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Wayne pulled the reins back to rear the horses at the tip-top of the Pontiac Trail Head. Penny and Brad scrambled down and rushed to the cliff’s edge, where they gazed out, flabbergasted at the gorgeous, frigid view of the Straits of Mackinac. Wayne assisted Elise from the side of the carriage as Alex hustled out, wrapping himself up in his peacoat as he came. His smile was brighter than Elise remembered it, as though, in the week or so since she’d gone off to California, he had decided to become someone else.
The kind of brother she had always wanted.
“Hey there!” he called as he cranked open the gate. “You can park your carriage out back. Dad has some stables. I guess you know that, though.”
Elise was reminded that Alex was a tiny bit jealous of Wayne and her father’s relationship, which had intensified in the years after Mandy’s death. As widows, they had comforted one another and built a unique friendship. Alex had never had anyone. Not beyond his mother, anyway.
As Wayne took the carriage out back, Alex did something he had never done before: he offered himself up for a hug. Elise hugged him back tentatively as Alex said, “Wow! Look at you. I’m so glad you all made it.”
Elise had spared much of the detailed drama surrounding Alex Swartz in the story she’d told her children.
“Hey! Are you... our Uncle?” Penny asked as she stepped forward with a bright-toothed, California-girl smile.
“I am! And you must be Penny. Wow, you look so much like your mom,” Alex said. “And you must be Brad.” He shook both of their hands warmly as silence fell over them. Finally, he said, “Why don’t we head inside? We’ve got the fire roaring. Tracey should be back shortly with Dad, and the dinner’s nearly finished. Cindy and I have slaved over it the past few hours. I imagine Dad and Tracey will be tipsy as ever since everything took a little bit longer than we planned.”
“It always does,” Penny said with a laugh. Under her breath, she added, “Wow, Brad, look at this place. It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s got something extra. That’s for sure,” Brad said.
Once inside, Cindy rushed over and helped them take off their coats and shoes and insisted they warm themselves by the fire.
“Penny and Bradley!” she beamed as she flung her arms around them. “Welcome to Mackinac, and welcome to the family. My goodness, Bradley, you especially... You have Swartz genes all the way through you.”
Elise was reminded that, when she’d initially met Cindy, she had thought she was cold. How wrong she’d been!
Michael walked over from the living area, chewing on the edge of a cracker. He assessed his newfound cousins then grinned broadly to say, “Look what the cat dragged in. Aunt Elise, you didn’t tell us you had actual rascals of your own.”
“She did, actually,” Cindy said. She playfully whipped him across the back with a kitchen towel as she ushered everyone in.
“Now, Margot, these two are my new cousins...” Michael tried as he trailed off. He turned his eyes toward Brad, who informed him of his name. “Bradley. Yes. Margot, he may be a handsome devil, but I don’t want you getting any ideas, okay? Anything he’s got that you like, I got it ten-fold.”
Margot, who’d burrowed herself near the fire with a cup of steaming hot cocoa, giggled and winked at Brad, who blushed a shade of crimson Elise had never seen. Brad stuttered something and then turned into the kitchen, where he grabbed a beer from his Aunt Cindy’s outstretched hand.
“Thank you,” he said. “I really needed this.”
“I knew the second I looked at you that you wouldn’t be a hot cocoa guy,” Cindy said. “What about you, Penny? Hot cider with a little bit of rum?”
“Delicious,” Penny affirmed. “I’d love some.”
Wayne eased up behind Elise as she poured herself a glass of wine. His hand stretched out across her stomach as he cradled her and dotted a cold kiss across her neck. “You’re freezing!” she screeched as a smile stretched between her cheeks.
“Penny, you know, you really do look just like your mom,” Cindy said, beaming as she passed Penny a glass of hot cider. “Your mom texted me after your play the other night. She said you were a dream. I wish I could have been there. You know, it got me thinking. Your next play out in Berkley? I’d love to go out to see it.”
“My mother? In the great state of California? I don’t know what to make of this new, crazy world,” Michael said from the living area, where he’d curled up beside Margot.
“They’re here!” Alex called from the foyer. “Everyone, hide!”
Elise hustled behind the counter island in the kitchen, where she knelt low beside Wayne. Everyone else took their positions behind the armchair, behind the long, hanging drapes, behind the couches, in the closets. An eerie silence took over the house, one that was occasionally interrupted with giggles from Margot. The front door opened to allow Elise’s father and Tracey’s voices to ring out.
“Got so cold today,” Dean said. “I feel so bad for the trick or treaters...”
Suddenly, everyone in the room burst up from their hiding places to call out: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
Dean looked mesmerized. Beside him, Diesel howled toward the ceiling, which made everyone cackle with laughter.
“My gosh. Tracey! Did you have any idea...”
Tracey shrugged her shoulders and said, “Come on, Dad. You can’t think we would just let you get away with not celebrating. Especially after the past month, we’ve had as a family.”
Dean turned first toward the kitchen, where he locked eyes with Alex, who’d apparently hidden himself kitty-corner from Elise. He reached out to shake his son’s hand as his eyes welled with tears. “I’m so glad you’re here, Alex. Here with your sisters. Three of them! What kind of lucky guy are you to have three sisters?”
Alex laughed good-naturedly and hugged his father. As Dean walked toward Elise, Alex hurriedly dotted his cheeks of tears.
“There she is,” Dean said. “My California runaway.”
“Hi, Dad,” Elise said.
Saying the word Dad feels so strange.
“Happy birthday,” Elise said as she fell into a hug. “I’m so glad I could make it back to celebrate.”
Dean crept around the kitchen then entered the living area to greet the others. He held Cindy close and thanked her for being the “ever-sensible eldest.” He patted Michael on the head and said, “Oh yes. The problem child is here,” then he beamed as Margot fell into another round of giggles, as was her way.
Brad had seated himself on the ground directly near Michael. When Dean stood before him, he stopped short and furrowed his brow. Diesel rushed up and strung out his massive pink tongue, all across Brad’s cheeks, covering him with spittle.
“Hey, buddy!” Brad cried, trying to stabilize the dog, who’d apparently taken to him with a huge amount of love.
“He sees it the way I do,” Dean said solemnly. “You’re the spitting image of me, son. You’re what I used to see in the mirror around fifty years ago.”
Brad took this news solemnly. Slowly, swiping his sleeve across his cheeks, he stood up and faced his grandfather. Elise gasped. As they stood, face-to-face, you could see the resemblance even more. They were even the same exact height.
When I found that photograph of Dean Swartz at the library, I’d seen an antique Bradley Fletcher peering out at me from all those years ago.
It broke my heart to see it.
Dean turned slowly to catch Elise’s gaze. “I take it you brought a few surprises for me, huh, Elise?” he said.
Elise stepped toward them. As she went, she gripped Penny’s hand and led her toward her grandfather. When they reached him, Dean’s eyes filled with tears. He gripped both Penny and Bradley’s hands and gasped for breath.
“When I look into your face, Penny, I see your grandmother. I see the way she was all those years ago. Your mother even tells me you’re an actress, just like she was.”
Penny’s eyes were like reflecting pools. “I always wanted to be like her. My whole life. She taught me so much about what I know about acting. She used to make me act out all our favorite scenes from movies.”
Dean shook his head ever-so-slightly. He looked on the verge of either bursting into tears or laughter. Elise was stricken with the image of them altogether—two different generations, years and states apart, now meeting here on this snow-capped Halloween night.
“Happy birthday, Grandpa,” Penny whispered. “I never thought I’d ever say anything like that after my father’s dad passed away. I’m so grateful to have you.”
Moments later, Cindy broke the spell—as was her custom, as the oldest, the woman who had to keep the ship running. She insisted that they all pile around the dining room table for birthday dinner.
Cindy had cooked an extravagant meal: ham and stuffing and ricotta-stuffed shells and freshly-baked bread and Brussels sprouts. Wine was poured and hands were held for grace, which Dean said for them.
“Thank you, Oh Lord, for these tremendous gifts on my seventy-second birthday. I haven’t done enough in this life to deserve all you’ve given me. From the west coast to Chicago, all the way to the heart of Mackinac Island, may our love as a family be enough to see us through. Amen.”
The food was sinfully delicious: a smorgasbord of simmering flavors and spices dunked down with wine glass after wine glass. Old family stories were told from all sides of the family. Dean recited an old story about teaching Cindy how to ice skate for the first time.
“She insisted she already knew how,” Dean said, chuckling. “Even stomped her foot when I asked her if I needed help. She went out on the lake on this blisteringly cold day, all stubborn, and then immediately—whack! She fell right on her bottom. I had to force myself not to laugh. She never would have forgiven me.”
Cindy grumbled. “I don’t remember it that way. I remember getting out there and skating away beautifully, just like the ice skaters in the Olympics.”
“Yes, something like that,” Dean teased.
“Emma, you were like that, I think. Remember?” Tracey said to her daughter, who sat next to Penny and seemed to reflect so many of her facial features and even the way they tilted their heads when they listened.
“I don’t know about that,” Emma said. “Is this ‘drag your daughter down a peg’ day or something? Grandpa’s allowed to do it because it’s his birthday but the rest of you? I don’t know about that.”
Penny gave Elise a playful look and said, “Yeah, Mom. You better think twice before you say anything.”
“Come on, you guys,” Tracey said. Although her smile was enormous, her eyes filled with tears. “You know how happy we are to have all of you here. You know we love each and every little inch of your personalities. Penny and Bradley, I can’t wait to get to know you as well as I can. And I know Megan and Emma can’t wait to get better acquainted with their California cousin.”
“You really go to Berkley?” Emma asked breathlessly.
Penny nodded as her grandfather said, “That’s incredible. What a school, Penny. And Brad, you’re at UCLA!”
“It’s not quite Berkley, but it’s not bad. Besides, Penny was always the brains in the family,” Brad said.
“Enjoy that freedom while it lasts,” Michael said playfully. “Sooner or later, you’ll find yourself a slave to your job. Me, well, I’m a partner of one of the most popular coffee shops in Northern Michigan.”
“You’ve really taken to that title, haven’t you?” Wayne joked.
“I’d say it fits like a glove. And Margot’s gotten good at the old scones. She’s branched out even to birthday cakes!”
“I thought you said you made that yourself!” Cindy cried.
Michael shrugged. “When Margot started baking, I couldn’t stop her. She basically insisted on it.”
Moments later, Elise fetched the cake from the counter. It was ornate and multi-tiered, a difficult task for a new baker like Margot. Delicately, she pressed the tips of the candles into the tops of each tier and then flashed a light through each of the wicks. Cindy flicked off the lights in the dining area as Elise stepped back into the shadows. Everyone began to sing.
When the song was finished, Dean Swartz closed his eyes for a long time as the candlelight flickered across his face. After a pause, he opened his eyes again to say, “You know what? I can’t think of a single thing to wish for. I look around me at this table, and around this island, and around the great state of Michigan, and I know that I’m the luckiest man alive. Maybe we should all blow out these candles together, huh? Start my seventy-second year off right.”
Those around him, including Michael and Brad and Megan, blew out the candles along with him. Everyone clapped as Cindy whisked the cake away again to slice it up, murdering Margot’s perfect design with a sharp knife.
After the cake was devoured, Elise watched as Dean, Penny, and Bradley collected themselves in the sunroom, which overlooked the backyard. Out there was a personal heater and plenty of blankets along with lights that shrouded over it to allow them a beautiful view of the constant snowfall. Elise hovered outside the room while the three of them spoke.
“That was when Grandma, Mom, and us went to Hawaii together,” Penny said. She lifted her phone toward her grandfather, who peered down at the photo of the four of them.
Always, it had been the four of them. Sean had never bothered to tag along.
Elise was grateful for that, now. He hadn’t tainted her memories.
“Wow. Look at Allison! She was always so beautiful, but I never imagined she’d look this stunning after sixty,” Dean said.
“I remember something that happened on that trip,” Penny said. “This guy in his early fifties was hitting on her. Grandma flirted back until she remembered that she was the only one around to take care of us because Mom had gone to get a massage. She looked at us all disappointed, then told the guy to come find her later. I don’t know if he did.”
“Oh, I’m almost certain he did,” Dean said with a wild laugh. “That sounds like your grandmother. Always the life of the party. Always up to something sneaky.”
“Our Dad never knew what to make of her,” Bradley affirmed. “I think he was partly frightened of her and partly mesmerized with her. He knew that she didn’t want him to marry Mom, especially not so young.”
“She was a smart cookie. She’d seen enough young marriages go under in her time. Including mine,” Dean said. Shadows fell beneath his eyes.
“The fact that you knew Grandma all these years ago is crazy to me,” Penny breathed. “I’ve hardly had time to process her death, you know? We charged right into our semester, and Mom ran away to Mackinac, and I just...” She paused for a moment, caught in the emotions, her voice catching in her throat.
“I’ve never really processed her leaving. I haven’t processed my wife’s death, either. As long as I’ve lived and here we are on my seventy-second birthday—I’ve only learned one thing. Love never really fades the way you think it will. Time does nothing to it. And we can hold onto so much love. It’s insane. It doesn’t seem possible. It seems like we should be like a car gas tank, with a top. We’re not. We’re like endless holes of emotion. And now that I know the two of you, well...”
Dean Swartz paused, lifted his chin, and watched the snow for a long while. “Now that I know what it feels like to know you, I can’t imagine ever going back.”