All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone.
"How have you been?" My mother asked Stephanie. "And please remember that I am the mother of six. I can sense a lie before you even decide to try to put on a brave face for me."
"I'm good," my wife answered. "These past two weeks, haven't been the greatest on one front, but have been the absolute best on another."
This was said as she watched my mother relax into a side chair in our living room and settle Olivia in her lap, keeping both arms around her granddaughter as if she were afraid to let even a minute of time with her escape. She needn't have worried. Olive, having a new captive audience, tipped her entire body to the side and aimed a heart stopping grin up at her abuela that showed her baby teeth, gums still awaiting them, and every ounce of joy she felt in that moment.
"Well, look at what a smart girl you are ... already looking to see things from a different perspective," Mama Manoso said conversationally to Olive. "Those smarts combined with this smile of yours and those cheeks, means your Mommy, Daddy, and Uncles, are going to have all of their hands full forever." My mother turned her head to smile at us. "I bet it's harder to fret when you get to look at this face everyday."
"Your son's not so hard on the eyes either. If I'm being honest, if it weren't for these two and Julie, I'm not sure I'd be doing as well as I am. Olive has me seeing the good in the world, Julie gets me laughing at it, and your son helps me understand and then deal with it."
I tugged Steph down onto the couch to sit beside me, and the two remaining cushions were quickly filled by Mo and Gunny once their bones had become just a memory. She leaned into me and stroked the dog heads which now rested happily on her leg.
"We agreed from day one to help each other get through any and everything, Babe. We're just keeping our promise."
"You're stuck helping more than anyone," she told me.
"Don't sell your influence short, Stephanie," my mother said to her. "Carlos has a sense of peace in his life like he's never had, even as a child, because of you. I'll always love you for doing that for him ... and for giving me a beautiful granddaughter so I'm blessed to have two."
"By 'giving' I hope you mean sharing Olive," Steph teased. "We're too attached to her to give her to anyone, even the grandparents who clearly adore her."
"I'm happy but also disappointed to hear that," Mama Manoso said with a smile. "We would love to have her all day ... every day, but she needs her parents." She paused before speaking again. "Why, Olivia, look at the face Mama is making ... what do you think that's all about?"
Our baby upon hearing 'Mama' looked at Stephanie, who waved and smiled back at her. "I didn't mean to rearrange my features, it was just a nice surprise to hear it said that we deserve our daughter or that she's lucky to have us."
I tugged my wife closer and kissed her head as my mother lifted Olivia up to her shoulder and did the same head-kiss to her.
"My dear, Stephanie, if I could ... I would give you and Carlos the moon, the stars, and everything beneath them, why would you believe anything less?"
"I don't when it comes to you and Ranger's Dad, but after thirty-plus years of being told I haven't accomplished anything in my life unless I got married and had kids. And then when I do have Olivia and marry my Mr. Right, I'm still constantly being told that I'm being a mother all wrong and I've committed my life to the wrong guy and career."
Much to my daughter's delight, Mama Manoso suddenly turned into a baby-friendly roller coaster when she let loose a burst of laughter that held nothing back. It shook her entire body plus the little one she's holding.
That reaction left my wife and our canines puzzled. Olive, on the other hand, started bouncing up and down and slapping my mother's shoulder, not wanting the ride to end. It did wind down, but only after another twenty-two seconds of mirth.
"Oh no, my Olivia, Mama is making that face again. We'd best explain ourselves. Stephanie, what struck me as funny is ... first off anyone not believing that Carlos is a gift to everyone in his life is crazy."
"You think I'm overly confident, bordering on cocky most of the time," I said to my wife, "you can probably see why."
"Yeah ... your parents, and the fact that you're a jack of all trades and a master of every single one of them."
"That's not how the saying goes," I pointed out.
"I know. I had to change it a little in order to fit you."
Now my mother was flat-out smiling. "That exchange between just the two of you reinforces what I was going to say next. That anyone with two eyes and a brain between them can see that you are two halves of a whole and couldn't possibly be anyplace except together."
My mother-in-law may not be a fan of who she inherited when Stephanie married me, but Steph's mom-in-law has been celebrating non-stop long before our actual ceremony took place.
"Thank you for saying that, Mom," Steph said, trying not to show that she still hesitates slightly before calling my parents Mom and Dad like they encourage her to do.
She recovered quickly and stretched out into me like Mo had done to Gunny, as both dogs tried to fit themselves into the remaining space and lie down almost in the same exact spot.
"Don't be silly. You never have to thank me for stating the truth. Carlos will tell you that I do it happily and quite freely."
She helped Olivia reach her rotating Ferris Wheel toy that had been suction-cupped to a nearby side table, and then sat her back on her lap to help her granddaughter spin the wheel and twist the shapes acting as seats.
"And while we're on the subject of me sharing a few truths," she said to my wife, "how you look forward to, experience, and enjoy, every moment you have with Olivia, and the palpable love we all can feel you have for both her and Julie, is what makes you an exceptional mother, Stephanie. And anyone who tells you otherwise shouldn't be allowed to be called one."
