“Yes! I haven’t been out since my accident.”
They got there, and Eduardo knelt and showed her the inch-high sprouts. “Your peas and kale and chard are coming in now,” he said, looking up at her.
She crouched beside him. “That was so fast!”
“Good soil and air and sunshine. That’s all a plant needs to grow.”
She met his eyes and studied him thoughtfully.
Could their relationship grow, too? Did they have what was needed to make it thrive?
He reached for her, moved closer. “I don’t want this evening to end,” he admitted.
“It’s been lovely,” she said, her voice guarded. “The seniors were so sweet to set it up.”
He reached for her face, ran a finger down her smooth cheek and leaned closer. But she pulled back a little.
“Come on, Eduardo. You’re getting caught up in the date and the romance, but I know you don’t want to take this further. You made it very clear.”
“I’ve done some thinking since then,” he said.
“Is that right?” Her voice was husky.
“Yeah.” He leaned closer, but far enough that he could see her eyes. “I had a barrier related to some past baggage, but it’s recently gotten knocked over.”
She just looked at him, her eyes speculative.
“So I was wondering...if I can kiss you.”
“Well...” She took a step back and looked up at the star-filled sky. “I don’t want it to turn out badly again.”
“I won’t...”
“Because, Eduardo,” she said in a low, intense voice, “that really hurt.”
“I’m sorry.” He cupped her cheek in his hand gently. “That’s the last thing I want to do, hurt you. And if you’re not interested, that’s okay, too.”
“I’m interested. But cautious.”
“Understandable.” He stood up and held out his hand to pull her to her feet.
“Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
“You’re not mad?”
He shook his head. “How could I be? I want the best for you. And I respect your feelings.”
They strolled slowly toward the house, holding hands. They weren’t talking, but the silence was comfortable. And it wasn’t really silence, because the crickets’ chorus serenaded them, rising and falling. Freshly plowed earth from the field next door mingled with blossoms Fiona had planted around the base of her flowering trees.
The aroma of spring.
They were almost to her house now, and he dropped her hand to slide an arm around her back. He couldn’t help wanting to be closer to her.
Her steps slowed, then stopped. She turned to face him.
“Too much?” he asked, lifting his hands away from her. The last thing he wanted to do was to push her or overstep her boundaries.
“No, not too much.” She stepped closer and put her arms around him, so he let himself hold her. It felt like a precious gift.
She lifted her face to his. “About that kiss...”
He looked down at her and lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
She slid a hand up into his hair and pulled his face down to hers. And then he was kissing her soft lips, and the emotion of it, the closeness, the sense of possibility almost knocked him out.
Until he heard a door open behind him.
“Fiona!” said a high female voice. “What on earth are you doing?”
Chapter Twelve
“You’re making macaroni and cheese for lunch?” Fiona’s mother swept into the kitchen the next day in a swirl of her trademark perfume.
“Uh-huh.” Automatically, Fiona sucked in her stomach. She wished her mother hadn’t decided to surprise them by visiting early.
“What are we going to eat?”
Fiona stirred cheese into the white sauce. “I can make extra salad if you don’t want the carbs, Mom.”
Poppy ran into the room and Fiona welcomed the distraction. “My mommy!” her youngest crowed and flung herself against Fiona’s leg.
“My Poppy!” Fiona echoed, sweeping her up.
Poppy chortled gleefully. It was a game she never tired of.
“You’re going to hurt your back, picking up a three-year-old like that,” her mother said.
Fiona cuddled Poppy closer and then set her down so she could stir the sauce. ‘Believe me, after four kids, my back is strong.”
Poppy ran to Fiona’s mother. “My grammy!” she shouted and hugged her grandmother’s leg.
“Oh, sweetie, I’ve missed you so much.” Her mom’s eyes softened as she cuddled Poppy against her leg. “Guess what? Grammy brought each of you kids a present. You can open them after lunch.”
Poppy’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Can I tell?”
“Of course you can, honey.”
Poppy raced out of the room.
“That was nice of you, Mom.” Her mother really did love her grandkids and missed them since they’d moved out of state. Even though Fiona had felt the move necessary for herself and her kids, being away from one of their only living relatives was a huge disadvantage. She vowed to plan a family trip to visit her mother once school was out.
In the den, Fiona could hear the kids laughing, balls bouncing and toys beeping and ringing, and her heart swelled with gratitude. She was so glad to be home and feeling better, taking care of her kids. It just took a little accident sometimes to remind you how precious every moment of daily life actually was.
Last night had been precious, too. Every time she thought of her evening with Eduardo, warm excitement expanded in her chest. The walk, the dinner, their conversation...his compliments...the way he accepted her as she was...the feeling of holding his hand. All of it filled her with such sweet promise.
The kiss had been wonderful, too. Until the unfortunate interruption by her mother.
To his credit, Eduardo hadn’t seemed upset. He’d squeezed her shoulders and whispered, “Need me to stay?” And when she’d shaken her head, he’d quickly introduced himself to Fiona’s mother, waved and headed home.
He was a grown-up. Which couldn’t be said of some men she’d known.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” her mother asked. She was holding up a large hardback book, Stage a Beautiful Barn Wedding.
Fiona laughed. “It’s not what you think, Mom.” She checked the pasta. “Actually, I’m considering starting a business. I’d like to make the barn in the back field into a wedding venue.”
Her mother’s thin eyebrows rose to her perfectly coiffed hair. “Really?” She managed to put a world of skepticism and doubt into that single word.
Shouldn’t have told her. Fiona straightened her shoulders and refocused on the food. “Yes, really.” She turned off the cheese sauce and carried the pot of pasta over to the colander in the sink.
“You know, honey, it’s great that you keep trying. But you have to acknowledge your limitations.” Her mother’s voice was quiet, worried.
The words made her think of a poster she’d seen in Daisy’s social work office, festooned with butterflies and flowers. Something about learning to fly despite your limitations.
Her mother was from another generation. She didn’t understand learning disabilities. And Fiona didn’t have to buy into her mom’s old-fashioned assessment.
Once the food was on the table and they’d said grace and started eating, Fiona’s mother kept the conversation rolling with her grandkids, asking them questions about school and activities and friends. The kids ate up the attention, along with big plates of food.
Her mother picked at her salad and turned down the macaroni and cheese. “I don’t dare. It does smell good, though.”
Fiona didn’t have much of an appetite, either. She was thinking about Eduardo and about sta
rting her business, and anxiety nudged at her despite her efforts to avoid it. Was she smart enough to start a wedding business? Was she just making excuses, thinking she might have a learning disability?
Had Eduardo really felt something for her yesterday, or was he just being nice?
She tuned back into the conversation when her mother’s tone changed. “My,” she said, “you certainly do spend a lot of time with these Delgado children. Isn’t that the man who was, ahem, here last night?”
“They’re our best friends!” Maya said.
“Um-hum.” Then her mother focused in on Lauren. “You don’t have to finish all that,” she said, pointing to Lauren’s nearly empty plate. “It’s never too soon to start watching your weight.”
Fiona put her fork down. “Lauren is a healthy girl with a healthy appetite. She knows how to listen to her body. That’s what we all try to do, right, kids?”
“Right, Mom,” they chorused dutifully.
Lauren looked at Fiona, her face anxious.
“Go ahead, honey,” she said to Lauren. “Eat what you’re hungry for. There’s plenty.”
Lauren looked at the remaining food on her plate. “No, it’s okay. I’m getting full.”
“Good for you,” Fiona’s mother said.
“Mom.” Heat rose in Fiona’s face. She was used to her mother’s jabs, had grown up on them, but no way was she going to let her mom start on her girls.
Her mother just took another small bite of salad.
“Hey, I’m done eating, too,” Maya said.
“Me, too!” Poppy’s fork fell with a clatter. “Presents, presents!”
Ryan blinked and pushed his own plate away. “Can we open them, Grammy?”
“Of course! Will you come help me carry them in?”
“Yeah!” He jumped up and ran toward the guest bedroom, then stopped to wait for his grandmother. Moments later, they were back in the kitchen, each carrying two wrapped presents.
“Youngest first, or oldest?” Lauren asked, looking at Fiona. Her voice sounded a little unhappy, probably because her gift was much smaller than the other three.
“Alphabetical order this time,” Fiona said. She liked to try to mix it up. “Who goes first?”
“I do!” Lauren ripped into her present and her eyes widened. She pulled out the latest cell phone model. “Wow! Thank you, Grandma! Wow!” She ran around the table to hug her, then turned to Fiona. “Am I allowed to have this?”
“We’ll talk about it,” Fiona said, trying to conceal her inner groan. She’d had no intention of letting her kids have cell phones this young, but how was she supposed to retract a gift like that?
“I’ll be the first girl in my class to have this model,” Lauren crowed. “Even Tiffany doesn’t have one! And I can’t wait to show Sofia.”
Fiona supposed they could load games onto the phone and put some kind of parental controls on it. “We’ll have to figure out how you can use that,” she warned. “There are going to be limits.”
“I know. I’m just going to set it up to try it out. A little. Thank you, Grandma.” Lauren kissed her grandma’s cheek and then started playing with the phone, pressing buttons and studying the screen.
“Who’s next in the alphabet?” Fiona smiled at Maya.
“L, then M! Me!” Maya ripped into her large package, but her forehead creased as she opened the box. Billows of taffeta burst out. She pulled out a long tutu, two leotards and ballet practice shoes. “But I don’t dance, Grammy.”
“Keep looking,” her grandmother said, and Maya pulled out an envelope and opened it. “Gift...”
“Certificate,” Lauren read over her shoulder. “For Miss Josephine’s School of Dance. Where’s that, Mom?”
“It’s in Creeksville.” Which was forty-five minutes away. Her mother must have forgotten Maya was anything but a ballet type of kid. “That was nice of you, Mom.”
Maya shrugged. “I can try it,” she said and hugged her grandmother. “Hurry up, you guys. I want to go out and play!”
“Poppy, it’s your turn,” Lauren said. “The big one’s for you. Want me to help you?”
Poppy nodded, and they ripped into a giant fully stocked dollhouse. “Aww, look at all the little furniture,” Lauren said. “This is so cool!”
Even Ryan and Maya came over to see. “Poppy, that’s great,” Maya said, squatting down to examine the furniture wrapped up inside. “Can I help you set it up later?”
Poppy looked around and seemed to realize that her present was desirable to everyone. She smiled broadly. “You can all play, but I’m the boss!”
“Tell Grammy thank you,” Lauren coached, and Poppy ran over to fling herself into her grandmother’s lap.
“Thank you, Grammy! I love my dollhouse!”
Fiona’s mother smiled and hugged Poppy close. “I’m glad, sweetie.”
Ryan ripped open his present next and his eyes went wide. “Look, Mom!”
Fiona came over and squatted to look at the enormous building kit. “That’s a very generous gift,” she said, knowing Ryan adored the movie series it was based on. “You’ll love playing with that, buddy.”
He thanked his grandmother and then ran back to study the carton.
The gift had surely cost several hundred dollars. All of them had. Fiona blew out a breath.
She tried not to emphasize money to her kids, had always done her best to keep the gifts modest at Christmas, focusing on the reason for the season. But you couldn’t control what relatives wanted to give, and her children would enjoy what her mother had provided.
She’d figure out how to limit the phone use and handle the unwanted dance lessons after her mother left town.
“Isn’t that the one Diego is always talking about?” Lauren sank down to her knees beside Ryan to look at the building kit.
“Yeah, he really wants one. But they don’t have enough money to buy it. Hey, maybe I’ll share this with him!”
Fiona’s heart swelled with pride for her thoughtful son.
“That’s the way to get the toy broken,” her mother said. “Those people aren’t careful with their things.”
Fiona opened her mouth, but before she could speak up, Ryan did. “Do you know the Delgados, Grammy?” He sounded puzzled.
“Sofia and Diego are really careful with their toys,” Lauren said.
“More careful than me,” Maya added.
Before her mother could say anything else, Fiona started clearing dishes from the table. Lauren picked up a load, too, and Ryan reluctantly put aside his new treasure to pick up his plate and Poppy’s.
“Thank you,” she said. “If you kids will finish clearing the table and wipe it off, your grandma and I will do the dishes. You can play with your toys.”
When she reached the sink, Fiona looked out the window and saw Eduardo working on the garden, putting up the fences he’d promised to keep unwanted critters out. His dark hair shone in the sunlight, and his muscles strained the sleeves of his shirt as he put the pickets into place. She felt a surge of happiness just seeing him.
Her mother came up beside her. “He’s your gardener?”
“No, Mom,” she said patiently. “He’s an independent contractor. He does landscaping for people all over town.”
“Do you think he’s here legally? So many immigrants who don’t have their papers work in landscaping.”
“Mom! Of course he—”
“Oh, my goodness,” her mother interrupted, “I wonder if he’s after a green card, romancing you.”
Fiona frowned and looked pointedly toward the children, going in and out with dishes and sponges.
And ears tuned to adult conversation.
“I mean, that would make more sense of why he’s paying attention to you,” her mother said in a lower voice once the kids were out of the kitchen. “He
’s very good-looking.”
Fiona wanted to put her hands over her ears to push out her mother’s words, but even more, she wanted to correct the misperceptions. “Look, Mom, the Delgados are second-generation. Yes, they’re of Mexican descent, but they’re American citizens. And Eduardo isn’t the type to use anyone, anyway.”
“Hmm.” Her mother opened the dishwasher. “Still, you’d think he’d want someone...smaller,” she mused.
“I need a break from this conversation.” Fiona let the pan she was washing slide into the soapy water, marched to the unoccupied front room and leaned against the wall.
She’s always like this.
She’s not going to change.
She doesn’t define you.
The prejudice was unfortunate and meant she’d have to sit down with the kids and explain that their grandmother had some blind spots, that they should treat all people the same.
The idea of Eduardo preferring a tiny woman... That remark dug at her.
Eduardo had told her he liked the way she looked. They’d laughed together at the bride show and the model’s complaints about being hungry.
But then again, his first wife had been tiny. He’d said so himself. Tiny and pretty, his kids had said.
But he likes me, he said so!
Of course, he’d say that. He’s kind and gentle. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
She sank down into a chair and looked absently at the bookshelves, trying to postpone the moment when she had to go back to her mother’s company.
Her eyes settled on a diet book she’d bought a year ago during one of her low self-esteem periods. It was one of those fad diets, promising speedy weight loss. Not very healthy, and she’d never tried it. She should have thrown the book away.
Maybe it would work, though. And if she lost weight, she’d feel so much better about herself. Her mother would get off her case, and men wouldn’t treat her the way her husband had.
She pulled it off the shelf.
* * *
Paperwork day. Eduardo didn’t love it, but nobody wanted their landscaping done on Easter weekend, so it was a good time to catch up. Trouble was, the weather was gorgeous and he’d always rather be outside. The kids were already running around, and from the sounds of it, they’d connected with Fiona’s kids, who were also out enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
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