Chapter 24

Getting ready on Wednesday morning was a little less chaotic than the day before. They were learning how to be around each other, starting to build a routine. Megan was immensely grateful to have Tasha jumping in to help Sophia get ready. It wasn’t a seamless process, but it was getting better. Megan was able to find a moment when neither of them needed to supervise to talk with Tasha.

“Hey, so, tonight Sophia and I are going roller skating.”

“Um, yeah. Thank you… Speaking of, I’m at the cat shelter this Saturday. Why don’t I take her with me and you can stay here for some stress release?”

“I guess that stress release is a thing now… That’s fine. Um… There’s something else that I want to ask you, and you can say ‘no.”

“Uh huh…”

“I’m still struggling with the whole ‘Do I really love Brad?’ thing and I wanted an outside opinion on defining love.” Megan paused, then continued in a rush, “So, is it okay if I call your mom?”

“Wait, what? Why Momma? Why not your parents?”

“My parents hate each other, but they’re both stubborn Catholics who refuse to get divorced, so they live in misery. Your parents, though—I know they have their moments, but they always seemed to have a genuine love for each other.”

“Yeah, even at your wedding, your parents barely seemed to tolerate each other. Um, let me think about it, okay?”

“Okay, let me know.”

With that, their interlude ended and it was back into the fray, getting themselves and Sophia ready. Megan left earlier than the day before, deciding to take the bus over to Irvington Elementary. The day went fairly well, and during an afternoon prep period, she saw that she had a message from Tasha.

Tasha: I’m sending you Momma’s home and cell number. I double checked with Dante to make sure that they were right. Good luck.

Megan: Thank you!!! :)

Once she was home, Megan helped Sophia with her schoolwork and chatted with her about her day. Nocturne curled up in her lap, which was very comforting, but also meant that she couldn’t move. Eventually, though, Nocturne got up and sought out Sophia’s lap, allowing Megan to grab her phone and call Tasha’s mom.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mrs. Washington. I don’t know if you remember me—it’s Megan Kowalski.”

“Megan! Of course I remember you! And call me Estelle.”

“Thank you, Estelle. Um, you’re probably wondering why I’m calling…”

“Is it Tasha? Is she okay?”

“Oh, yeah… No. Tasha is good. She’s doing well.”

“So, you’ve seen her?”

“Yeah, actually, my daughter and I are living with her right now.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes… No… Kinda both. Brad cheated on me and I left him. Tasha is letting us stay with her for a little bit.”

“Hmm. Tasha never liked that boy… I’m sorry to hear about that.”

“Thanks. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, but Tasha is a great friend, which makes things better.”

“Uh huh. Are you going to try to work things out with Brad, or are you done?”

“Definitely done.”

“Well, I don’t know any lawyers in Oregon, but I know half the lawyers in South Carolina and I’m sure that one of them knows a good divorce lawyer in Oregon.”

“Oh, thank you, Estelle. That’s very kind, but I have a divorce lawyer already. She’s a friend of Tasha’s.”

“How did Tasha meet a divorce lawyer?”

“Um…”

“Never mind. I’m glad that she’s doing well. Now you were about to tell me why you called.”

Relieved that she didn’t have to figure out how to explain how Tasha knew Maria, Megan said, “I’ve been struggling lately to understand love. My parents have always been terrible role models, but you and Mr. Washin… Um, John. You and John seem to have a genuine love for each other. What makes it work for the two of you?”

“Well, it’s not always sunshine and roses, you know.”

“I know.”

“We get along because we are honest with each other. We trust each other. We are always there for each other. It’s more than that, though. We have a deep emotional bond.”

“I always saw that between you two. How did you know? Like, before you got married.”

“Oh, honey. That was a long time ago. We met in college. I was pre-law and he was an English major. We met at a Black student union mixer. He was very shy, but handsome.” Estelle laughed. “I caught him looking at me all night and I finally went up and talked to him because he clearly wasn’t making the first move.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“You know that I am a tigress!” Estelle laughed again, then continued. “We ended up talking the rest of the evening. He was very charming—once he opened his mouth, of course. I gave him my number and told him that he better call me. He did. John! John, come over here. It’s Megan. Tasha’s friend from college. She wants to know how we fell in love.”

Megan heard rustling on the other end of the line, then a man’s voice. “Hello?”

“Hello, Mr. Wa— John.”

“How are you, Megan?”

“I’ve been better, but I know that things could be worse and I’m grateful for what I have. How are you?”

“I’m grand! How’s that little girl of yours? I always loved her name. Sophia, the Greek word meaning wise, clever, smart. I would have named Tasha that, but Estelle got to name the girls.”

“Well, I guess that explains Dante’s name then.”

“One of my favorites. Now, Estelle said that you wanted to know how we fell in love. Is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Pffft, you don’t have to ‘sir’ me.” John laughed heartily. “I remember this like it was yesterday. When we were in college, I went to one of the mixers and there across the room, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I felt like Eros had shot his arrow straight into my heart.”

“Eros?”

“The Romans called him Cupid and made him a baby with tiny wings. I prefer the Greek version. Anyway, I was shocked when she came up to me. We talked all night long. She was as intelligent as she was beautiful. Estelle gave me her number. I called her the next day, but I suspect that she might have tracked me down if I hadn’t. We started dating, and by the end of that first date, I knew that I couldn’t live without her.”

From the background, Megan heard, “You better believe it!”

John continued, “As beautiful as she was on the outside, I discovered that she was more beautiful on the inside. Her intelligence, compassion, humor… I couldn’t help but be forever in love with her.”

“That’s amazing, thank you.”

“Here, I’m gonna give you back to Estelle. Dante’s family is coming over for dinner and I need to get the grill started.”

“Okay, thank you, John. Hi again, Estelle.”

“Well, now you have John’s side of the story. He called me the next day to ask me out. We met at a restaurant just off campus. Megan, he was so nervous! It was cute, but I was a bit worried at first. Then, once we got to talking, I saw how smart and confident he could be. It’s funny, he’s always been so confident as a teacher and a church leader, but even today, he’s still kinda shy around me. Like he can’t believe how lucky he is.”

Megan laughed. “He really is lucky. You’re an amazing woman, Estelle!”

“Well, thank you, sugar. So, we dated for a while, but we both knew early on that this was forever. Our lives haven’t always been easy, and there have been challenges, but everything has always been easier because we were there for each other.”

“Thank you, Estelle.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Did this help?”

“It did. It helped a lot. I’ve really been struggling with my feelings toward Brad. I wanted to know if what we had was really love or not. Does that make sense?”

“It does. It’s difficult to ask questions like this of ourselves, and I respect that you are doing that. I also respect that you are wise enough to seek help, too. Too many people are too proud to ask for help. I know, because I can be one of them. I haven’t spoken to my own daughter in years. I miss her, Megan, but I…”

“I think that she misses you, too.”

“You didn’t call to talk about my problems. What have you decided about Brad?”

“Oh, um… I think I loved the idea of being married, and Brad checked off the right boxes at the time, but I don’t believe that we had true love. Certainly not like you and John. Thank you so much, Estelle.”

“You’re very welcome, Megan.”

“Hey, I should let you go since I know that Dante is coming over soon. Say ‘hi’ to him for me, okay?”

“I will. Thank you for your call.”

“Honey… I’m home.”

“Is that…”

“Yes.” Megan impulsively stood up and bolted for the door. She mouthed, “your mom” at Tasha before she shoved her phone into Tasha’s hand.

“Hello?”

Megan could faintly hear Estelle’s voice answer.

“Momma… I missed you, too.”

Megan quietly backed away, leaving the two of them to reconnect, hoping that she had done the right thing.