26. Mae - Grandpa Bob’s Surprise

Mae - Grandpa Bob's Surprise

Chapter twenty-six

So, everything is good. We no longer have to worry about losing our house, Dean helped grandpa patch up the holes in our ceiling, and something is finally happening between us. I feel so happy that although it may be raining outside, it's all sunshine and rainbows inside of me.

I'm cleaning up after the lunch Dean and Dylan prepared for us, and Coral comes to help me. Mina and the guys are all outside feeding the animals while Grandpa Bob takes an afternoon nap.

"Well, this is incredibly exciting!"

"What is?"

"You and Dean! I saw you kissing outside," Coral says in a hushed voice."

"Oh…" I'm a little embarrassed.

She bumps my shoulder with hers. "Don't worry. No one else was around. Was it everything you hoped it would be?"

I've never been one to have a ton of girlfriends, so I'm not used to talking to other people about such personal and intimate things. She faces me and puts her hands on her hips. "The two of you have been doing this whole ‘will they, won't they' thing for a while now. The delayed and built-up passion must have made you feel crazy."

It did. And I cracked a massive smile!

"Oh, I remember the first time my Seamus finally kissed me. You see, he was the rugged Irish immigrant who worked at my father's garage, and I had my eye on him since the first day he started working. I often worked at the front desk, so I spotted the new person right away. And boy was I over the moon delighted when I heard his sexy accent."

"I'll bet!"

"Well, I've never been one to conceal my feelings, so I made it known that I liked him. But he kept pushing me away because he didn't want to get involved with the boss's daughter."

"That's probably smart."

"In hindsight, it was. But twenty-year-old me did not want to take no for an answer. So, I kept pushing."

"What made him finally change his mind?"

"I'm not sure. I guess just my persistence." Coral is chuckling with the memories.

"And where was the first kiss?"

"On the dock near my family's lake house—under the stars."

"Oooh. That sounds very romantic."

"It was. Until my dad found out and fired him."

"He didn't!"

"He rehired him after I begged and pleaded with him. But Seamus and I have been together ever since that night."

"Wow."

She clutches her hands under her chin. "Just think. Maybe someday you'll be telling someone how you first kissed Dean after being chased by a dog, covered in mud, and soaked by the rain."

We laugh.

"I gotta say…it's not as picturesque as what you described. But I also need to tell you that it was not exactly our first kiss." Coral basically jumps on me, begging for the real story, so I explain about the awkward one I initiated when we went to get our queen bee. Before we could go any further, we hear a commotion and suddenly, everyone bursts through the door.

"Hey! Watch the rugs!" I yell.

"Sorry, Mom. But that crazy mama goose came charging after us again."

"You're kidding! I thought they left."

"I guess not. And we didn't even go near her babies. We just got out of the barn, and she started charging."

"My goodness. She sure is a temperamental thing, isn't she?" I look out the window and see that she is still staked out right by the house. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah. It was just scary. She was hissing and flapping her wings like crazy."

Then, as we all have done several times over, we get clean, warm blankets, and set all of them up by the fireplace.

"Will this rain ever let up?" I ask, after resuming my task in the kitchen.

"I sure hope so. I miss my family like crazy."

Another crack of lightning and thunder can soon be overheard, almost like the sky heard us and is mocking us.

"Ugh," Coral groans.

When we finish the last dish, we join the rest by the fire, and I marvel at how the embers reflect beautifully in Dean's gray eyes. I love the little family we've built during this storm, but I wish we were alone so I could kiss him again. I yearn to feel his stubble once again against my cheek. And my fingers tingle with their desire to twist in his hair.

"What are you thinking about, Mom?" Mina asks.

"Huh?"

"Your eyes went all blank, and you were biting on your lip."

"Oh. Um, I was just hoping the weather would clear up."

I look over to Dean, and he grins widely as if he knows exactly what I was thinking. He's sitting on the floor with his knees up and his arms resting on them. I wonder if he wants me as badly as I want him.

My thoughts are interrupted again when Dean's phone rings.

"Oh, I guess I have service now. Excuse me for a second."

"Sure."

He goes into the kitchen, and I can only hear his muffled voice, but he sounds angry.

"That was Anna."

"She was able to get through to you all the way from Mexico? I can't even get a call to connect to the city," Coral laments.

"No. She's still here in California. I guess her flight was finally canceled, so she was heading to a hotel in a rental car, but she got stuck in the flooding water. I have to go help her."

"I'm going with you," Dylan insists.

"No, why don't you just stay here where it's dry and safe."

"Dad. She's my mother. You're always telling me that—no matter what she does, she will always be that. I want to help."

He shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck. "Fine."

"Do you want to borrow my truck? It might be easier to drive through the higher puddles," Grandpa Bob offers as he emerges from the hallway.

"That would be great. Thank you."

"You bet. Let me get the keys."

He returns shortly and throws them to Dean.

"All right. Let's go, buddy." He jostles the top of Dylan's hair, and he gets up to follow.

"Wait a second," I insist, when he's right by the door.

Then, I stand with him on the porch. "Go ahead to the truck," he instructs Dylan.

So, we're left with at least a little privacy.

"Please be careful," I say, while holding his face in my hands. Our mouths are just inches from each other.

"I will. And I'm sorry I have to do this—"

"Don't be. Like Dylan said, she is his mother. The mother of your child."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Of course. Now, get going before the situation gets even worse."

He looks around and then plants a peck on me. But when he turns to leave, I don't release his hand.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I like you."

"Oh, yeah?" He bites his lip, looks down at the ground, and then back up at me. "I like you, too, Mae Dale."

After that, I feel like I'm on top of the world, and I watch as he and Dylan drive off in my grandfather's truck.

I go back inside, and I'm thrown off when Grandpa Bob asks if we can chat. Of course, I agree, and he leads me over to the dining table.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Immediately, I'm panicked.

He pats my hand. "I'm fine, sweetheart. I just wanted to fill you in on something."

Oh, no. There's more than just heart failure. What is it? Cancer? Oh, please don't be cancer.

"When you were a little girl—"

My head cocks to the side. This certainly isn't where I thought the conversation was going to go.

"I set up a little trust fund for you," he continues.

"Oh?"

"And I think it's about high time that I finally release that money to you."

I don't know what to say.

"I didn't do it until now because—I don't know—I was worried you'd be too prideful to take it. Plus, it's not like you needed it in the past. You got scholarships to cover your law school tuition, and then you made good money at the firm."

"But now I'm broke." I feel like an absolute failure admitting that.

"Hey." He uses his pointer finger to lift my chin up. "There is nothing wrong with that. Heck, there are times in my life when I hardly had a penny to my name."

"Really?"

"Of course! I was born at the very tale end of the Great Depression, Mae. And my parents continued to live in a poverty mindset ever since."

"I suppose."

"What matters is how you overcome your struggles and succeed in spite of them."

"You're right."

"So, you'll accept the money? It isn't a crazy amount, but it's around $55,000."

"Fifty-five THOUSAND?"

"Yeah."

I rush to get up and hug him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And I know exactly the first thing I'm going to spend some of it on.

So, I go over to the landline, find a city art gallery in the directory, and call.

The woman who answers is more than enthused about the idea of showing a father and son art show, and I leave my name and number with her to set it up in the very near future.

"Who was that?" Coral asks.

"Mantello's Fine Art Gallery."

She makes a weird face. "What on earth were you talking to them for?"

"I want to set up a show for Dylan and Dean to showcase their art."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Huh. Dean did have a show back in the day."

"Great. So, you think it would be something he'd be interested in doing again?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"What are you guys talking about?" Mina inquires, after getting a drink out of the fridge.

"I want to set up an art show for Dean and Dylan."

"Oh, that is such a good idea."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! They're both so talented."

"…And maybe he'll show off all of those pieces he did of you," Coral suggests.

At that, Mina's cheeks turn bright red.

"It is really sweet, kid. It's like you're his muse." I rub at her discolored skin.

"I guess," she says with a shrug.

"And you're Dean's," Coral says.

"What? Nah. He mainly paints landscapes and stuff like that."

"And whose land does he most commonly paint?"

I look at my feet and shuffle them back and forth.

"Exactly. Plus, he didn't even start painting again until you were in his life."

"I don't think that had anything to do with me, per se. I just encouraged it and went to the store with him."

"Remember what he said about not giving yourself enough credit for stuff?"

I nod with my lips rolled in on themselves.

However, we're distracted when we both see a man with some kind of measuring device in our yard.

"What the heck?"

I go out and ask what he's doing.

"Measuring this land," he responded as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Well, yes. I see that. But why? This is our private property."

"I was contracted by Cornel and Son Construction Company."

My heart sinks in my chest. No way.