What Happened That Night

I studied my daughter carefully. “Honey, did he... did he hurt you?”

“No.” She shook her head, adamant. “No, it’s not like that. It’s not like that at all. He’s a good guy—”

“A good guy who’s accused you of lying?”

She signed. “Mom.”

“Sorry, but it’s true.”

“I know, and I’m going to tell him about the twins. Maybe after they’re born, he’ll take a paternity test and see for himself that I’m telling the truth.”

“Why can’t he accept the fact that you’re telling the truth now, knowing that a paternity test will simply confirm it?”

She pushed out a slow, aggravated breath. “Because like I said, it’s complicated. He’s—”

“He’s not married, is he?”

“Mom, no. He just needs a little grace right now, okay? That’s what Abuela said.”

“You told Abuela?” A tsunami of jealousy consumed me.

“She and Papa took me out to dinner last night to celebrate the babies. They’re super excited. Anyway, Abuela thinks he’ll come around, he just needs a little time and grace.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. “Abuela’s all about giving people grace, isn’t she?”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Didn’t she give you grace when you decided to leave the restaurant to become a school librarian?”

“That’s not the same thing. I left to pursue my dream job, not to shrug off my responsibility.”

“Fair enough.”

Unsatisfied with her response, I continued. “I just think there needs to be a balance between giving people grace and letting them walk all over you.”

Lia nodded. “If I promise not to let Oliver walk all over me, will you promise to give him a little grace? At least until the babies are born? Please?”

“Oliver?” I said.

She closed her eyes and nodded. “The bike shop guy. The guy I saw in Texas. He came up to Seattle for a conference and...” Her hand gently caressed her stomach. “Just please promise you’ll cut him some slack. For my sake.”

I agreed because what else could I do? Needing to change the subject, I asked more about her dinner last night with her dad and grandmother. “Where’d they take you?”

“Valentino’s on the Pier.”

“Valentino’s. Wow. How fancy.”

She smiled. “It was fancy. Papa and I laughed that we were eating lobster while discussing our shopping plan for the citywide garage sale this weekend.”

“You’re going to the garage sale with your father?”

“Not anymore. The restaurant has a last-minute party he needs to take care of, so he can’t go.”

I tamped down my resentment over the fact that the restaurant always took priority over everything else in life. Apparently, it still did. Then again, the restaurant had given us a good life by providing for us for many years.

“I think I’ll still go without him,” Lia said. “Now that I know about my daughters, I’m excited to prepare for them.”

“Would you like me to go with you?”

She brightened. “Seriously?”

“Of course. I’d love to go.”

She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t. You hate garage sales. It’s why I asked Papa instead of you in the first place.”

“I don’t hate garage sales. I just find them frustrating because I can never find what I’m looking for.”

“Well, I’d love for you to come. Just be prepared to be frustrated, given that I need to find two of everything.”