Holly chortled. “It’s for his ego, not his height, Nana.”
Nana Ridley liked that one. We broke apart and she pointed at Holly. “Nice one.” Her attention then slid to Janie, who hovered by the stove looking out of place and terribly anxious. “My dear, I hope Max hasn’t been telling you stories about how much of an old bag I am.”
Janie shook her head. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. I’m sorry. I’m just soaking it all in.”
Nana smiled warmly and shuffled across the kitchen to take both of Janie’s hands in hers. She patted the back of them softly. “I’ve also been looking forward to meeting you for a very long time, Janie. In fact, I’ve been waiting a long time for you to find Max.” She reached up and cupped Janie’s cheek. “I’m so lucky to be here for his next adventure.”
Janie sniffled.
I hurried over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t go making my fiancée cry, Nana. You just got here.”
Janie wiped at her eyes and laughed.
Nana released her hands and planted her fists on her hips as she blinked up at me. “Why haven’t you offered to pour me a glass of wine, Max? I’ve been on an airplane and endured two miserable airports to get here to see you, and yet, both hands are empty.”
Holly had tucked all of Nana’s luggage into the corner and stood slumped against the wall. “I could also go for a glass.”
Nana clapped her hands together. “Chop chop!”
And just like that, I saw Janie’s nerves evaporate.
Where moments before there was tension and unease, there was nothing but joy. Janie flitted around the kitchen and fetched wine glasses while I popped open a bottle of chilled white wine. I poured us all a glass and we took them to the patio to soak up the early evening sunshine while we chatted about Nana’s travels and the passengers she was stuck sitting beside.
“People are so nosy these days,” she said as she swirled her wine and enjoyed the views of a bright pink and orange sunset. “Nobody’s business is private. Especially on an airplane. You order a whiskey and everyone around you looks at you like you’re a psychopath.”
Holly sipped her wine. “Maybe it’s because people don’t expect grannies to order whiskey.”
“Don’t call me a granny,” Nana said. “I put a stop to that before you turned four, Holly.”
Holly and I shared a knowing look.
A timer in the kitchen beeped. Janie popped up out of her chair but I told her to sit back down. I’d take care of it. She settled back into her chair beside Nana and smiled graciously at me. I offered to top off wine glasses while I was inside.
Nana drained the last four mouthfuls of her wine and gave me her glass. “Thank you, Max.”
“Whiskey on the plane, binging wine,” I mused. “What’s next? Shots of Patron?”
Nana tapped the side of her nose. “I could outdrink you any day. Just like I can outplay you at chess.”
“I let you win,” I said.
“There’s that ego again,” Holly teased.
I left the three most important women in my life out on the patio and went inside to check on dinner and fill up their wine glasses. Their laughter followed me inside, and as I poured us all new glasses of wine, I couldn’t help but watch them.
Nana said something that made Janie laugh so hard she snorted. This caused all three of them to descend into chaotic laughter that made them breathless.
Seeing the three of them together like this meant more to me than I could put into words. A part of me that felt strained, pulled tight like a piece of wire that had been fraying for years, had been repaired. Janie’s love had sewn me back together. Her loyalty filled in all my crevices and dark corners.
This was the happy ending I never imagined I would have.
The only thing better would be becoming a father while my Nana was still here to see it.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn’t want to rush Janie. She and I had so much left of our life together to savor.
I checked on the bird and found it was done. After pulling it out of the oven, I set a timer to let it rest while the rest of the dishes finished cooking. While I waited for the last ten-minute stretch before the meal was ready, I rejoined the women outside. We sipped our wine, shared plenty of laughs (mostly at my expense), and complained loudly about how hungry we were.
Before Holly’s mood had a chance to darken because of that hunger, we made our way inside and sat down at the dining-room table. Janie had set it nicely and Nana commented on how inviting it was as I plated her meal for her.
When we all had food in front of us, we lifted our glasses in a toast.
“To family,” I said.
“New and old,” Holly added, tipping her head in Janie’s direction, followed by Nana’s.
“To true love,” Nana Ridley smiled at Janie.
Janie beamed at me from across the table. She looked incredible in her maroon dress. Her lashes were dark and dramatic and lined tonight. She looked like a movie star. My movie star.
She lifted her wine glass higher than the rest of ours. “To taking a leap of faith.”
“Cheers,” I said.
Their voices echoed mine, but as we lifted our glasses to our lips, Holly held up a hand. “One more thing,” she said, shooting me a sly look. “Here’s to lying bitches falling into swimming pools.”
Janie giggled into her wine glass.
I blinked.
My grandmother turned her head to me and arched a curious eyebrow. “I smell a good story.”
Holly wiggled in her seat like she used to do when she was a ten-year-old girl with the latest gossip from the schoolyard. “Do you want to tell her Max, or should I?”
I scowled at my sister. “Sabotage. That’s what that was. Sabotage. And after I made you dinner and everything.”
My subtle attempt at guilt-tripping my sister into not spilling the beans about Sienna failed. Holly launched into the story from start to finish, filling Nana Ridley in on all the drama that led up to Janie and me reuniting and making our relationship work. Nana listened in rapture, breaking eye contact only to skewer her next bite of food with her fork.
Janie hid her face in her hands when Holly got to the part about their confrontation at the pool and how Janie had let Sienna pitch face first into the water.
When Holly finished, she leaned back in her chair with her glass of wine. Her plate remained untouched. She’d been doing too much talking to take a bite of food. “Wild, right, Nana?”
Nana smiled over the rim of her wine glass at Janie. “Cheers to that.”
Later in the night once the table was cleared and the dishes were washed, Nana pulled Janie into the living room. They sat under the stained-glass window, both of them curled up on the sofa with their knees touching, and spoke quietly to each other.
I went over to join them but Holly stopped me as I tried to leave the kitchen. “Let them talk,” she said. “They’ve both wanted to meet each other for a long time. This is their chance.”
“They’re probably talking about me,” I said defensively.
Holly nodded. “Yes, they absolutely are. But for once there aren’t any jokes. Look at Nana’s eyes. She sees Janie the way you see Janie. She sees your wife. Can’t you see how happy Nana is? How relieved?”