“Sure.” He stomped the snow from his boots and handed me the bottle of wine. “That’s for you.”
“Thanks.” Setting it on the hall table momentarily, I hung up his coat in the closet and turned to face him. He wore a thin charcoal-colored sweater over a navy dress shirt and dark jeans. “You look nice.”
“Thanks. I figured I’d wear a shirt with no holes this time. Try not to look like a hungry college student.” He looked at my angora sweater, skinny dress jeans, and high-heeled boots. “You look nice too.”
“Thank you.” Grabbing the bottle of wine he’d brought, I glanced toward the back of the house, where all the noise was coming from. “Ready?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Smiling, I took his arm. “No. But I’ll stay with you, and I promise it’s going to be fine. Come on.”
If Henry was anxious walking into a room full of people, he didn’t show it. Of course, it helped that the only people there were my family members and their significant others, and everyone knew not to ask about Renee or say anything that might make him feel uncomfortable. He seemed right at home hanging out with Mack, chatting with Oliver about progress at the distillery, laughing with Chloe about some obnoxious wine industry asshole who’d toured the vineyard and cellar last week and had all kinds of opinions on why Henry’s preferred sorting method was a waste of time. And he gobbled three full plates of food like he hadn’t had a decent meal in ages.
Later, he joined me, Chloe and Oliver, Mack and Frannie, and all five kids in a competitive game of Hedbanz, and I was surprised at how easily he interacted with both Mack’s girls and my two children. He seemed to really enjoy playing the game and went out of his way to make them laugh. It made me wonder if he’d ever wanted kids.
After the game, while he talked with my dad about the upcoming growth season over cups of coffee laced with Irish whiskey and topped with cream, I helped my mother and April clean up the kitchen. By then, Mack and Frannie had taken their kids home, my kids had gone up to their bedrooms, and Meg and Noah had disappeared without even saying goodbye.
“They’ve probably banged like five times already,” April whispered as we dumped leftovers into plastic containers.
I groaned. “Stop. It was torture watching them all night. They can barely keep their hands off each other.”
“I know. And you should hear her stories about the sex.” April shook her head. “It’s insane. Like, handcuffs insane.”
“I’ve heard some of them.” I glanced at my mom to make sure she couldn’t hear us. “I’m actually kind of jealous. I’ve never done anything like that. Have you?”
“Nope. Where do you even find guys like that—good guys who’ll treat you right but have that alpha male attitude behind a closed door? Is it a law enforcement thing? Maybe I should start hanging around the fire station.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. I really don’t. In my experience, it’s been one or the other—or neither.”
When the leftovers had been put away and the dishwasher started, April yawned and asked if it was okay for her to take off.
“Of course,” my mother said. “I can handle the rest.”
“I’ll help you, Mom,” I said. The only thing left to do was the serving pieces, which had to be done by hand. “I’ll wash and you can dry.”
“Thanks, honey.”
We said goodnight to April and got started, the conversation in the family room carrying over the quiet hum of the dishwasher now that the music had been turned off. I heard Henry’s deep voice and glanced over my shoulder. He was sitting on the couch opposite my father, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, like he was listening really intently.
I smiled and turned back to the sink. “Henry’s so into his vines. It’s cute.”
My mother glanced at me. “He is. Into his vines and cute.”
I wondered if I’d gone too far, so I bit my lip instead of asking what I really wanted to know—what was his wife really like? Had their marriage been that bad? Why didn’t they ever have kids?
My mother helped me out. “It’s so nice to see him enjoying himself,” she said. “He’s been so down the past few months.”
“Well, divorce will do that.”
“Yes. It was nice to see you enjoying yourself too. Did you have fun?”
“Yes,” I said. “My favorite part was seeing the kids having a good time. They really get along well with Mack’s girls.”
“Mack’s girls are darling.”
“I hope Keaton makes a few guy friends here too.”
“He will. As soon as school starts, I’m sure he’ll have no trouble.”
I scrubbed the bottom of a sauté pan. “I worry about him, not having a father around. I mean, I worry about both of them not having a father around. But then I remember what kind of man Brett turned out to be, and I think maybe it’s better to have no male influence than that.”
“They’ll have plenty of healthy male influence around here,” my mother assured me. “Your dad, Mack, Henry. Oliver and Noah are around a lot too.”
I saw the opening and took it. “Henry does seem great with kids. I wonder why they never had any.”
My mother was silent for a minute, and I figured maybe she didn’t know. But after I handed her the pan for drying, she spoke up, a little quieter than before. “They tried for years,” she said. “That was part of the problem. Renee had endometriosis, so they were hoping IVF would work, but it didn’t.”
“Oh no.” Immediately, I understood their situation better. I, too, had struggled to get pregnant. After a couple years of being unsuccessful spontaneously, we’d turned to IVF and gotten lucky twice.
I knew how grueling the experience could be. And I knew the toll it could take on a woman’s psyche, on her body, and on a marriage. I suddenly felt sorry for Henry’s ex—I could empathize with her. I felt awful for Henry too.
“That’s so hard,” I said. “Is that why the marriage fell apart?”
“I never asked, but I think it had a lot to do with it.” She took a platter from my hands and began drying it. “I only know what I know because Renee confided in me a little. I’ve never said a word to Henry about it.”
“I won’t either,” I promised.
My mother changed the subject to tomorrow night’s party, fretting about the endless to-do list she had. As we finished the washing and drying, I assured her I’d be around to help. “In the morning, just give me a list of things I can do. And don’t worry, it’s going to be a fantastic party. It always is.”
As we were putting the dishes we’d washed into the cupboards, Chloe and Oliver came through the kitchen to say goodnight. After they’d gone, my mother wiped her brow and fanned her face. “Darn these hot flashes. I may need to go up to my room and put the fan on.”
I smiled and grabbed the sponge to wipe down the counters. “Go ahead. I’ll finish up.”
“Thank you, dear.” She poked her head into the family room and said goodnight before going upstairs, and a moment later, Henry and my dad came into the kitchen with empty cups.