With wine in hand, we moved to the dinner table when the meal was ready. Casey served up our salads while Dad cut into the lasagna.
The first bite melted on my tongue and tasted like nostalgia. The recipe had been Mom’s. Every year for Dad’s birthday, she’d make him lasagna, and Casey and I would look forward to it all day long. The whole house would smell like rich pasta sauce and cheese, and by the time we sat down to eat, we’d be drooling like begging dogs.
Storm rocked back in his seat like the lasagna had punched him in the face. “Bill, this is the best lasagna I’ve ever had.”
Dad grinned proudly and raised his wine glass. “To us.”
“To us,” we all echoed before sipping our wine.
Mom used to make that toast all the time. She’d coined the phrase, and Dad made sure to be the one to say it at every family dinner and on every holiday after her passing. It summed everything up in two simple words.
All we had was us, and some day, even that would be gone. But the memories would remain, and us would always live on in our hearts.
A lump formed in my throat. Dad had included Storm in his us tonight.
“So how’s work going, son?” Dad turned to Storm while he drizzled his salad with oil and balsamic. “Laila tells me your board of directors were giving you a hard time after the fashion show. Something about a social media scandal that almost got away from you?”
Storm dabbed his mouth with his napkin. “I’ve ironed everything out. It was a messy week, and I’m glad it’s behind me, but I gave some people the boot who were counterproductive to what I’ve been trying to achieve at Thornton Enterprises. It gave me a bit more flexibility to reward the people who’ve been there for the long haul and want to do better. I think there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming years.”
I put my hand on his knee and squeezed. “He’s being very humble.”
We talked about everything under the sun over dinner. Dad told us about his current project at the mechanic shop, and Storm asked a dozen questions about the car that neither Casey or I understood, so we got up to clear the table and start washing the dishes. When we were almost done and I stood drying the pots and pans and putting them away, Dad wandered in and sent Casey into the dining room to help Storm put the tablecloth away and fold the table in.
Dad leaned against the counter and smiled at me.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m thrilled for you, Laila. Storm looks at you the way I used to look at your mother. If she were here, she’d be over-the-moon happy, too. She’d be invasive as all get out, mind you, asking questions about marriage and babies, but she’d be oh so terribly happy. And so am I.”
The lump in my throat came back. “Thank you, Daddy. I’m happy too. He’s the one. I know it like I know the sky is blue.”
He gave me a one-armed hug, and we rested our heads together. “I know it, too.”
With tears in our eyes, we finished the dishes, wiped down the kitchen, and joined Casey and Storm back in the dining room. They’d put everything away and Casey was explaining our go-to card game to him. He listened intently, nodding along that he understood.
He looked up when Dad and I came in. “You two ready to get your asses kicked by a newbie?”
Dad clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Bring it on. Just so you know, all relationships are left at the door when we play games in this house. There are no allegiances. We play to win.”
Storm cracked a menacing grin. “In that case, look sharp, Bill. You’re going to eat my dust.”
Casey dealt out the cards, and I stood back for a moment, soaking it all in. I had everything I could ever want right here in this room. Well, except for Mom. I’d have given anything for her to be here with us. But then again, something told me she was here. I could feel her spirit in the warm laughter as I joined my family at the table and imagined she’d be chanting victory songs when she inevitably won.
She always won. It drove Dad out of his mind.
After a few hands, Casey excused herself to use the bathroom, and Dad got up to put on a pot of tea. Storm and I moved to the living-room window and gazed out at the gardens, which were beginning to bloom with the first hint of spring.
He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I rested my head on his shoulder.
Storm drew a deep, contented breath. “I’ve never known love like this before.”
I smiled up at him, my future husband and father of my children, and saw my entire life flash before my eyes. I saw myself walking down the aisle to him, being swept off my feet for our first dance, laughing on our honeymoon somewhere hot and sandy, and making babies there. I saw him panicking to help me to the car when I went into labor and crying when our first child was born. I saw us making his estate into our family home, with Casey and Dad coming over every second Sunday for family dinners. I saw Casey falling in love and bringing her man along for Storm to vet. I saw a lifetime of happiness stretching on for years to come.
With tears in my eyes, I smiled. “Maybe Cupid had something to do with it.”
***
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***
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