We all get some food and sit on the floor in the living room. I ignore the bottle of prosecco on the table and pour myself sparkling water instead. The four babies are digging into a few different toy bins, pulling out stacking blocks and an Elmo doctor kit and a tiny ukulele. They are busy and self-contained for the moment.
“It really is good to see all of you,” Isabel says. “I’m sure it’s been . . . a hard year, after everything. For everyone. And I never got to properly thank you. For being willing to risk everything to help me flee a marriage there wasn’t any other way out of. I can never repay you. And I’m sorry. For putting you in that position, and for how it all went down. I am so sorry.”
We all nod appreciatively, silent for a moment.
“It wasn’t your fault,” says Kira.
Selena and I nod our agreement. “And thank you, Louise,” Selena adds. “We would be—well, who knows where we’d all be if you hadn’t been there. You saved us. All of us.”
“Not all,” says Louise sadly.
“She was going to kill your daughter, though,” Kira says quickly and quietly, while deftly avoiding saying Vanessa’s name. “You did the only thing you could.” She also doesn’t say what none of us have ever said, which is that while Louise did save us that night—from digging ourselves an even deeper hole, from being arrested, from having our lives completely upended—Isabel wouldn’t have died even if she hadn’t been there. We wouldn’t have let that happen. If it hadn’t been Selena with the wine opener, we would have found another way to save her. Or we would have died trying. But we wouldn’t have abandoned her. Of that I’m sure. I realize that’s easy for me to say now, but it’s also true.
Louise sighs. “I just wish—well, I wish it had unfolded differently, that’s all. She was so turned around,” she says wisely, generously.
“Thank you,” I reiterate. “I can’t imagine not being here for—” I look at Clara, who is trying to bury Caleb in multicolored sheer scarves. I can’t find the words to describe what I’m trying to say. Louise looks at me knowingly. “Just—thank you.”
“Everyone needs a mom’s help sometimes,” she says, reaching over to pat my hand. “Even if it’s not your own mom.” My eyes fill with grateful tears.
There’s a knock at the door. Please. Not another surprise.
“Speaking of moms!” Isabel says, jumping up and running to the door.
When she returns, she’s holding the arm of a thin older woman in a wool cardigan, who is holding a one-year-old.
It takes me a minute to realize that it’s not just any one-year-old.
It’s Phoebe. Vanessa’s Phoebe. No. Allison’s Phoebe.
“Everyone, this is Lucy, Connor’s mom. And you obviously remember Phoebe!” Isabel confirms her identity with undeniable joy.
Lucy nods shyly at all of us. “Hi,” she says.
“We got in touch after Connor passed and I asked if she wanted to be in our lives,” Isabel explains. “She’s staying in the city for a few days. She’s been coming down from the Cape every couple months.” She turns to Lucy. “How was the park?”
“Oh, it was great. I’ve never seen anyone who loves squirrels as much as this one does.” She laughs and turns to us. “It’s so wonderful being a grandmother,” Lucy says, putting Phoebe down. Phoebe toddles over unsteadily to join the other babies at the toys. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to.”
Lucy settles into a chair and regards us all for a long moment. It’s clear she has something to say, and after taking a deep breath, she says it. “I don’t know how well all of you knew my son, but . . . he was angry with me. And he had every right to be. I wasn’t the mother to him that I wanted to be. I regret it enormously. But this”—she looks at Isabel with appreciation—“this feels like a second chance.”
Just then Naomi toddles over to her for a hug. “Lala. Lala,” she says, over and over. Lucy hugs her close, closing her eyes, breathing her in for a moment, until Naomi wants to be freed to go play.
“And Phoebe . . . Phoebe lives with me and Naomi now,” Isabel tells us. “That’s why I wanted to have you all over today. To tell you. Because you ladies were such a big part of . . . getting us here. It’s been a long process over this past year, getting everyone to agree—Allison’s dad and stepmom, family court. It’s an odd solution. I know that. But it also makes sense. There weren’t any family members who could realistically take her long term. She could have been adopted, but the fact is that she and Naomi are sisters. If there’s a way for them to be together, they should be. And it’s not just that. I want her. I think I can be the mom that she deserves. She’s already experienced a lot of loss in her first year of life. And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure her next years are filled with joy. I think I can do right by Allison. I’ll certainly try to. And she’ll have her grandparents in her life, too. All of them. We’ll visit California twice a year to see Allison’s dad and stepmom, and my mom will be around all the time helping, and Lucy will visit, too.” Lucy beams with gratitude, and Louise pats her on the shoulder. Lucy reaches up and squeezes her hand, the two grandmothers clearly becoming fast friends. Isabel lifts Phoebe from the ground and kisses her cheek. Phoebe buries her head in Isabel’s neck.