and some leftover St. Patrick’s Day napkins, Anne Marie explained who Brandon was and said he’d be coming over for dinner. Ellen seemed a little nervous about meeting him and, perhaps, about sharing their private time together.
There was a knock at the back door just as Anne Marie put the salad in the middle of the table. “That’s Brandon,” she said, walking to the door as Baxter barked excitedly.
Her stepson entered the small apartment, both hands behind his back. With a sweeping gesture, he produced a bottle of her favorite wine and a bouquet of flowers. He kissed Anne Marie on the cheek, then presented the flowers to Ellen. “You must be the lovely Ellen. These are for you,” he said.
Ellen gave Brandon a tentative smile. “I like flowers.”
“Are you going to thank Brandon?” Anne Marie asked.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Ellen.”
Anne Marie found a vase and helped Ellen arrange her bouquet. Then, without being asked, Ellen opened the silverware drawer and counted out what they needed, while Anne Marie got two wineglasses and one for juice. When they sat down to dinner, Ellen said grace.
Brandon’s eyes met Anne Marie’s as he bowed his head, and he murmured “Amen.” Ellen insisted on saying a prayer before all their meals. Her grandmother had taught her that and it always made Anne Marie wonder how the woman’s two daughters, presumably raised the same way, had turned out so badly.
Brandon raved about the casserole. “This is really good.”
“Secret family recipe,” Anne Marie told him with a smirk.
“Will you give it to my grandma?” Ellen asked, scraping up the last of the casserole from her plate.
“If you want me to.”
“I’d like it, too,” Brandon added. “Hey, I’ll give it to one of my girlfriends to make.”
“Hey, make it yourself.”
“Fine,” he laughed. “I will.”
They finished their wine; then Brandon and Ellen cleared the table, while she made a pot of coffee.
“May I go to my room and read?” Ellen asked. She’d just started the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and Anne Marie knew she was eager to return to Little House in the Big Woods.
“Yes, Ellen, you may.”
They watched as Ellen retreated to her bedroom, Baxter close behind. Brandon turned to Anne Marie, leaning casually back in his chair. “You’d make a good mother,” he said thoughtfully.
“Thanks,” she said, but it was a moot point. If she was going to have a child, there had to be a father, and she was nowhere near ready for another relationship. In a few months she’d be thirty-nine and soon after that it would simply be too late. She had no intention of doing what a few women she’d heard of had done—get pregnant via a willing “sperm donor,” a man who would play no role in their babies’ lives.
When the coffee had brewed she filled a mug for Brandon and one for herself before joining him at the table.
“Have you talked to Rebecca yet? My dad’s assistant?” he asked.
He certainly hadn’t delayed in getting to the point, even though she’d explicitly said she’d prefer not to discuss it. Anne Marie let the question slide for a moment as she busied herself with the cream and sugar.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Brandon said with teasing sarcasm.
She sighed, giving up. “The short answer is no. The long answer is I’m not sure I ever will. If she comes forward and acknowledges the child is Robert’s…then I’ll deal with it. Not before.”
“I can understand that,” Brandon said after a long moment. “I want you to know that Mel genuinely regrets what happened.”
Anne Marie shrugged it off. “How is your sister?”
“We talk every now and then. I have to say she seems a lot more serious now. More mature, you know?” He frowned. “When I called her last week, she told me she’s on the outs with Mom.”
That surprised Anne Marie. As far as she knew, Melissa and Pamela were close. Robert’s ex-wife lived in England, where she worked for an international hotel chain. According to Robert, her devotion to her career had led directly to their divorce. Pamela had accepted a position that involved frequent travel, even though Robert had asked her to wait until the children were out of school. She’d refused and left him and their family for months on end.
“What’s wrong between Melissa and her mother?”
Brandon shrugged. “She wouldn’t tell me. When I pressed the issue, she changed the subject. She obviously doesn’t want to talk about it, but she made it sound like she’s busy with school and she probably is.”
“She’s graduating this year, isn’t she?”
Melissa was completing an MBA program; she then planned to follow in her mother’s footsteps, moving into hotel management.
Robert had always been proud of his children, and he’d often said they were the only good thing to come out of his marriage to Pamela.
“Yeah, she should be done in June.”
“Is she still seeing Michael?”
“As far as I know. He’s a good guy. I like him better than any of the other guys my sister’s gone out with. Some of them were…well, put it this way.” He reached for his coffee again. “Melissa’s made some strange choices.”
Before Anne Marie could respond, Ellen stepped into the room, a pad and pencil in her hand. “Is having a goldfish a wish or a goal?”
“Well, it’s a little of both, I’d say.”
“Okay.”
“I thought you were reading,” she said.
Ellen looked down, a tendency she had when she was afraid she might be in trouble. “I was reading, but then I thought of another wish. I want twenty, the same as you.”
“I only have eleven written down so far.”
Ellen nodded. “Can I put dancing in the rain with bare feet on my list, too?”
“Sure.” Anne Marie grinned. “Just remember, there’s no need to rush. Think carefully about each wish.”
“Okay.” Ellen returned to the bedroom, muttering quietly to herself.
That interruption generated a series of questions about Anne Marie’s Twenty Wishes. She didn’t mind Brandon’s interest; in fact she was grateful for the change of subject and explained in detail what she and the other widows were doing.
A half hour later, after Brandon had finished his coffee, he left. It was eight-thirty, time to get Ellen ready
