She threw her arms around him and enmeshed her fingers in his hair and kissed him, hard, and for a while, long enough so that when their daughter looked up at them through the window, it inspired her to believe in love and the sanctity of marriage, if not for herself, at least for others.
Later, in the parking lot of Old Orchard—there was a sale at Nordstrom’s, winter coats, 30 percent off—Rachelle began to plot how she would save her mother-in-law. It would require a commitment from her husband and obviously from Richard, more than anyone. They would all have to work together to get Edie back on track. Rachelle would happily prepare meals for her, healthy meals, and she knew a nutritionist who was affiliated with her Pilates studio. Or maybe she would just sign her up for Weight Watchers. Rachelle would drive her to the meetings herself, and sit with her if she felt it necessary. And Rachelle would give up her daytime matinees to go to the gym with Edie if it meant she would finally get some exercise. Hell, all she had to do was go for a walk every day! Even that little bit would help. But more than anything, it was really on Richard to make sure she wasn’t sneaking trips to the fast-food joints. If that meant he had to work less, then so be it. There was always time to make more money, but you only have one wife, and one life. And Benny would have to call his mother every single day and check in on her, and let her know that he loved her. A call from a son means everything to a mother. Rachelle knew she would want the same thing someday.
They were all in this together, that was the most important thing. If everyone worked together, Edie had a shot.
*
At the dance studio, the kids were sweating and grinning; Emily, in particular, had a healthy glow to her.
“Mom, we had a breakthrough moment,” she said.
“They did,” said Pierre, and he put his arm around Emily. “They remembered all their steps without me having to remind them.”
“I could feel the whole thing inside me,” said Josh. He touched his fingertips to his temples and then pressed hard, his eyes bugging out a bit. “Like I can see it all in my head.”
“It’s magic when it clicks like that,” said Pierre.
Rachelle drank in all their energy, she felt it ripple through her face and neck and chest, a warm, milky love, and it melted into the enthusiasm she already had for turning her mother-in-law’s life around. The kids were jumping up and down. Everyone was laughing. Rachelle pulled out her checkbook to pay Pierre for the month of classes. She asked him for a pen. He opened a desk drawer, and she saw inside at least a hundred different save-the-date magnets, all with different names on them. A pile of invitations. Of course everyone invited him. He was the most fabulous person ever. Rachelle blushed, and then felt a little nauseous. She wrote the amount incorrectly on the first check, and then tore it up, her hands trembling. This is so dumb, she thought. What do I care? I have a mother-in-law to save.
*
Benny returned just before dinner, sad creases worming their way around his forehead. He saw the kids and he smiled, and he hugged Emily, though over her head he gave a wary glance to Rachelle. Something began to tick inside her.
They ate salmon, bright pink, flavorless, and Rachelle eyed everyone as they reached for a pinch of salt, anything to save this meal, and she whispered, “Not too much.” Brown rice. “Drink more water,” she commanded. Out-of-season strawberries and sugarless cookies that sucked the air out of their lives. There would be no fooling around with food on her watch.
They bundled together in the living room, for the last night of So You Think You Can Dance, Rachelle on the sectional next to Emily. Rachelle stroked the top of her daughter’s head. Emily had showered before dinner, and smelled good; Rachelle could tell she had used her shampoo. Her son was on the floor below them, his knees hunched up to his chest, rapt excitement at the upcoming revelation. Her husband was on the settee, stretched out like a dead man, his hands clasped across his belly. Rachelle looked at his gut. Was he getting a gut? Was everyone going to have to go on a diet around here?
During the final commercial break, Rachelle asked her husband, at last, how he was doing, and from across the room he let out a long, whiny, “Ehhh.”
In the last moments of the show, the host announced Victor as the winner. The kids jumped up and down and screamed, and even Rachelle found herself clapping, while Benny did nothing but move his hands from his chest to behind his head. Confetti fell all around Victor as he hugged the host tightly. He swiped his thumbs under his eyes. He took the mike from the host and said, “I just want to thank everyone for making this happen. The viewers for all their support and for voting for me, my parents for believing in me, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and my first dance instructor, Pierre Gonzales, for making me into the man I am today.” And with that he gave a giant wink at the camera. A giant dirty wink? A giant wink. Rachelle didn’t know. “Huh,” she said. She looked over at her husband, who, for the first time that night, had cracked a smile.
*