It's Better This Way(74)

Julia could see the girls were fascinated, and so she continued. “Laura was as nervous as I was. Yes, there’s bad blood between us, and I’ll admit it was difficult for her to ask for this meeting.”

“That woman isn’t short on chutzpah,” Marie murmured, using a word her father often used.

Julia talked about the awkwardness of that first meeting and what had transpired since. She watched as this news had the same effect on her daughters as it’d had on her. “Laura offered to do anything she could to help mend Eddie’s relations with you girls and promised to stay away from the wedding.”

“Dad won’t be there without her,” Hillary said, with a hard shake of her head.

    “Which I mentioned,” Julia added. “I also asked why she had never reached out to either of you. Perhaps if she’d tried at some point it would have helped.”

“What did she say?” Marie asked with open curiosity.

Julia was pleased by her daughter’s interest. “Laura admitted she was afraid of being rejected.”

“Well, yeah,” Carrie said, with more than a hint of defiance. “She should be afraid.”

Hillary frowned. “You were the one who suggested she start with those text messages, weren’t you, Mom?”

Julia sighed before she answered. “I know you think I probably should have refused to help her. The thing is, Laura didn’t have a clue where to begin. She has sons, not daughters, and was at a complete loss. I helped her compose the first few texts.”

“Are you like bosom buddies now?” Hillary asked.

“Not exactly. We’ve met and talked a few times and made a few plans to bring everyone together.”

The stunned looks on their faces were almost comical. It was a good thing the server arrived when he did. He wrote down their orders, which broke the hypnotized gaze the girls had aimed in Julia’s direction.

“Did I hear you right?” Hillary asked. “Dad, Laura, and those wretched sons of hers were all at Heath’s place at the same time?”

“In the same condo?” Marie asked.

“In the same room?” This came from Hillary.

“Yes.”

“Was there blood?”

Julia laughed. “No. When Michael and Adam saw that Laura and I had set aside our differences, they asked for time to think it through. Since then I heard from Michael—”

    “You did?” Carrie exclaimed. “What did he say?”

Julia was confused. “You know about this?”

“I do…long story, continue, what did he say?”

“Both Heath’s sons have agreed to give me a chance.”

Marie huffed. “That was big of them, giving you a chance and all.”

“Given the circumstances, it was,” Julia said, refusing to discount Michael and Adam’s willingness to look beyond past hurts and slights.

“The bottom line, Hillary,” she said, directing her attention to her oldest daughter. “Your father can be an idiot. Laura knows that as well as I do and was desperate to do something…anything to help him make up for his mistakes with you.”

“Dad can be an idiot,” Marie agreed.

“Tell me about it,” Hillary muttered.

Julia was pleased with how well the conversation seemed to be going. “That ridiculous idea of inviting his friends and the seating chart were his bumbling attempt to be helpful,” she said. “Your dad didn’t mean to insult anyone. I sincerely believe he was looking for a way to make everyone comfortable, given our circumstances.”

“Okay, I can give him that, but when he excluded Heath, that was insulting to you and just plain wrong.”

“You’ll be pleased to know your father and Heath have come to terms. They aren’t going golfing together or anything, but they’re cordial.”

“Dad owed Heath an apology.”

Carrie narrowed her gaze and asked, “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Aunt Julia and Laura are talking. Would it be a stretch to say you’re friendly?”

    “Not at all,” Julia told her.

“Which blows my mind.”

“Yours?” Hillary said, and shook her head. “It blows all our minds.”

“And,” Carrie added forcefully, apparently unwilling to lose her train of thought. “Heath’s sons have accepted Aunt Julia being with their dad.”

“Also,” Marie added, when it looked like Carrie had finished, “Dad and Heath aren’t threatening to kill each other.”

“It never got that far,” Julia felt obliged to correct them.

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” Hillary mumbled.

“You’re telling me,” Marie added.

Their food arrived, and Julia’s daughters and Carrie looked at the steaming dishes, as if amazed they were now being asked to eat after such stunning news.

Undeterred, Julia reached for her fork.

“Where do we go from here?” Marie asked.

After swallowing her first bite and savoring the taste of basil and curry, Julia said, “That’s up to you.”

Hillary looked like she was a million miles away. “Dad was crying?” she said, picking up on part of their earlier conversation. “I’ve never known Dad to cry, not even when his dad passed.”