“But do you love him?” Jack asked slowly.
Nora’s mind drifted back to her first date with her future husband. He had spent an hour and a half talking about West Point graduates: Eisenhower, Westmoreland, Sherman, Grant, McClellan and Patton. Nora hadn’t known quite what to make of his obsession with the military; she hadn’t known a single thing about West Point or Dwight D. Eisenhower before their date, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to remember any of the facts he had shared with her after they left, but Randy’s passion had intrigued her, and she knew, without a doubt, that she wanted to go out with Randy Cohen again. He wasn’t the romantic type, but he was a perfect gentleman; he could be harsh toward others, but he doted on her; they couldn’t have been more different, nor could they have been any more perfect for one another. Even today, though she could easily point out his many faults, she remembered all the good times. She thought too of the hard times and how they had gotten through them together. She thought about how deeply she had missed him when he was away at war. She remembered how she had prayed for his safe return each time he left, how she had snuggled tight to their children at night and, on many occasions, once they had drifted off, cried herself to sleep.
“Nora,” Jack asked again, “do you love him?”
“Yes,” Nora nodded. “But I can’t go back to him.” She thought about what he had done, and it turned her stomach. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by his betrayal and angry at herself because she still had feelings for him.
Jack thought about how to respond, but, unsure of what to say, he offered to make more toast instead.
“Mama has it in her mind that we should all plan to spend Thanksgiving at her house this year,” Nora said, helping Jack butter the toast. “I just don’t see me calling Randy and the kids…”
“If you’re worried about how Randy will react to me…the girls and I can hang out here for the day,” Jack offered. “I’ve never made Thanksgiving dinner; we usually just go to Maude’s for lunch, and she does turkey and dressing and all the traditional stuff.”
“No,” Nora insisted, “that wouldn’t be fair to our kids. They’ve gotten close, and there is no reason they shouldn’t spend the holiday together just because the adults are too stubborn to work things out. Besides, your girls need to experience a Dottie Miller Thanksgiving extravaganza!”
“Oh, I remember those,” Jack smiled, his mouth watering. “Everything was always delicious…right down to the cranberry sauce.”
“Do you know she is still stingy with that recipe?” Nora gasped.
Jack laughed. “That sounds about like her!”
“I would love for our kids to get to spend Thanksgiving Day together,” Nora nodded.
“The kids do seem to be getting along well,” Jack smiled as he slid the toast into the oven.
“Do you get the feeling there is something going on between my son and your daughter, or is that just me?” Nora gulped.
“I think it’s pretty obvious they’ve gotten close,” Jack shrugged.
“How close?” Nora asked, worried.
“I think they’re good friends…best friends,” Jack smiled.
“Like we used to be?” Nora laughed.
Jack thought about the question, and a grin stretched across his face. “You mean, do I think they’re stealing kisses every chance they get? I think probably so, but I’m also equally positive they would both fiercely deny it.”
“So are you okay with that?” Nora asked cautiously.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” Jack said, more confidently than Nora had expected. “Whether it be here at the house or at basketball practice, I would have to be blind or oblivious not to see that they have an undeniably unique dynamic. Whatever is or isn’t going on behind the scenes, I think they’re both good kids, and I trust my daughter.”
“Saying this might make me sound like a horrible mother,” Nora offered, “but, while I envy your confidence, I’m not sure I trust my son.”
“Having once been a teenage boy myself,” Jack chucked, “I don’t trust him either!” Jack shook his head. “I’m jokin’! I told Grant, and I’ll tell you…I trust him. Hailey has always been just one of the guys, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always preferred it that way. Raising two girls as a single father is not the easiest job in the world, but, for me, dealing with Hailey has always been a breeze as compared to raising Jessica. Hailey and I have always spoken the same language; she isn’t picky about her clothes; she isn’t worried about nails and hair and all that other girly stuff; she has never looked at any boy and seen anything other than a teammate or an opponent on the court.”
“Until maybe now,” Nora gulped.
“Until now,” Jack nodded.
“Listen,” Nora pointed her finger at Jack, but stopped when she realized just how much the gesture made her look like her mother. “Hailey may not be into makeup or nail polish and her name brand of choice may be Nike instead of Calvin Klein, but, even au natural, she is a stunningly beautiful young woman, Jack. You might look at her and see the same little tomboy she’s always been, but you need to open your eyes because, at some point, your little girl grew up.”
“The thought of Hailey dating or having a boyfriend is something that has always been so far off in my mind,” Jack laughed. “With Jess, I have always known there would come a time when I was chasing off boys left and right, but with Hailey…”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Maybe my mother’s intuition is just totally off when it comes to Grant, but I think my son has stars in his eyes…”
“We were young once, and I know I certainly had stars in my eyes when it came to you,” Jack replied.
“Then I broke your heart,” Nora nodded with a frown. “I guess I’m just protective. I don’t want that to happen to either one of them.”
“We can’t let our mistakes or our past dictate the lives of our children,” Jack said dismissively. “Whatever is going on between them might last five minutes, five months or fifty years, but it’s up to them, not us, to figure it out.”
“They’re so different, Jack,” Nora warned. “I’ve spent the past eighteen years learning that my son is cut from a different mold than the rest of us. I never know what to expect from him, and Hailey doesn’t either.”
“It’s hard for me to imagine my daughter having a boyfriend,” Jack shrugged honestly, “and I can say with complete certainly that it’s a guy like Grant who scares me the most… but not for the reasons you’re probably thinking. He scares me most because he’s not the kind of love-struck puppy I want to run off. He’s more of a keeper.”
“Well, I am humbled by your high opinion of him, but he’s always been a little rough around the edges,” Nora laughed.
“I think Grant is going to surprise you one day,” Jack replied confidently. “He might need a little polishing up, but there is a diamond underneath there somewhere.”
“I hope so,” Nora smiled proudly. “I look at him, and I see a kid who has been so incredibly blessed. I mean, I consider Randy and I both to be fairly attractive people, but how we made such a beautiful boy is beyond both of us. He’s handsome and well-spoken. He’s brilliant and charismatic. He’s witty and discerning. I pray everyday that he reaches his full potential. I don’t believe God would have bestowed him with so many incredible gifts had He not intended for him to do great things. Like any Godly mother, I pray for all my children, but I say a special prayer for him because I feel like God entrusted me with a masterpiece. I pray that Grant will always have the courage to reach for the stars; I hope that faith leads him to believe he can achieve great things. I pray he realizes that most of us will never have the opportunities he will have, and I pray he becomes everything I think he is meant to be.”
Jack smiled lovingly at Nora, admiring the person she had always been. “He is blessed to have a mother who prays so faithfully for him and his future.”
“Well, just like I pray for my children, I pray for my marriage,” Nora sighed, “but right now I don’t feel like I’ve gotten a definitive answer about what I’m supposed to do. Would you be horribly angry with me if I invited Randy and my kids to come to Hope Hull for Thanksgiving?”
“Of course not,” Jack answered in his haste to please her. As the words escaped his lips, he imagined what it would be like, after all the years that had passed, to sit across the dinner table from the man who had swept his Nora Jean off her feet and taken her away. Decades had passed, and, though the wound had healed, the scar had never faded. Shaking off the implications of what he had just gotten himself into, he asked, “do you think he’ll come?”
“He’s a proud man, but he loves his kids,” Nora gulped, “so we’ll see what he says.” She smiled knowingly. “Aren’t the holidays supposed to be stressful?”
