweetie.”

  “I thought Mrs. Matheson was helping you.” Dawn had seen Kade’s mother head into the kitchen, but now there was no trace of Sophie.

  “Not a lot of help there. I have a feeling Mrs. Matheson only finds her way into the kitchen to compliment the cook.” Her mother chuckled, but Dawn could tell that she was thinking about something else.

  She covered her mom’s hand with her own. “You didn’t have a fight with her, did you?” She was a little worried about Sophie, who was clearly uncomfortable around Kade’s lesbian friends.

  Her mother snorted. “It’s hard to fight with someone who’s too aristocratic to show any emotion. But I think I upset her a little when I gave her ‘the talk.’” She formed quotation marks in the air and grinned sheepishly.

  “The talk?” The term made Dawn smile. “You’re not talking about the birds-and-the-bees talk, are you?”

  “No. More like the bees-and-the-bees talk.”

  Dawn stared at her. “You didn’t make her unpack the moving box with The Lesbian Kama Sutra, did you?”

  Her mother didn’t even blink. “You don’t own that book. I know because I packed all your books.”

  “All right. So what kind of talk did you give her?” Dawn asked.

  “The get-over-yourself-and-support-your-gay-daughter talk Del gave me five years ago and then again when you met Aiden,” her mother said. “I perfected it when you came out to your grandmother this year, and I thought I was ready to go on tour with it, but it didn’t work so well on Mrs. Matheson.”