“You find it at Mi Casa?” Tilly asked, hanging her purse on it.
“I did. I just love it there. Come on in and see what I’ve done with the place.”
Like a sunflower turning to face the sun, Grace felt herself bloom. She stood taller, felt proud.
“Oh, Grace. I love this couch.” Tilly sat down on the slightly curved sofa. Grace had fallen in love when she saw it inHome and Heartmagazine. It had been her only real splurge so far with the money she was earning for designing Noah’s place. It looked like a shallow U, like something someone would see at a swanky nightclub. It was silvery gray, and she’d added teal cushions to each end for pops of color.
“Isn’t it awesome? I actually thought of going with one the color of the pillows but decided to be a bit more subtle.”
Morty stared at it, standing in front like he didn’t understand. “How’s a man supposed to stretch out?”
“What are you talking about?” Tilly scooted over a bit so he could sit, but he didn’t.
He gestured to the couch, waving his wrinkly hand from one end to the other. “A man wants to lay his feet at one end, his head at the other. What’s he supposed to do? Lie on his side and curl up?”
Tilly’s gaze locked with Grace’s, and they both laughed at the same time. Tilly grabbed his hand, pulling him down beside her. “Like your body would take up this entire couch. You’re shrinking, old man. There’s no reason to worry.” She moved back and forth on the cushion. “Admit it. Cozy as a bed, isn’t it?”
Morty shrugged, settled in a little. “Not bad, I guess. What other weird furniture did you get?”
Grace shook her head, pointed to her two perfectly normal armchairs. They were darker shades of gray, each holding a slightly different throw pillow with splashes of white and teal. Over the fireplace, she’d hooked up the television, and because she wanted to change the mantel, there was nothing under it.
Tilly rubbed her feet on the rug. “I like this, too, honey. It’s all coming together so nicely. You’re making a home.”
Grace spent a lot of time thinking about that word: “home.” Her whole life, she’d imagined it to be somewhere to come back to, a constant, a North Star with sturdy construction and no wheels. She hesitated, her hands and heart momentarilyfrozen. The definition had shifted, morphed into something else that included someone rather than something. Rolling her shoulders, she huffed out a breath.That’s fine.She could adjust her perception without changing her life for a man.
“I’m happy with how it’s turned out. You two want a drink? I’ve got some beer, wine, and soda. Or just water or juice if you’d prefer,” Grace said, glancing at her watch. Noah said he’d be here by now. She glanced out the side window. She could still see his driveway, even with the patio extension Kyle had added. She’d filed the paperwork through city hall to have it built and was crossing her fingers no one said anything about it being there before it was approved. Backward was better than not at all. Noah’s truck wasn’t in the driveway.
“You missing your boy toy already?” Morty asked.
“Leave her alone, Morty.”
“What? She’s the closest thing I got to a daughter. I ought to be allowed to ask her what’s happening with him and how things are going.”
“But that’s not what you did,” Tilly said. “You teased her.”
Grace looked back and forth between them, amused by the banter that didn’t seem to need her input. “Drinks?”
“I’ll have a beer and so will he, honey,” Tilly said. “Smells delicious by the way.”
“Thanks. Be right back.” She went into the kitchen, grabbed the beers for them and a soda for herself and set them on the counter. The lasagna had another thirty minutes or so. She’d bought a delicious-looking loaf of French bread and made a salad. Everything was ready. She just needed the final guest. The simple dining-room table was already set with the dishes she’d bought. Okay, maybe she’d splurged a little, but everything, other than the couch, had been a reasonable price.
She brought the drinks back, set them on coasters on the coffee table. Taking her own can, she settled in one of the chairs, bending her legs to the side so she could curl her feet up under her.
The rasp of the soda opening made her mouth water. “How’s the wedding plans?”
Morty opened Tilly’s beer, handed it to her, then opened his own and took a long drink.
“A nurse friend of mine has a pretty cottage near Irwin Lake. We’re thinking just before Christmas. December nineteenth. Evening ceremony, just close friends. Ceremony and party right there. Simple buffet-style dinner.”
“That sounds lovely. And soon.” It was already mid-October, but since there wasn’t much to plan, it should be fine.
“We don’t see much reason to wait. Really, we only put it that far off to give people a chance to plan to come. We’ll have some of Morty’s old crew from the electricians’ union. My nurse friends. I have one sister and two nieces. They’ll come down from Oregon.”
They continued to chat about plans, menus, and gifts, but Grace couldn’t stop thinking about whether or not Noah was going to show. He’d been going into his last meeting hours ago. She wanted to text him but didn’t want to seem… what? Needy? The timer on the oven went off.
“How come Noah’s late?” Morty stood up.
“Probably stuck in traffic. He had meetings all day. You know how busy the roads are,” Grace said, unfolding herself from the chair.
