“Yeah. It’s chillier than I thought.”
“Well, come in and warm up. We have to celebrate Ian’s victory and his intrepid coach!”
Aunt Claire kisses me and hands me a Manhattan, the perfect warming cocktail, and I sit with her at the kitchen table and fill them in on Ian’s day while watching my mom work on dinner. She is a good, solid home cook, nothing fancy, nothing innovative, just super normal, and the tiniest bit dated.
“Whatcha making?” I ask, sipping the drink, letting the smooth bourbon work its magic.
“Chicken Marbella,” my mom says, and I stifle a chuckle. The ubiquitous 1980s dinner party favorite from The Silver Palate Cookbook is as old-school as it gets. Even I have to admit, it has its nostalgic charms. The savory chicken, punctuated with briny capers, salty olives, and sweet prunes, is one of those dishes that might not be ripe for a comeback, but it doesn’t disappoint. It was always the recipe my mom pulled out when she wanted to do something impressive or celebratory, and it means the world to me that she is making it for Shawn.
“Yum. Haven’t had that in a while.”
“Well, I brought some to Glenn, and I had forgotten how delicious it is, so I thought Shawn would like it.”
“When did you go to Glenn’s?”
“Last week. I try and bring him dinner at least once a week; the man eats like a deranged college kid. You’ve seen his fridge—all cold cuts—and his pantry is full of cereal and canned soup and cookies.”
“That is so nice of you.”
“Well, it’s only fair,” Aunt Claire says. “After all, he takes you to dinner every time he comes to work at the after-school program with you.”
I had no idea my mom and Glenn were spending so much time together, but it is nice. I assume the two of them have a lot to commiserate about, and it makes me happy that they are both getting out a bit. “That is so nice, Mom.”
“He’s a good man, and it is a sad time. No need for him to go through that alone. I had Claire to prop me up, and you and Helene. Seems like the right thing to do.”
“Whatever the reason, it is very lovely.”
“He wants to meet Shawn. If the two of you don’t have other plans, maybe the four of us can meet up after we are done at the center one day next week? Grab burgers at the Orbit Room?”
Aunt Claire clears her throat loudly. My mom laughs.
“Sorry, the five of us.”
“Thank you,” says Claire, winking at me and plucking the cherry out of her glass. She pops it in her mouth with a grin.
“We can ask Shawn when he gets here.”
My mom opens the oven and bastes the chicken, the sweet-and-sour scent wafting into the room. I notice the second pan in the oven and realize she has made her famous herb and onion stuffing, the perfect thing to soak up the sauce. She’s really gone all out and it makes my heart swell with love.
“How is everything else going? The girls?” Aunt Claire asks.
I think about this for a minute and then tell them about Marcy’s concern and my discovery about Lynne not ever mentioning us to Shawn when they were together, and my struggle with how I feel about her, how much I credit her with my recent growth, and my disappointment that it has been so difficult to really reconnect.
“That seems odd. Why do you think she was so secretive?” Mom asks.
“I dunno, to be honest. I mean, she changed her name, she stopped talking about her past. I have no idea what would have made her feel like she had to do that.”
“Reinvention is an exciting thing,” Claire says. “Wiping slates clean, becoming the person you always imagined yourself to be. If you’re all the way across the country, not having to be face-to-face with your past on a day-to-day basis, it would be a little easy to fully commit to that new reality.”
“I guess, but why? I mean, it isn’t like she had some awful childhood to escape.”
“Doesn’t have to be escaping something bad, it can just be embracing something new,” Claire says.
“Seems weird to me,” I say.
“Me too. And frankly hurtful,” my mom says. “As close as you three were, the years you spent together, you were like sisters. To erase that? As if it never happened? That feels cruel to me.”
“It stung a bit,” I say. “The whole thing is making me question whether it is worth it to even maintain the friendship.”
“Oh, it’s worth it,” Claire says.
“I don’t know, Claire. You know I like to see the best in people, but look at how Lynne has behaved. She’s not really being a good friend,” my mom says, ever my defender.
“I disagree,” Claire says. “I think it is important that you keep her in your life, that you figure out what place she has.”
“Why? I mean, I completely agree about Teresa—it has been so terrific to have her back in my life, easy and fun and, to quote Marcy, added value. But Lynne? She’s been prickly and complicated since the beginning, and now, with the Shawn connection, and the fact that is it becoming completely obvious that she doesn’t really consider our history together to be terribly important, why bother? I mean, I have to be honest, if I met her today at a party or something, I wouldn’t choose to become her friend. So why should I keep putting in the effort just because we have some history?”
“Because we live in a disposable society,” Claire says. “We lead busy lives and it is too easy to cut out people who challenge us or who are complicated personalities. I agree, if you met her today she maybe wouldn’t be who you would choose. But you didn’t meet her today, you met her twenty-five years ago, and for those years, she was one of the most important people in your life. Like it or not, she is a big part of who you are, of who you have become, and I think it is important for you to figure out how to keep her in your life in a meaningful way, despite the parts of her that are difficult. There are so few people who know us from those years, who remember who we were, who were a part of our becoming. She doesn’t have to be your best friend or the first person you call, but I hope you’ll really think before you discard her altogether. I believe that in the long run, you will be better off for having her in your life.”
“Damn, Claire, you are getting very philosophical in your old age,” my mom says.
“Middle age, thank you very much,” Claire says.
“Um, unless you are planning on being a hundred and thirty, I’m pretty sure you are old,” Mom says. “But wise. I have to say, it’s possible your aunt here has some valid points.”
“Yeah, I guess. I have to think about it. The whole Shawn thing is a complication that might make it ultimately impossible. If he and I stay together, and I dearly hope we will . . .”
“As do we,” my mom says.
“Definitely,” Claire says.