A May-September Wedding (19 page)

"Well, unless
Judy moves out between now and suppertime, you won't have the room.
We have the twins' sleepover Friday and birthday party on Saturday
and Elaine is hosting everyone on Sunday in honour of your
fifty-sixth, even if it is a week and a half early."

"That's
because everyone was in town this weekend for Canada Day. Both Mark
and Elaine have conflicts for the week of my birthday. I'm relieved
really, I never liked a big birthday party, but I suppose I'll have
to put up with this one. That's why I went canoeing with Harry, so
I could avoid the big party for the girls. I'd rather be canoeing
this weekend, but we all need to meet Erica."

"I know you'd
rather be canoeing this weekend, old man. And your favourite way to
celebrate your birthday was to dump Felicity on us and go have a
quiet dinner with Brenda at Hy's."

Cal snickered.
"You know me too well, young lady. Now. You're sure about
this?"

Phyl sighed.
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure. The twins are pretty
excited to meet another niece."

"I was a bit
surprised at that, but they were really okay with all this."

"There are too
many children of single parents in their school. It's not as big a
deal for them."

Cal said, "It
would have been a big deal when I was a kid. There was still a
stigma attached to it."

"I know. The
poor little dear would have been labelled a bastard and it would
have shaped her life in some pretty awful ways."

"Yes, but
she's a sweetheart and so's her Nana."

Grace cleared
her throat and said, "That very kind of y'all to say Cal, but I
'spect you've got your own sweetheart waiting for you in
Ottawa."

Phyl heard the
interruption and started to laugh. Cal said, "See you tonight,
Phyl."

Through her
laughter, she choked out, "Bye, Cal."

Cal pointed at
the phone. "That was my neighbour, Phyllida Schuyler. My house is
full up with other visitors, so she's offered to host Erica for the
weekend."

Grace caught
the look on Cal's face. "Ah. She must be that sweetheart waitin'
for y'all."

"We're just
friends and neighbours. Have been for the better part of fifteen
years."

Grace let it
slide with a knowing smirk and called up the stairs. "Erica,
sweetie, your Grampa is waitin' for y'all. You only need one dolly
to take with you."

Cal heard a
stomping foot then Erica came down the stairs one stomping step at
a time, pausing on each one to let them both know that she was
unhappy about having to choose only one dolly.

Grace handed
Cal an envelope. "This has a notarized letter from Jeanine giving
y'all temporary guardianship of Erica and it has Erica's passport.
I put my number on a sticky note in case y'all have any
problems."

Cal took the
envelope. "I wish I could have met you a few years ago, ma'am, but
better late than never."

"Now, you take
real good care of my sweet pea or you'll answer to me."

Cal responded
that he would take extra special care of their granddaughter then
Grace gave Erica a hug. Cal fastened Erica into the booster seat
he'd brought with him and Grace leaned into the back seat for a
kiss and final instructions.

Cal turned to
Grace and said, "Thank you for your understanding."

Grace stepped
forward to give him a hug. "She ain't been to school yet but
there's still some as visit the sins of the parents onto the child.
Having your family claim her as yours will make a big difference in
the way she gets treated."

"One look at
her eyes and I knew she was family." Cal opened the driver's door.
"We'll have her back safe to you on Monday."

Grace waved at
them, wearing a bittersweet smile. "I know that, Mr. Richardson. I
can tell that y'all are a man of your word."

After church
on Sunday, Phyl was watching Erica charm extra cookies from her
aunts. "Cal, I don't know where that girl gets her energy. She was
up late on Friday with the girls and then got up at six. I'd
forgotten how messy a five year old can be when they serve
themselves breakfast."

Cal watched
Erica zoom off to where the other small children were playing, a
cookie in each hand. "She really took a shine to Felicity."

"Why wouldn't
she? They look like sisters, except for the eyes. Felicity has
those really fascinating violet eyes like Brenda's and Erica has
the same green eyes as you and David. Though Erica is almost an
inch and a half taller than Felicity was at that age. We measured
her against the old growth chart on the laundry room wall."

"Was there any
other problem?"

"No. She
seemed to sleep well once she fell asleep and she's been treated
like visiting royalty by the girls and their friends." Phyl paused
to point. "Then there's Tim. He usually avoids the little kids, but
he's been carrying her around piggy-back and chasing her around the
back yard. She thinks he's the source of the sunshine this
weekend."

Lydia nodded
toward Phyl and Cal. Felicity looked over and saw them doing the
'not couple' thing again. Felicity asked, "Did they get joined at
the hip sometime this week?"

"I think it
was in March when we were at the Smithsonian."

"Well, it's
cute, but I wish they would actually talk about it."

"Mum probably
doesn't want to scare him away."

"I know. He's
so scared that he'll die before I graduate high school. It's
affecting the way he treats Mum."

Lydia hadn't
considered this. "So that's why he hasn't asked her out on another
date."

"Yeah, because
one real date would prove to him that they belong together."

"But Dad died
and he was way younger. And look at Doctor Norris, he's what,
eighty? And he still works three days a week and shovels his own
driveway. Your Dad's in great shape, he should make it to at least
eighty, unless he drives in freezing rain."

"Well, Mum
should just kiss him and get his attention."

"I think your
Dad is more stubborn than that. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they've
kissed a couple of times. Mum was muttering and sighing when she
came back from dropping your Dad off at the airport."

"Auntie, can I
have some more juice. Please?" Erica grabbed Felicity's hand and
began to drag her over to the refreshments.

Brian was
waiting at the garden gate to welcome everyone and direct them into
the back yard. There was an old wash tub filled with ice, soft
drinks and beer in one corner of the deck near a table with a
couple of bottles of wine and big bowls of snacks.

Erica spotted
the sand box and ran over to jump in next to her cousin Lilian, who
was the same age as her. Vivian and Mark came over to greet Cal and
wish him a happy birthday.

David was
already there and went over to the sandbox to play with Erica,
Lilian and Emily.

Phyl sat down
next to Cal on the wicker love seat, amid a host of curious
sidelong glances from Cal's family. "David may have other issues,
but he's always been a good father."

Cal saw Erica
and Lilian climbing over David, who was laughing and giggling.
Judy's arrival was announced by Duncan running to jump into the
pile and start tickling his father.

Phyl looked to
the gate and saw a stony faced Judy watching David with the small
children. As he gave Duncan a big hug, Judy briefly showed her love
and longing for her husband along with the bleak pain she'd been
displaying for the past two weeks. Phyl looked back to a somewhat
less relaxed looking David in the middle of the pile of small
children and began to understand why Judy still loved him.

Cal got up to
find Elaine and see if she needed some help. Phyl beckoned to Judy
who brought her Diet Sprite with her. "How are you doing,
Judy?"

"I miss David
terribly." Judy looked over to the sandbox to see David watching
her and quickly looked back at Phyl. "That must be Erica."

Phyl smiled.
"Hurricane Erica? Yes, indeed."

The corners of
Judy's mouth twitched. "Hurricane Erica?"

Phyl sighed.
"She has as much energy as Felicity and Lydia combined. I've never
seen anyone who plays as hard as she does."

Judy
considered. "Is she hyperactive?"

Phyl thought
for a moment. "I don't think so. One of the girls in Tim's class
has ADHD and she has trouble concentrating for more than two
minutes on anything although she's getting some good treatment now.
Erica just goes through life in a higher gear than most people. And
she sleeps really well after a busy day. ADHD kids often have a
hard time sleeping."

Judy nodded
and the conversation lagged while she observed David. Then she
asked, "How are things between you and Cal?"

Knowing that
Judy was an ally, she decided to be honest. "I'm frustrated. He
knows we are good together, but he's still got this idea that
because I'd be a widow again too soon that he's protecting me by
not declaring his interest." Phyl shrugged. "I'm not going to let
him get away with it for much longer."

Judy smiled
for the first time in a couple of days and said, "Oh. That should
be fun to watch. It will even be worth it to listen to David's
ranting."

Phyl saw
David's face fill with sadness and longing at the sight of Judy
smiling. Then he turned back to play with the kids and Phyl changed
the subject.

Cal found
Elaine trying to coax a burp out of John while pacing the kitchen.
Holding out his arms he asked, "Would you like me to try?"

The familiar
feel of a three month old in his arms and the gentle warmth and
total trust washed over Cal. He glanced through the kitchen windows
toward Phyl.

"Are you
wondering if you can do this again, Dad?" Elaine was rubbing the
small of her back.

He took his
time to answer as he gently rubbed John's back and was rewarded
with an enormous burp and a sigh. John relaxed his little head
against Cal's shoulder and fell asleep. "Maybe."

Elaine
laughed. "Liar. Why don't you just propose to her and get it over
with, Dad?"

Cal studied
his daughter and said, "Because she's younger than you. And I don't
want to leave her a widow with small children."

Elaine wagged
a finger at her father. "Her being younger than me is a red
herring. You've never known her as anything other than a full grown
woman. Admittedly a younger woman, but unlike me, you never changed
her diaper. And she's in her mid-thirties so she's not really that
young, anyway. So that's not a good argument. As for the second,
she already knows how to go on after her husband dies. The question
isn't whether one of you would be widowed, the question is how much
happiness can you bring to each other before it happens?"

Before Cal
could raise another objection, Elaine continued. "When the two of
you are together you look like you could take on the world and
smile through all the troubles. You should give it a chance,
Dad."

Cal swayed to
keep John from waking. "I'll think about it, Elli."

"Okay. Now
take John out to the deck and play pass the baby so I can start
organizing the food for the barbeque. And, no you can't help
because you are the reason for this party, so go socialize."

"Yes, boss."
Cal considered saluting but the warm weight of baby John reminded
him he had a different boss for the moment.

Phyl looked up
to see her man carrying John toward her and her heart swelled when
she saw the tender expression on Cal's face. She glanced up into
Cal's eyes and the sense of connection that she felt when they
looked at each other seemed to have added strength.

Mark and
Jeremy saw the interplay between them and Mark asked, "How long
have they been looking at each other like that?"

Jeremy thought
for a moment and said, "Felicity says they've been like that since
last August."

Mark humphed.
"He should know better."

"Better than
what?"

"She's too
young for him."

Cal handed
John off to Phyl and walked over to get a ginger ale from the tub.
"Hey, Mark, Jeremy."

Mark looked at
his father. "So when are you going to stop chasing Phyl and find a
suitable girlfriend?"

Cal blinked as
if he hadn't heard Mark correctly. "I beg your pardon." His voice
got frosty. In a warning tone he asked, "Would you care to repeat
that?"

Mark, who had
never been one to pick up on his father's subtleties, opened his
mouth but Jeremy stepped in. "Mark, I don't think it's our place to
decide who Dad's friends are for him. He never stopped us from
seeing any of our friends even when we knew he disapproved. Maybe
Dad's finally grown up enough to decide these things for
himself?"

Mark started
to respond, but Vivian, much more aware of the nuances of her
father-in-law, grabbed Mark and said, "I think Jean needs your help
with something, Mark."

Cal calmed
down a bit and looked over at Jean who was just finishing up a
drawing. Jean saw her Grampa looking and covered it quickly then
made hurry motions toward her father.

Jeremy said,
"Thanks, Viv. Mark was about to put his foot in his mouth,
again."

"About what,
this time?"

"About Dad's
relationship with Phyl." Jeremy turned to his father. "Don't deny
you have a good relationship with her, Dad. No one will believe
you."

Cal looked
toward Phyl, who was holding a sleeping John with a look of sheer
contentment. Noticing that Cal was looking at her, she gave him a
loving look and then raised John higher to nuzzle his fine dark
hair. Cal returned the look and walked back to sit next to her and
coo over John.

Erica came
running up to sit on Cal's lap so she could get close to the baby.
Cal restrained Erica's enthusiasm firmly and showered her with
kisses while Phyl gazed fondly at Cal. Vivian observed, "Ah. So
it's like that, is it?"