Kelly laughed, and Angie joined her.

******************
DOWNSTAIRS

I had just taken a bottle of wine out of the fridge when there was a soft knock at the side door. I turned and opened the door to find Fran on the other side. That moment when I saw her again made me feel like something inside was melting.

“Hi” Fran said. “Can I come in?”

“Of course…..yes, of course you can” I said as I opened the door further to let her walk past. I caught the scent of her perfume as she did, and felt myself already responding to her presence.

“I was just getting some wine….would you like a glass?”

“It sounds inviting….of course”

“Here…let me take your jacket” I helped Fran out of her jacket and brought it into the living room where I hung it on the coat rack. When I returned to the kitchen, Fran had just finished pouring us both a glass of wine.

“Wow….thank you” I said as I took my glass from her.

“Cheers” she said as she raised the glass in the air.

“Cheers”

“Mmm…very smooth” Fran enjoyed the choice of wine. “It smells great in here Bette. Can I help you with anything?”

“I think I have it under control. I had to go online today to get a recipe that even I could follow”

“Oh come on…..give yourself a little more credit won’t you?”

I couldn’t help by laugh and then fall into a smile. She had a way about saying the right things, and the affect she had on me…..god if she only knew.

“I’ll go get Angie…….are you prepared for this?” I asked in a semi-joking way.

“Yes baby….I am very prepared. Um…where should I sit?”

“Um…funny you should ask. .I was thinking of mixing it up a bit tonight. She asked me something earlier, about the way the table was set with three plates, if that was where Tina would have sat. So…I was thinking you might sit where Angie usually does, I’ll sit at the new spot, and you can sit where I would normally sit”

“Good idea”

“Thanks….I’ll go get her”

As I was beginning to ascend the stairs, Angie was on her way down.

“I’m coming. Sorry”

“It’s okay……..I decided to sit us in different places this time”

“You did? Why?” Angie said as she followed me towards the kitchen.

“Just for a change. Is that okay?”

“Sure”

As I entered the kitchen, I couldn’t believe I felt my palms go sweaty. I was a little more nervous about Angie and Fran meeting than I had let myself acknowledge. Just as Angie came into the kitchen, Fran smiled.

“Angie, this is my friend Fran”

“Hi Angie……I finally get to see the pretty face behind the voice” Fran said as she reached her hand out to Angie.

“Hi” Angie said shaking her hand. She looked over to me. “Mom where should I sit?”

“How about over there?”

“Okay”

I couldn’t believe how shy Angie had gotten. She had wanted so badly to meet Fran but she seemed a little awkward right now.

“Let me get the pan of Eggplant Parmesan”

As I started to retrieve some things from the stove, Fran tried to promote some conversation by using Grace as the topic.

“That is a beautiful dog. Golden Retriever right?”

“Yeah…my Mom got it for me for my birthday”

As soon as Angie offered the information about her birthday, Fran cringed. She hadn’t realized that and felt terrible for bringing that reminder up. Bette placed the pan down in the center of the table.

“Did you ever get a dog for your birthday?” Angie asked Fran.

“Um…no….I don’t believe I did”

Bette served everyone, and placed the basket of garlic bread on the table.

“There…I think we have everything”

“It looks yummy” Angie said as she dug her knife into the eggplant parm.

“So..how was school today honey?” I asked as Angie took a piece of bread.

“Okay”

“Do you have any homework?”

“Nope”

“What’s your favorite class Angie?” Fran asked as she brought a forkful of linguine to her mouth.

“Science”

It was a pleasure having Fran at our table. Perhaps I was more fearful of bringing her here and actually “feeling” like the family that Tina and I had always wanted. I guess a part of me actually was afraid I would embrace it and need it. I found that to be the case. Sitting together like this, created an incredibly warm and content feeling. I honestly could see where one day, we might be able to do this….every day…..under one roof.

“You like Science huh?”

“Yep…..we are learning about the Environment”

“That reminds me…..did your teacher like what you did over the weekend?” I asked.

“What?”

“The paper you did…when Auntie Alice was watching you…..did she like it?”

“Oh….um……sure” Angie knew that was the assignment she hadn’t turned in. The reason was, was that she had written some things down on it to remember what she had read on Tina’s Death Certificate. She had to do part of it over.

“Did she tell you when she would be grading it?”