I called Nan the second I stepped outside. She didn’t pick up, so I ran all the way home. Her car was in the driveway.
Bark ran to greet me, tail wagging, Murray in his mouth.
“Hello?” I called. “Nan?”
I heard her talking to someone in her bedroom. Was she on the phone? I picked up the house line but got a dial tone. I tried her cell phone again.
Then I heard a male voice.
I blushed. She wasn’t expecting me back so soon.
“Kay?” Nan called from her room.
“Yeah,” I said. I wanted to leave again, let her have her space, but I didn’t want Bitsie to try out the tail alone.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Are you okay?” I yelled.
“Bitsie called,” Nan shouted, and I realized Bitsie had been tasked with keeping me busy. That’s why she was trying to get me to go for a milkshake.
“It’s okay,” I heard Nan whisper. “It’s okay.”
Nan came down the hall, hair a bit messy, lipstick freshly applied.
“Do you have a houseguest?” I whispered.
She smiled sheepishly, her cheeks trembling.
“It’s okay that you do,” I said. “It’s a good thing, right?”
She nodded, tears in her eyes.
“Then you don’t need to cry.” I hugged her.
“I’m so embarrassed,” Nan said. “I loved your grandfather.”
“I know,” I said, rubbing her back in small circles the way she did for me as a kid. “I think this is good, Nan.”
She pulled away and looked at me. “You do?”
“Of course!” I was more shocked that she thought anyone would be upset about her moving on from a man who’d died twenty-two years ago.
“At first, it didn’t seem like anything to mention,” she said. “In case it didn’t work out. Then you—when you lost the baby again, I didn’t think that was the time. And then you got divorced—I didn’t want to go flaunting—plus, I didn’t know if you would have a problem with me being with someone other than your Gramps. Or you’d think it was ridiculous. An old woman with a boyfriend.”
“I can’t believe you thought it was a problem! I’m so sorry.” I hoped I hadn’t done or said something that might have made her think it was. “I want you to have someone you love.”
“I do,” Nan said. “I love him. I’m quite sure of that now.”
“Can I meet him?” I asked, shaky in my limbs. I worried if she’d hidden him this whole time, he might not be good for her, the same way I’d kept Eric and Nan apart as much as possible.
Then Isaac walked in and I broke down in tears.
“Oh,” Nan said, rushing to hug me. “I knew this would be weird! I’m so sorry.”
I struggled to get enough composure to say something thoughtful, but it wasn’t coming, so I shouted, “Happy tears! Happy tears!”
Isaac smiled. I smiled back.
“You are a ridiculous woman,” I said to Nan, “to think I’d be anything other than thrilled.”
* * *
Nan left to help Bitsie test her tail. Isaac made coffee for the both of us from a bag of good stuff he kept hidden in a cabinet over the refrigerator. He assembled Nan’s ancient percolator with ease, completely comfortable in her kitchen. He’d probably been the one to set up the wifi.
We took our coffee to the dining room and I spread my sketches out on the table.
“Well, now,” Isaac said, beaming, “you have done a lovely job.” I felt like a little kid showing off my artwork. It was weird, maybe, but it was good.
“I’m still stuck,” I told him, explaining as much as I could about why my original plans wouldn’t work, without giving away what Bitsie told me in confidence.
“Being stuck is a part of the process, right?” Isaac asked. “Work is better for the struggle.”
* * *
That night, Isaac ate dinner with us at the small kitchen table that was usually just for me and Nan. Nan lit a votive candle. She served some sort of strange millet dish that Isaac seemed to enjoy. We exchanged shy smiles, and talked about Bitsie and the tail.
“It’s better than the ones we had, Kay,” Nan said breathlessly. “So much better. And I love the overlap you did in the back.”
“It’s a great safety feature,” Isaac said, nodding.
Nan looked at him quizzically.
“I saw it on her sketches. I like the way the dorsal fin hides the overlap.”
“It looks amazing in person,” Nan said, spooning more millet on Isaac’s plate even though he hadn’t asked for seconds.
“You taught me that trick, Isaac,” I said. “Embellishment to hide a seam.”
Isaac blushed. “I think—” he said, and then cleared his throat. “I think I can get some fabric donated.”
“Really?”
“I know a few people,” he said, grinning.
“That would be lovely,” Nan said.
When we finished eating, Nan stood up, stacking Isaac’s empty plate on her own. Isaac narrowed his eyebrows, giving her a mock-stern look. She sat down again and let him clear the table. He whistled while he did the dishes.
I made a pot of tea as an excuse to extend the moment a little longer. It was the exact kind of family dinner I’d dreamed about since my dad died. It amazed me that someone else’s love story could make me feel a little more complete.
Isaac went home after tea. I didn’t know how to tell them it wouldn’t bother me if he stayed. Maybe that wasn’t their agreement. Maybe it would put Nan on the spot.
After Nan went to bed, I called Bitsie.
“I can’t believe you knew this whole time.”
“Best acting of my life, kid.” She laughed. “Hey, the tail works great.”
“Nan said!”
“It’s so much better than what we used to have!” She sighed. “Also, kid, I needed that. The whole project. The day with you.”
“Me too,” I told her. “And we’ve barely even started.”
“I know!” she said, her voice full of glee.