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Saying goodbye to Owen at the airport resulted in a lot of tears from Flora and many strong handshakes from Miles, who thought he was doing a good job choking back his own tears. Flora refused to let go of Owen until he promised he would come visit for Christmas. Jamie and Dani bid their own farewell, promising they would have a bigger place by then so he could stay. The four of them waved to Owen as he drove off and then found their place in line to check in.
At the other end of their trip, it was Dani's mom who waited for the four of them. Ellie's sedan was much too small to drive five people and all of their bags so Mrs. Clayton was their only choice. In her usual manner, she was dressed to the nines in a fancy dress, heels, and her hair perfectly curled. She held a large shopping bag in her hand that seemed to have some heft to it. When she saw Dani, she stood on her toes and waved from across the baggage claim area.
"Oh, boy," Jamie whispered. She hiked Flora's carry-on backpack over her shoulder. The girl was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open and Jamie had said that if Flora wore the backpack she would fall over from the weight and sleep where she landed. "Almost forgot I'm meeting the parents today."
Dani shot her a supportive smile, "If it makes you feel any better, it's just one."
"Oh, yeah, that changes everything." Jamie met her glance and the two shared a quiet moment.
"There you are," Mrs. Clayton greeted. "I've been waiting so long my feet started to hurt. These are new shoes, you know. Bought them just for today."
"Mom," Dani interjected. If she let her mom go one much longer it would turn into a monologue about her closet. "This is Jamie and these are the kids."
Mrs. Clayton took Jamie in for a moment, and then nodded. "Just as I thought, looks just how I imagined Susan Kellar would look at your age. Seems my Dani has a type."
"Who's Susan Kellar?" Jamie asked.
Dani shook her head, telling Jamie to let it go because it was of little importance and turned back to her mom, "Just introduce yourself to Miles and Flora."
Miles stepped closer to the older woman and held out his hand. "I'm Miles, it is a pleasure to meet you. You look not a day older than Dani."
Mrs. Clayton smiled and feigned modesty as she shook the boy's hand. "You're too kind. Just the definition of a charmer. And the accent, you're going to have the girls chasing after you." She looked at Dani and rushed to add, "Or boys."
Her mother wasn't acting any differently than Dani had thought she would, but she still covered her eyes for a second and sighed. "Seriously, mom."
"What?" Mrs. Clayton cried. "I just want my grandchildren to get to know their grandma a little. Is that a crime?"
For the first time in the conversation, Flora's round eyes stopped drooping and she took in the new woman before her. "You're our grandma? How exciting. We've never had one of those before."
Mrs. Clayton leaned down to be eye level with Flora. "You must be the delightful young Flora. I hear you like dolls." Flora nodded emphatically. "Then I have just the thing for you." She reached into the bag and pulled out a large doll with a red, white, and black gingham dress, a matching bow in her long brown hair, and a small locket.
"Wow," Flora whispered. She slowly reached out to take the doll, suddenly forgetting how tired she was. "She's perfectly splendid."
At the words, again, Dani felt another sharp pain through her head. She closed her eyes this time and took a few deep breaths. "You're not allowed here, you're not getting in", she thought to herself. The pain went away.
"Her name is Samantha and there's a matching dress just for you in the car."
Flora threw her arms around Mrs. Clayton and then turned around to show Jamie and Dani the doll. "I like having a grandma," she added.
It was Miles's turn and Mrs. Clayton pulled out a brightly colored box. "Now, this one is going to be a bit hard to open up here, but I'm sure we can put it together at home."
"An Atari?" Miles cried. He was clearly excited about his present just as much as Flora was about hers and he flipped it over to read more about it.
The bell rang behind them announcing that the baggage carousel was going to start "I suppose this leaves Jamie and I to carry all the bags since you aren't going to help, right?" Dani asked.
"Of course not," Mrs. Clayton said. She seemed almost offended by the idea. "I just got my nails done. I'll stay over here with the kids and you can meet us when you're done."
"Great," Dani muttered and then followed Jamie to the slow moving carousel. "At least you see exactly what you're getting with her."
"Your mum is," Jamie trailed off and nodded slowly. "Lovely?"
"That's sweet of you, but you can admit you were actually going to say 'maddening'." Dani pressed her lips together and faced the track. Only a handful of bags had made their way out just yet and each one was separated by at least ten feet. The more that came out, the smaller the space between.
Jamie shrugged, "I guess my bar is low when it comes to mums." The two laughed quietly amongst themselves. "Oh, that one there is one of Flora's." She reached out and grabbed a brown trunk-like suitcase.
"You're doing great with them, you know." Dani watched her girlfriend right the suitcase and survey for more that belonged to them.
"Not too bad yourself, Poppins," Jamie answered.
"Me, I was a teacher and then an au pair. Theirs, to be exact." Dani bumped an elbow against Jamie's. "It's not the same. You were thrown into this."
They collected the rest of their luggage, every once in a while looking over their shoulders to check on the kids and Dani's mom behind them. The two were completely in awe of Mrs. Clayton and she was eating it up. There were more bags than the two alone could carry so they had to get a cart to load them onto. It was a tight fit into Mrs. Clayton's Jeep Wagoneer. Every inch of trunk space was taken up by the luggage and Flora was stuffed between Jamie and Miles in the back seat. The doll proved not exciting enough to keep Flora awake any longer and she fell asleep clutching tight to Samantha, her head resting against Jamie who had wrapped her arm around the little girl so she could comfortably lay against her side.
When they arrived at the apartment, Mrs. Clayton informed them that she had a girl's night planned in thirty minutes so she couldn't stay. She did, surprisingly, help Jamie and Dani load the bags from the trunk into the lobby of their apartment. Then, she waved as she drove off.
"That's pretty much how everything with my mom is gonna go," Dani said as she watched the car retreat from view.
"I think I got two words in the whole time," Jamie said.
"And she's going to tell everyone you two are thick as thieves," Dani looked at Jamie and placed one hand on Jamie's shoulder and lower neck. "Thank you, for enduring that."
Flora tugged at Dani's arm a bit to get her attention. The scratching came back at the feeling and Dani had to take a second to right herself. When she looked down at the young girl, Flora said, "Can I go to bed?" Her eyes were weighed down by sleep and her body seemed to curve under her as though she could barely hold herself up right. She was too big to be carried, though, so Dani led her slowly upstairs and into the apartment. Before her and Jamie had left for Paris, they had made up the pull-out bed ready in case of this very circumstance. Dani quickly turned down the blanket before she let Flora in, knowing that the second she sat down she would be right back to sleep and it was a bit chilly in the apartment. She was right. Flora's eyes closed swiftly and buried her face against her new doll.
Dani leaned down and left a kiss on Flora's forehead. As she did, the knocking came once more. This time, it was louder. She stumbled back, but caught herself before she hit the table behind her.
"You're not allowed in. You're not allowed in. Get out, go away. I don't want you here," she repeated to herself. The knocking didn't go away immediately. It just slowed down and faded in the background until it was no longer audible and Dani had to assume it stopped. The alternative, that she was still knocking Dani just couldn't hear it, was too scary a thought to process.
Jamie nudged the door with her foot so it opened without a sound. On her back was a backpack and she carried a bag in each hand. She hoisted them around the corner and set them quietly down next to the island counter. For just a second, she stared at Dani with a look that sent a cold wave through her. It ended as soon as Miles came in with another round and placed them beside the pile Jamie had started. Jamie turned and left, but Dani watched her go, stoic, unsure of what happened.
"She's getting the last of it now," Miles whispered.
"You alright sharing with your sister?"
Miles nodded, "Of course. It won't be the first time."
"Thank you," Dani said. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "We're going to get a bigger place soon and you'll have a real bedroom, I promise."
"It's okay," Miles said. "We understand that this was unexpected. We're just thankful to have somewhere to go." There was a sincerity in his eyes that broke Dani's heart. This boy had known too much loss and was all too aware of the thinning number of friends and family members.
Only a few seconds later, Jamie returned with the last of the stuff. "The bathroom is right there," Jamie pointed at a door across the living room. "And our room is right there. Come wake us if you need anything, yeah?"
Miles nodded. "I can put myself to sleep tonight. I'm sure you two are exhausted as well." He turned and zipped open one of his bags, pulling out some pajamas and toiletries. He turned back to face Jamie and Dani. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Dani said and the two of them retreated to their own bedroom. With the door safely closed behind them, Dani said, "Are you okay? What was that back there?"
"I saw it, you know," Jamie said, avoiding eye contact. "You kissed Flora and you felt her. Flora said those words earlier and it flashed in your eyes."
Dani turned completely to face Jamie. "I'm trying my best, I promise."
"It's not you she wants, is it?" Jamie's voice raised slightly in anger. Her eyes winced with pain and she averted them to the ground. "It's her." Dani's silence answered loud enough for Jamie and she sniffed, clearly holding back tears. There had been too many of those in too short a period of time for either of their liking. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I guess I just didn't want it to be true," Dani whispered, desperate.
Jamie sat onto the corner of their bed and leaned her elbows on her knees. "I understand now. I didn't before, but I do now."
Those three words crashed through Dani. A part of her felt relieved. Another part of her felt broken. She thought that was what she wanted to hear from Jamie: permission to do what needed to happen, forgiveness in advance. Instead, it felt like Jamie was giving up on her. An emptiness opened inside her chest.
"I'm not going to let myself do anything to her," Dani said.
Jamie reached her hand out to Dani and when she took it, she brought her closer to the bed. "I know you won't. Just don't give up out fear, okay? I don't want to lose you a second before I absolutely have to." She rested her head against Dani's shoulder. "And try not to let it happen before their teenage years. I'm gonna need help getting my feet off the ground for that one."
The way Jamie was holding Dani felt different. She wasn't holding her like she used to. She was holding on. Jamie had never talked about the Lady in the Lake as if it was imminent. Every time, she was the one telling Dani that it was possible to live a lifetime together. But, they always had a clock counting down behind them and Jamie could finally see it.