Must Love Flowers(14)

Joan didn’t need to peruse the menu; she ordered the same dish every visit, as the Eggplant Parmesan was her favorite. Jared hadn’t been fond of the vegetable, so she never cooked it.

In contrast, Nick carefully analyzed the menu, as if tempted by a number of dishes. After several minutes, he set aside the menu and said, “I’m going to have the Pasta Bolognese.”

Joan broke into a wide smile.

“What?” Nick asked, cocking his head to one side.

“That was your father’s favorite dish.”

“It was?” He seemed both surprised and delighted. “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

The server arrived, a young man Joan didn’t recognize, who took their drink orders. Nick asked for the wine list, and together they decided on the Sangiovese. The server left, and Nick leaned back in the chair to ask, “Is that the wine Dad would have ordered?”

“No, he preferred Brunello di Montalcino when he could find it. You know how your father enjoyed discovering new wines.”

Nick shrugged. “I think Dad got into wine more after Steve and I left home.”

Joan agreed as the waiter returned with the bottle and two stemware glasses. After opening and pouring the wine, he was ready to take their dinner orders. It wasn’t long before their meals arrived.

The Eggplant Parmesan was as good as Joan remembered. The wine relaxed her, and for the first time in longer than she could remember she felt like her old self. “I have an idea I’d like your opinion on.”

“Sure, what is it?”

Without going into a lot of detail, she relayed her short conversation with Charlene from that afternoon.

Nick listened intently. “You aren’t really considering taking in a boarder, are you?”

“Actually, I am.” Joan had been taken by the story Charlene told of the nursing student. All the poor girl needed was a hand up and a decent place to live.

Her son shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Joan wasn’t defensive, only curious at how adamant Nick seemed to feel.

“It would be a mistake to let a stranger into the house, Mom.”

“She has excellent references, or so I’ve heard. I plan to check them out myself, of course.”

Nick listened intently. “I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, Mom. The choice is yours.”

“But you’d rather I didn’t.”

He nodded. “You wanted my opinion, and you got it. All I ask is that you carefully think this through before you decide.”

She mulled over his words and then sighed. “I appreciate your input.”

“Glad you asked. Anything else on your mind?”

Now that he mentioned it, there was. “Emmie thinks I should find a grief therapy group.” The conversation with her sister had stayed in her mind, although she wasn’t keen on the idea of spilling her heartache out to a group of strangers. Since her son was happy to share his thoughts, she might as well get his feedback on this.

“Aunt Emmie said that?” Nick asked. The wine seemed to relax him, too.

“Emmie feels that I’ve never dealt with the grief I have over the loss of your father.”

Nick’s look became solemn. “I’m going to tell you the truth, Mom. I think it’s a good idea. It wasn’t just Dad you lost. Everything changed, and it hit you hard.”

He said this as though she hadn’t been aware of the losses. Hanging her head, she agreed. “It did.”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but we both know you’ve changed since Dad died. There’ve been more times than I can count that I wanted to talk to you and realized you weren’t hearing me.”

“When?” she asked, shocked that this could possibly be true.

“I was thinking about buying a house and have been saving up for one for the last couple years. With the housing market high, I worried if the time was right and wanted your advice, remember?”

“Vaguely,” she said, and bit into her lower lip before she realized what she was doing. “I’m sorry.”

“No worries, Mom, I decided to wait a bit anyway.”

Joan felt bad for letting her son down. In order to not ruin their evening, she asked, “Do you remember Joe and Gennie Davis?”

“Sure. I used to hang with Sam, remember? What about them?”

Joan took in a breath before she answered. The wine had loosened her tongue, and after what Nick had mentioned, her mind was whirling.

“After the funeral, she told me that after Joe died she saw a counselor she highly recommended and gave me her name and phone number.”

“You never made the call, did you?”

Joan shook her head. “No. I don’t know what I did with it and doubt I could find it now.”

“Then call Gennie. I bet she’d be happy to hear from you.”

Still Joan hesitated.

“Mom,” Nick said, shaking his head. “You need to do this.”

His insistence surprised her. It seemed her son had strong opinions.

Nick closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh. “Mom, you mean the world to me and Steve. We love you, but we don’t know how best to help you out of this slump. I think talking to a counselor will do you a world of good.”