“The second thing she made me promise had to do with you.”
“Really?”
It’s not that I’m completely shocked my mother may have mentioned me to Eleanor on her death bed. I was one of her children, and she seems to have had worries about all of us. It’s just that hearing it today sort of surprises me.
Eleanor nods, smiling. “Yes. Your mother so wanted to be around to see you all grow up, Marius. I’ve always felt it was incredibly cruel to let her see you five get so far and then rob her of watching you grow into men. When it came to you, she mademe promise that I’d make sure you didn’t get lost in the shuffle. You were always the one who kept so much to yourself, and in a group of five, that can mean being forgotten. Your mother knew what that was like because she was like that.”
Hearing that stuns me. In my memories, my mother is always sweet and kind and completely open.
“I don’t remember that.”
“That’s because you only saw her as she had to be. Elizabeth King had to play a lot of roles as the mother of five boys. Guidance counselor, nurse, referee, and those were just the ones she fulfilled on a daily basis. She put aside her nature to make sure you boys had a mother who was there for you.”
For a moment, Eleanor stops and then she lets out a heavy sigh. “I wish she had lived long enough for you boys to know her as adults. You would have seen that she was very much like you. She opened up for her children because she knew that’s what you needed, but your mother, like you, preferred to play her cards close to the vest. In fact, I think that’s what made your father fall in love with her. She wasn’t like other women he knew. That mystery was very appealing. You know how that is.”
I smile at her compliment. “I wish she was around now. I know Ronan needed her this year.”
“He’s thankfully going to be fine. Now all we have to worry about is you,” Eleanor says with more than a hint of apprehension in her voice.
Waving away any concern she has, I say, “It’ll work out. I know it will.”
Just as Eleanor begins to ask exactly how I’m going to make things work out with Eden, the kitchen door opens and Ava walks in. Her arms are filled with grocery bags, and she barely makes it to the counter to drop them off.
“What is this? I told the store we’d be getting things delivered for the next few months while I’m not going shopping,” Eleanorsays as she hurries across the room to where Ava has dropped off the overfilled plastic bags.
“Matthias told me we’re going to need a lot more food for the next couple days, so I stopped at the store to get some things.”
I look over at the ten bags she set on the counter and then at Ava. “Is the fifth army coming to stay?”
My sister-in-law doesn’t respond, which could mean she didn’t hear me or she’s still upset with me. I’m hoping it’s the former since I need to talk to her, and if I can’t convince her to help me with my plan, I might be shit out of luck.
As the two of them start to put the haul away, I clear my throat and say, “Ava, can we talk?”
While she puts three gallons of milk in the refrigerator, she glances over at me. “I’m pretty busy.”
Okay, she’s still pissed at me.
“It’s important.”
Ava doesn’t respond, so I add, “It has to do with Eden.”
Just as I thought, she stops what she’s doing and turns to face me. “Okay. Give me a minute.”
“Do you want my help?”
Eleanor smiles at me, but Ava shuts me down. “We’re fine.”
I can’t remember Ava ever being this icy with me. I didn’t think she had it in her. Guess I was wrong.
Five minutes later, she and Eleanor finish putting away what looks like eight hundred dollars’ worth of groceries, and Ava finally walks over to where I’m sitting. “Do you want to talk here or somewhere else?”
Suddenly, the thought of having this discussion around Eleanor seems like a bad idea. The last thing she needs is to see the two of us fighting, and I have a feeling Ava might not be a huge fan of my plan.
“How about we go outside?” I suggest.
“Back to the scene of the crime? Okay.”
She marches out of the kitchen, and as I walk behind her, I look back and see Eleanor give me the crossed fingers sign. I have the sense I’m going to need more than luck in the next few minutes.
