Carl reaches for my hand. “It’s hard for me to let go, too. Give it some time. We’ll adjust.”
“It happened so fast….” Leaning my head back against the seat, I close my eyes and hear a voice from the past…. Enjoy every second…. Tomorrow you’ll wake up, your daughter will be getting married, and this one will be off to college.
Damn that nurse for being right.
All the way to the Avis car rental agency, I weep softly. On the shuttle bus from there to the air terminal, Carl holds me while I press my face against his shoulder and weep some more. When the plane lifts off, I touch the window, look out at Troy’s new home. And weep. By the time the city disappears, I’m numb, wrung out, my tear supply drained dry.
Already hard at work on a presentation for a prospective client of his ad agency, Carl glances up from his laptop. He doesn’t appear to be the least bit emotional. He had his brief teary moment and got over it. Easy for him to say we’ll adjust. Our kids growing up and leaving doesn’t change his life as drastically as mine. He isn’t losing his job of the past twenty-two years. Taylor and Troy have been my entire world. What am I supposed to do now?
“Taylor Jane’s picking us up, right?” Carl asks.
“She said she would. I gave her our itinerary.”
“We should’ve called her before we took off. I wouldn’t put it past her to forget. She’s probably preoccupied with her big plans to marry Moo-ney.” His head bobs left to right and his lip curls when he speaks each syllable of our future son-in-law’s name. “What kind of name is that, anyway? His parents must be a couple of kooks.”
The wedding. I sit straighter. Sniff. Pull a tissue from my purse and dab my eyes.
“We have a few things to discuss with our daughter when we get home,” Carl says grudgingly. “Such as how those two think they’re going to support themselves. I don’t get it. The kid’s nothing like any of Taylor’s prior boyfriends. What kind of life does she think she’s going to have with someone like him?”
I sigh. “She isn’t thinking. She hardly knows the guy.” They met over the summer when Taylor moved home after graduating from Southern Methodist University.
“If she’d wait, she’d probably find someone at grad school.”
Because of Taylor’s average grades, Carl had to pull a few strings to get her accepted to a master’s program at Texas Tech.
“Some kid with a smart head on his shoulders,” he adds.
And without a ponytail brushing them, I think.
“Someone with reasonable ambitions,” he continues.
Rather than pie-in-the-sky dreams of becoming his generation’s Jimi Hendrix.
“Someone clean-cut.”
Meaning, no multiple earrings or five-inch-long goatee.
“She probably won’t even go to grad school now.” Carl presses a hand to his stomach and winces. “Damn engagement’s giving me an ulcer. I wonder what she has in mind for the wedding?”
The wedding. I push negative thoughts of Mooney aside and smile. Taylor announced her engagement two days before we left in Troy’s Jeep to drive him to college, so there wasn’t much time to talk details. But I do recall mention of a January ceremony.
Dabbing my eyes again, I dig in my purse for a pad and a pen. If she’s determined to marry Mooney, maybe I could convince her to do it in December instead of later. We would have to get busy, but a Christmas wedding will be beautiful.
“What are you smiling about?” Carl’s expression shifts to one of amusement. He studies me over the tops of his reading glasses.
“What do you think about a Christmas wedding?”
He holds up both hands. “That’s your department, not mine. If there’s going to be a wedding, I guess that’s as good a time as any.”
“We could have it at the Club.”
“What if they want a church wedding?”
“Even better. Can’t you just imagine how beautiful the sanctuary would be filled with roses?” I nibble my lip and squint, seeing it all in my mind. “Red ones. I’ll call the florist and ask what they’d cost.”
“Won’t the church already be decorated with flowers for the holidays? You could use those and save us some money.”
“Poinsettias are too predictable. Everyone will expect them.” I push against his arm with my palm. “Don’t be such a cheapskate. She’s your only daughter.”
“Hey, I’m not complaining. Spend the money if it makes you happy.” With an indulgent smile, he leans over and pecks my cheek. “I’ll just work harder.” Digging in his pants pocket, he pulls out an antacid and pops it into his mouth.
“We’re doing this for Taylor, not me.”
Carl raises one brow; the corner of his mouth twitches. “Whatever you say.”
I nudge him with an elbow. “Stop it. You’d love a big shindig, too, and you know it.”
“What I’d love is for Taylor to wise up and reconsider. But I’m all for whatever it takes to make my girls smile.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “Feeling better?”
Surprised to realize that I am, I grin. “Much.”
“Good.” Carl pats my hand, then returns his attention to his work.
The wedding. I take a deep breath, then start scribbling. Red roses. Mistletoe. A red velvet cake. A string quartet…
CHAPTER 2
“You did what?” I slam the car door.
Behind me, in the back seat of our Lexus, Carl swears softly.
Taylor flips the blinker, turns out of the airport parking lot and lifts her chin. “Mooney and I eloped. And don’t yell at me. I’m trying to drive.” She keeps her focus on the road.
I glance back at Carl. He’s shaking his head and muttering, but he doesn’t appear to be as stunned by the news as I am.
I return my attention to Taylor. Her long blond hair looks sleek and glossy as she tosses it off one shoulder with the flip of a hand. Troy is dark like Carl. But our daughter inherited my Scandinavian coloring. Her temperament, though, is all her own. “When did this elopement take place?”
“Night before last.”
“You could’ve called us,” Carl says.
“I didn’t want to ruin your time with Troy. Besides…” Her mouth curves up slightly at one corner. Her I’ve-got-a-secret smile; I know it well. “I wanted to enjoy at least one day of our honeymoon without having to deal with you being mad at me.” She glances my way when she says this. To hear her talk, anyone would think I rant and rave at her every hour of the day.
“You had a honeymoon?” I ask.
“A mini one. Until we can do it right.”
I cross my arms and lean back. “What did you do?”
That smile again. “Mo-ther.” She giggles.
I lift my gaze to the ceiling. “You know what I meant. Where did you go?”
“We flew to Dallas and stayed at the Mansion.”
Carl blurts a laugh. “I guess sweeping up sawdust at Home Depot pays more than I thought. Or has Mooney changed jobs again? I can’t keep up.”
“He’s a musician.” Another hair flip. “The other jobs are only temporary. Until the band breaks out. Code Freak will