“You know, when I’m here, business as usual, yes?” He raises a white eyebrow at me.
“I’m here for whatever you want, for as long as you want it. You know that. And I’m thrilled for you. Truly. You always have such a good time when you visit your friends there, but I also know that you like your quiet and privacy. You are always deeply grateful for your friends who host you, but it isn’t completely relaxing to be a houseguest. I think it’s terrific that you’ll have your own space.”
“And you and Shawn will come visit?”
“Of course we will.”
“To new adventures!” He reaches out his glass to me.
“I’ll drink to that.”
? ? ?
Wow. That is so cool,” Marcy says when I call her with the news.
“I know, I’m really happy for him. Of all the places he goes to visit his friends, he’s always the happiest there. He showed me pictures of the house, and it’s super cute. He’s going to have a blast decorating it. I just know he’s already all over 1stdibs .com looking at midcentury furniture.”
“Yeah, and you get a bonus day off, like, five months a year!”
I hadn’t thought about that. “I guess so.”
“Shouldn’t you be a bit happier? If I got extra time off, I’d be over the moon!”
“Look, Lawrence is half a day at most, and not particularly complicated at that.”
“Lucky girl. I’m just jealous. With the café opening next month, we are slammed.”
“I bet.”
“How’s your stuff going?”
I’m too embarrassed to confess about being stymied about the cookbook proposal. “All good.”
My phone beeps. Saved by the bell. “Hey, Marce, that’s another call, can I get back in a bit?”
“Sure! Later.”
I click over. “Hello?”
“Hey there!” It’s Lynne. Which is weird. She never calls, she texts.
“Everything okay?”
“Better than okay. I’m headed to the West Coast for the weekend with Gabriel.”
Lynne’s matchmaker date has become something of a whirlwind romance. I’m trying, in the spirit of our new understanding, to be excited for her. But the conversations feel strange to me. For someone who is normally calculated and quick to find a small flaw that renders something dead in the water, Lynne seems to have thrown herself into this new relationship in a way that borders on manic. On the one hand, I certainly know how amazing it is to meet someone and suddenly want to spend all your time with him. On the other, this feels strange. Especially since she continues to rattle off his fine qualities with focus on who he knows and what he has instead of much about who he is. How he took her to Alinea, to a box at the opera, on a helicopter ride over the city. I just can’t seem to help it, the feeling that she likes the idea of Gabriel possibly even more than she likes Gabriel himself. I’m hoping that she’ll want to introduce us sooner rather than later, so that the reality of him in person will give me a sense of the human qualities he has that have Lynne so jazzed.
“That’s great, Lynne. Should be fun. Are you doing something romantic?”
“Oh, yes, there is a party at Jon Favreau’s house on Friday night, so that should be wall-to-wall celebrities. And then a charity gala for the Guggenheim Saturday night, full red carpet. Angelique is dressing me for both events, and Gabriel asked a buddy of his at Harry Winston to sparkle me up!”
Sigh. “Wow. Fancy. That sounds like fun. Will you get any time to relax?”
“Well, not a ton, but he does want to take me out on his sailboat for a little while on Saturday.”
Of course he does. “Very jet-set. Will you get to see any of your friends while you’re there?” Lynne always talks about her main pals being back in L.A.
“Not this trip, but hopefully, if things continue to go well with Gabriel, I’ll be back there more regularly.”
It seems weird to me that she wouldn’t even try to sneak in a coffee or brunch or something with the ladies she calls her Westies, as in, West Coast besties. But who am I to judge her about that? I moved back to the States permanently and never reached out to Lynne and Teresa, so I can’t really fault her for a sneaky weekend.
“It sounds just great, Lynne, can’t wait to hear all about it.”
“Thanks.” She pauses, and then very deliberately asks, “How’s Shawn?”
“He’s good, thanks for asking.”
“Well, you survived Easter at Jeannie’s. I hear that is quite the event.”
“Didn’t you ever go?”
“I never did. Spring was always just too busy for me to travel—work is insane that time of year. But I’ve heard the stories. Is it true about Uncle Foster?”
“A thousand percent.”
“I don’t know why, but I sort of appreciate that. I always wondered if he exaggerated the details in an effort to pique my curiosity enough that I would have to see it for myself.”
All I can think is that he was probably just trying to share his family with her, to encourage her to accompany him so that she could be completely connected. I think about the day we had, the amazing food, the heartfelt grace, the embracing and ballbusting, the funny family stories, the enthusiastic dancing. Lynne missed out on so much. But a part of me is grateful. Because I don’t have to be compared to her with his family, the slate is clean. Mostly I feel bad for her. “Well, it’s all true, and they are a great family.”
“I bet. I do have an awkward thing to ask you, though. A favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, Gabriel is coming back in a couple of weeks and wants to meet you and Teresa. Have dinner.”
“Of course. I look forward to meeting him.”
“Just one hitch. Teresa is going to be bringing Gio—I didn’t want Gabriel to feel like it was the tribunal or anything, and this way he’d have another guy there. But . . .”
Crap. Here it comes.
“But would you be horribly offended if I asked you not to bring Shawn, at least not to this one? They’ll meet at the party, obviously, but that seems an easier thing, with all the other people there. But an intimate dinner with my ex is just, well, eventually, maybe, I hope, but not for a first meeting, not so early in the relationship, you know? Do you understand?”
As much as I think personally that it would be easier on all of us—maybe even better—to just pull off the Band-Aid and get it over with, for the two of them to meet small and quiet, to actually get to know each other a bit, instead of exchanging some small talk at a big event, I can’t fault her. She’s trying, I can see that. She insisted I invite Shawn’s folks to the party, and she has been good about asking me about how things are going and making him a more open topic of conversation, so if she needs this, then I owe her that. “Of course. I understand and I’m sure Shawn will as well.”
“Thank you for that. Really, El, I totally appreciate it.”
“No problem.” To get off the subject I tell her about Lawrence and his new snowbirding life change.
“That is fantastic. Are you going to bring in another client?”