A May-September Wedding (26 page)

"Lydia thinks
she's pretty special, too. They'll be more like older sisters than
aunts but that will be good for everyone I think. And Tim thinks
she's more fun that his twin sisters."

"You're a
pretty special lady yourself, Phyl, and you caught yourself a
wonderful man."

Phyl's gaze
rested on Cal as she replied, "It took him some convincing. He
still thinks he's too old for me. But I'm betting we'll have more
time together than I had with my first husband."

"That's all in
God's hands, girl. Now, you have a plane to catch. We'll see you
next week when y'all come to get us." Grace pulled Phyl into a
trembling hug.

Phyl checked
her bag again. Passport and custody documents. Wallet, US cash and
a map with directions to Ashland. Cal was waiting at the front door
with her suitcase and new parkas and boots for Erica and Grace.

Cal asked, for
the twentieth time, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm sure, my
love. Both our names are on the custody documents, so either of us
can do this. And I need to get to know Erica better."

Cal drew Phyl
in for a long kiss. "Drive safe and don't worry about being
late."

Phyl melted
against him and said, "I'll miss you."

"It's only
three days, maybe four. But I'll miss you, too."

After he
loaded the bags into the van, he checked the booster seat again.
Then he came around for a last hug.

There was a
dusting of snow on the medians all the way down to Syracuse, where
she stopped for supper. It had been many years since she'd spent
more than eight hours without someone else to look after but she
knew she would be much happier tomorrow when she had company
again.

She never
could understand how Harry could do this for weeks on end, driving
to see customers and spending evenings in the hotel room reading or
watching television. If it wasn't for Erica at the other end of
this drive, she would have brought someone to keep her company on
the trip.

The hotel in
Harrisburg was reasonably well appointed, but there was no need to
do anything more than sleep and have breakfast. She let Cal know
that she had made it safely that far and they talked for half an
hour while she basked in the warmth of his voice.

The seven
o'clock wake up call was not needed. Phyl was on the road by six
and pulled into Grace's drive at eleven to see a For Sale sign on
the lawn. Erica came bursting out the door and bounding down the
steps to greet her. A medium tall slender blonde with immaculate
makeup and expensive designer jeans followed Erica onto the porch
with Grace not far behind.

"Bestemor!"
Erica called as she launched herself at Phyl.

"Erica!" Phyl
swung her around into a hug under the wary gaze of the blonde
woman.

"Bestemor, you
have to meet my Mommy." Erica tugged at Phyl's hand to move her to
the front porch.

Phyl examined
Jeanine as she walked up the stairs and realized in some surprise,
that they looked very similar, although Jeanine was almost ten
years younger. Fixing a polite smile on her face, she held out her
hand and said, "I'm Phyl Schuyler. You must be Jeanine."

Jeanine put on
a practiced smile and said, "I'm pleased to meet you," in a polite
tone.

"Likewise."

Grace prodded
her daughter. Jeanine responded with a flash of annoyance but the
polite smile returned. "I want to thank you and Cal for taking
Erica in. I recently got engaged and my fiance is not good with
children. Or at least with the thought of raising Erica." Jeanine
looked at her mother who nodded a grudging approval.

Phyl took the
excuse in stride and smiled sympathetically. "Erica is a treasure,
Jeanine. We'll do our best to make sure she's loved and happy.
You're welcome to come any time for a visit. We'll have lots of
room. Cal and I just bought an older seven bedroom house on the
river near our girls' high school." Phyl tried to project
warmth.

Jeanine thawed
a bit. "Maybe in the summer. I don't handle the cold very
well."

Grace said,
"Well, ladies, we have some fetching and carrying to do."

Phyl walked in
to see six boxes labelled 'Erica' along with three large suitcases.
Grace said, "Jeanine is going to supervise the house sale while
we're up north with y'all. My stuff is already in storage at the
home in Richmond. There's a lovely one bedroom suite coming
available on December 4
^th
."

Jeanine looked
nostalgically at the bare living room walls. "If there's anything
else Erica wants from here, I can arrange to have it shipped."

Phyl asked
Erica if there was anything more, but she said that all her special
stuff was already in the boxes. It was a matter of fifteen minutes
for all of them to put the suitcases and boxes in the van then
drive to the Cracker Barrel for lunch.

While they had
some time alone, Jeanine admitted that she had a few regrets about
the way she'd handled the situation. Phyl listened attentively as
Jeanine spoke of her life in a paid off house but almost no income
after her father died when she was fourteen.

Erica came
back and spent some time happily asking her mother what all of the
antiques on the walls were and Phyl saw some of Jeanine's unguarded
emotions. With a flash of insight, she realized that she might have
turned out exactly like Jeanine if it hadn't been for David's
stupid photos. She might have hardened her heart in exactly the
same way and been left with an undefined longing for love and
stability. She might even have tried to go the single mother route
without the capacity to support her child properly.

She also
realized what David saw in Jeanine and in Heddy that was. The
fantasy of a no-strings-attached relationship with a beautiful
image of a woman. Fortunately, she'd learned her lesson. She was
very afraid that Jeanine was going to end up a rich and bitter
divorcee in a few years unless she figured out that she could lean
on Jesus when the hard times came, like her mother was doing.

Phyl said a
quiet prayer for each of them then asked Erica if she wanted to
help her pick some music for the drive home.

Phyl spent
some time browsing the shop with Erica so that Grace and Jeanine
could have some time together. As Jeanine hugged her mother and
daughter goodbye Phyl saw a hint of a tear before Jeanine retreated
to the ladies room.

Cal was
waiting for them in the kitchen of his house, making a macaroni and
cheese casserole for lunch. They had decided earlier that Cal's
house was better suited for Grace with the main floor guest
room.

Cal excused
himself at two to go pick up the kids.

Grace sat in
the living room watching Erica and Phyl explore the house.
"Bestemor, will I have my own room?"

"Yes, Erica.
But you'll only be living here for three weeks. Then your
grandfather and I will be getting married and we'll all move into
one house together. We'll show you the new house tomorrow."

Erica seemed
puzzled. "You don't live with Grampa?"

"No, sweetie,
I live across the street, remember?" Phyl pointed at her house.
"That's where Lydia and Tim live, too. Your Grandpa and your aunt
Felicity live here."

Grace asked,
"You've called the girls twins a couple of times. I'm sure there's
a story."

Phyl laughed.
"It's the reason my late husband and I were such good friends with
Cal and Brenda, his late wife. I was five months pregnant with
Lydia when we moved in across the street and Brenda was five months
pregnant with her very surprising Felicity. Felicity has three
brothers and a sister, but the next oldest is Jeremy who is almost
eighteen years older." Phyl included Erica in the story.

"So Brenda,
that's Felicity's mom, became my best friend. When it came time to
have our babies, we ended up having them at the exact same time.
July 4
^th
at 7:22 in the evening. Then we shared a
semi-private room in the hospital before we came home. The girls
are closer than most sisters so we've called them the twins ever
since."

Grace said,
"That's a whole bunch of coincidences, for sure. And next month
they'll be sisters for real."

They looked
out the window to see the car unload and Felicity race into the
house. Dumping her pack and outerwear in the foyer as quickly as
possible, she called, "Erica! Where are you?"

Erica hopped
down from the sofa and ran into the hall, skidding into Felicity's
hug. "Auntie Flisty!"

Lydia, shaking
her head, tidied up Felicity's coat and boots then dragged her pack
into the dining room. "Hey, Erica."

"Auntie
Lydia!" Erica squirmed out of her hug with Felicity and launched
herself at Lydia. Phyl looked at Grace to see her relax into her
chair with a sigh of contentment.

Cal brought up
the rear with the first set of grocery bags. "Okay people, tomorrow
is Thanksgiving for our guests so I bought enough for a good
feast." On his way back from the kitchen, he stopped to give Erica
and Lydia quick kisses and said, "Erica, your aunt Elaine and uncle
Brian are coming for supper with your cousins Emily and John.
Tomorrow, your father and his family will be with us for supper,
too, along with a couple of American families from church who
couldn't get home to be with their families."

Erica got
excited about meeting her other relatives again. Grace asked Phyl,
quietly, "Will it be okay that David's family is here for supper
tomorrow?"

"Cal and I
discussed it at some length. If the Raneys and the Beuhlers had
declined, we'd have just had David over for supper tonight. But
with that many people, Judy's manners will kick in and David will
behave. I know that Erica's half-siblings all want to get to know
her better, but I'm worried about Jason. He's old enough to
understand what his Dad did and he takes his mother's side most of
the time. Brenda and Duncan are younger and don't quite understand
what's going on so they haven't connected Erica with the fights
their mum and dad have been having. The younger kids liked Erica
when she came up in July."

Phyl saw the
sceptical look on Grace's face. "Besides, you'll be here and if
things get too bad, you'll be able to help distract Erica. But I'm
sure that Judy won't cause a scene and Cal can handle Jason."

Grace was
impressed with the mansion on two acres that Cal and Phyl bought on
the Rideau River near Carleton Heights. It was standing empty, so
the agent was happy to let them take another tour. They only stayed
long enough for Phyl to get some window measurements and to let
Erica pick out her bedroom from the remaining three.

The Beuhlers
arrived just after lunch to watch the NFL game on the big screen.
Hank brought a big case of Sam Adams Boston Lager, which Cal
admitted was okay for an American beer and Lois brought a big tray
of Tex-Mex finger food. The Raneys arrived with their three kids at
the same time as Phyl returned from picking up the kids from
school. By five, the party was in full swing.

Judy avoided
Erica all evening without being obvious about it. David spent as
much time as he could in the same room as Erica who flitted like a
butterfly from one relative to another. David was mildly annoyed
that Erica seemed to prefer the company of her Auntie Flisty and
her Bestemor to his.

Cal cornered
Judy in the kitchen after supper. "You look like you need a
hug."

Phyl looked
over from the counter to signal approval over Judy's shoulder. Cal
moved closer and wrapped his arms around his daughter-in-law.

Judy hugged
him back then took a deep breath. "She's such a beautiful bundle of
energy. I wish I could get past what David did."

Phyl came over
and gave Judy a hug. "You will. Eventually."

Judy turned to
face Phyl. "Did you meet her?"

Phyl nodded.
"I did."

"What's she
like?"

"Jeanine's a
lot like I was in high school. Her father died when she was
fourteen, so I think she did what I did, which is look for
something or someone to replace the loss of that love. David's a
pretty handsome guy, not as handsome as his father, but I can see
where she'd fall for him. And she looks too much like I did when I
was in my wild days."

Judy
acknowledged that with a bleak look. Phyl continued, "so I think
she wanted to have Erica, not to try to pry David away from you,
although that might have been part of it, but to have someone
permanent in her life to love. But unlike me, she didn't find Jesus
or a good man like Harry to be part of her life, so she couldn't
give Erica all the love she needs."

"And I can't
either. David will have to be content to let you raise her. I
expect that I'll get used to her and accept her as part of the
extended family, but I'll always know she's not mine."

Cal said, "We
know, Judy, and we love you. I'm still disappointed with David, but
Erica is my granddaughter regardless of how she came about. It's a
lot easier for us to love her and care for her."

"Thank you
both. I'm looking forward to welcoming you to the family next
month, Mum." Judy's expression changed to a smirk.

"You're going
to do that to needle David, right?"

"Oh, you bet.
Besides, he has to get over his fixation with tall competent
blondes and remember he has a short curvy redhead with a temper
waiting for him at home. So, even though he gets annoyed when I say
it, I'm calling you Mum when he's around."

Phyl gave Judy
another hug. "If Vivian or Elaine starts calling me Mum I think I'm
going to freak."

Cal crossed
his arms. "Hey, if I have to put up with people asking me about my
granddaughter Felicity, you have to put up with having stepchildren
older than you. So there."

Phyl glared at
her fiancee then saw the mix of love and amusement in his face. Her
face softened and she sighed as she returned his love in a sunny
smile. Judy rolled her eyes. "You are worse than two teenagers. You
should have taken Cal up on his suggestion that you get married at
city hall so you could get some of this out of your system."