At Last (The Idle Point, Maine Stories)(91)

Noah stood up and raised his glass. "I'm thankful I found my daughter Sophie and that I had sense enough to bring her home to Idle Point."

He looked at Gracie then sat down again. It wasn't like she had expected him to mention her. Still, she felt disappointed.

Sophie pressed her face against Noah's shoulder and refused to talk, as did Sage's son Will.

Doctor Jim stood and turned toward Gracie. "Come home where you belong, Doctor Taylor. My door is always open to you." He was thankful for the gift of love his late wife Ellen had given to him, for friends, for good food, for life renewing itself in unexpected ways.

Finally it was Gracie's turn. Twenty-four people lifted their glasses in anticipation of something witty or profound as befit her new big-city-girl persona. She raised her glass, ready to offer her thanks for the wonderful welcome, and to her horror, she found herself so overcome by emotion she could barely speak.

"I'm thankful to all of you for making room for me at your table. I hope to be able to make room for you at mine one day."

The room burst into applause and laughter but all she saw was the look in Noah's eyes.





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Sophie made it clear that she wasn't sure what she thought of the turkey or the stuffing but she loved the yams and the mashed potatoes. She sat perfectly straight in her chair, looking like an angel in her navy blue velvet jumper and frilly white blouse. The snowy napkin lay neatly on her lap. She handled her knife and fork with a distinctly European flair that had everyone showering her with compliments. Whoever had taught his daughter table manners had done a great job. Noah was prouder of her facility with a knife and fork than he was of any of his own accomplishments.

"I think we have a vegetarian in the making," Ruth observed as she placed her utensils across her plate and leaned back in her chair.

"The aunt who took care of her last year is a vegetarian." Giselle was a perfectly lovely sixty-year-old woman who didn't want the responsibility of raising her niece's child. He couldn't fault Giselle for that; her niece had felt the same way.

Sophie tugged at his sleeve. "When is the dessert?"

"First dinner, then dessert," he said.

"Even on Thanksgiving?"

"Even then."

Sophie looked across the table at Gracie. "Do you like cranberries?"

Gracie nodded. "As long as they're soaked in sugar. It's the American way."

Sophie giggled. "You put marshmallows on your potatoes."

"Candied yams." She leaned across the table and lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "Don't tell anyone but I eat ice cream cake for breakfast on my birthday."

"Really?"

"Yes, but that's after my tuna salad sandwich. First the healthy stuff, then dessert."

"You eat tuna for breakfast?" Sophie looked shocked.

"Sometimes," Gracie said. "And some nights I eat cereal for supper."

Sophie seemed downright enchanted. "When I'm grown up, I'll have trifle for breakfast every day of the week."

"You might want to mix a little protein in there," Gracie said, tapping her forehead with her index finger. "You need to keep the brain cells well-fed."

"I have a lot to think about," Sophie said and his heart did one of those little half-twists that seemed to happen every time she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Yes, you do," Gracie said. "Life is very complicated, isn't it?"

Sophie nodded. "It is!"

Sophie seemed happier and more relaxed than he had ever seen her. Gracie had a way of talking with his daughter that worked magic. She didn't condescend. She didn't patronize. She talked with Sophie the way she talked with Doctor Jim or his mother and apparently Sophie sensed the difference and responded in kind.

His mother reached over and patted his hand. "Don't worry," she said softly. "It will work itself out."

"I know," he said, but he was lying.





Chapter Sixteen





Sleeping Adamses and their friends were scattered from one end of the den to the other. Rachel and Darnell had shooed everyone out of the kitchen while they finished cleaning up and Gracie laughed as the clan beat a hasty retreat. Ben and Laquita were napping on the sofa with one of Wiley's offspring curled up between them. The football game droned on in the background but nobody seemed to be paying any attention to it. Sage, Morocco, and Joe—and their offspring—were outside playing a game of touch with two of their sisters while Cheyenne and Storm retreated to the sewing room to work on their dresses. They begged Gracie to let them do one more fitting on the pants suit Rachel was assembling for her but Gracie said if she tried it on tonight they would have to let out all of the seams.