“If we don’t love each other after tonight it won’t be my fault. Want wine?”
“Absolutely,” Lauren said. “And relax—everyone loves Beau and Beau loves everyone. As far as I can tell, Drew is just like him. Michael declined. He’s still struggling with the divorce. I haven’t even met him yet.”
“Does that worry you?” Beth asked.
“No. I have a pissy one of my own. We decided we don’t much care. It’ll all fall into place eventually.”
“Pissy kids could make it harder,” Beth said.
“What can you do?” Lauren asked. “Stay in a bad situation till they finally give you permission to have a life?”
“God,” Beth said, handing her a glass of wine. “You’re so calm.”
“Amazing how you feel when you’re spending time with a calm, rational person. Cheers,” she said, lifting a glass to her sister. “And thank you for this. It’s all beautiful.”
“My pleasure. As soon as we get to know each other a little, we’re going back to our slovenly ways.”
* * *
The dinner at Beth’s house was a roaring success. Chip, Beau, Drew and the boys bonded, laughed, clearly liked each other. Drew threw baskets with them, putted with them on the backyard putting green, laughed like idiots when Morty got in the pool and then shook, leaving everyone’s pants speckled with water. They joked and talked through dinner. “We sure never had this much fun with the last guy,” Stefano said.
“Stefano!” Beth shouted, going completely pale.
“It’s okay, Beth,” Beau said. “We all know there was a last guy.”
* * *
A week later, Beau talked Michael into meeting them for dinner at the pub. He wanted him to meet Lauren. Michael was a little quiet and standoffish at first, but Lauren plied him with questions about school and future plans, and before long Michael was almost as personable as Drew. She thought almost because it was hard to top Drew for personality. That kid was just magic.
At least Michael did not seem angry or resentful and that was all she hoped for.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, there was another poker night and this time Michael and his girlfriend, Raisa, joined them, along with Darla and Drew and Father Tim.
“Your favorite third wheel is here,” Father Tim said.
“We don’t think of you that way,” Lauren said. “You’re our favorite, however.”
They had fun, Lauren got along wonderfully with Raisa, Michael opened up even more and it looked as though the holidays might not be as stressful as she feared.
Cassie had confirmed she would not be back in California for Thanksgiving but would be home for ten days at Christmas. Lacey agreed to spend the early part of Thanksgiving with Lauren and Beth, the later part with her father. Brad would be having Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant with his mother.
Lauren, Beth and Beau did a little working behind the scenes to arrange a workable schedule. Beth would host the Shaughnessy clan for an early dinner served at about four o’clock, a dinner that would go on and on and on, ending with at least two desserts and one session of leftover grazing. “The Shaughnessys are like locusts,” Beth said. “They eat forever.”
Beau would serve a later dinner at around six. That way Lauren could drop by on her way home from Beth’s and have dessert with them, a dessert she would supply. She could meet his brother, sisters, their spouses, his nieces and nephews, his sainted mother. In fact, she was supplying three pies, which she would bring over in the morning.
Beau’s boys reported that Pamela was taking a holiday, spending Thanksgiving in Cabo with some friends. “If I’m reading them right, Drew and Michael are relieved,” Beau said. “Pamela has little family, they’re not close and they tend to get into squabbles. Holiday dinners with some of them is a game of Russian roulette. But I pointed out to the boys that from now on, if they have a woman or wife in their lives, they’ll be working out and sharing a holiday schedule so no one feels left out. It won’t be about their parents so much as their partners. I could see on their faces they liked that idea better than trying to work things out between their divorced parents.”
“No doubt,” Lauren said. “Poor Lacey is going to a restaurant with her stuffy father and stuffier grandmother.”
“It’ll probably be delicious,” he said.
“And lonely.” Because Lacey was the one who didn’t want anything to change even if what had been was pretty bad.
It all went off as if perfectly choreographed.