Andrew rang the doorbell and Mandy practically leaped from the couch to answer it. When the door opened, Andrew held out a small bouquet of carnations. He said, “These are for a beautiful young lady that lives here.”

Mandy blushed and said, “I guess that means me.” She took the flowers and held them close to her chest while calling back to Vincent, “Dad, Mr. McCall is here.”

Vincent stepped up behind and placed a hand on Mandy’s shoulder saying, “Why don’t you go and put those in some water in the kitchen before the two of you head out.”

Mandy smiled and said, “That’s a good idea.”

While Mandy headed for the kitchen, Vincent gave Andrew a warm hug. He said, “Do you have all of your plans ready? I’ll expect you back by 4:00 p.m.”

Andrew grinned and said, “Yes, Mr. O’Donoghue, I’ll have your daughter back before curfew.”

Vincent held a finger to his lips to shush Andrew. He said, “You understand why I’m nervous. I hope it is a productive excursion, and I hope the two of you find everything that we need for the house.”

When Mandy returned, Andrew said, “I have the list of everything we need to find.”

“Do we get to go to big furniture showrooms?” asked Mandy.

Andrew said, “I’ll be taking you to one of the places only other designers go, and I’ll introduce you to the people I work with all the time.”

Mandy said, “Oh, wow, this will be so exciting. It’s just like on TV.”

Nodding, Andrew said, “In a way, yes.”

“I can’t wait to talk to you about some of the things that I hope end up in the house,” said Mandy. “I have some excellent ideas for my bedroom, and some ideas for Dad’s that he might not think about.”

Andrew turned back toward the door with his hand over Mandy’s shoulder. He looked back at Vincent and said, “I think I’ve found an outstanding new design partner. Are you sure that you will be okay on your own?”

Vincent laughed and said, “I’ll make do.” He said, “Mandy, have a lot of fun, and I love you. I’ll see you back late this afternoon.”

Mandy said, “Okay, Dad,” and then she looked up at Andrew again saying, “And I thought that some yellow might be a good contrast color for the blue in my bedroom.”

Vincent smiled seeing that Mandy was still talking as they walked down the sidewalk side by side. She was likely to talk Andrew’s ear off all afternoon long. Vincent waved when the car pulled out into the street, and he shut the front door of the house ready to put his plans into action.

The first step was a quick call to Cathy Riggs. He punched the buttons into his phone. She answered on the second ring. “Hi, Vincent, how are you? I just thought I would call later this weekend and check up on you and Mandy.”

He explained his idea about going out for a romantic evening with Andrew while Mandy spent a long evening with the most important adult woman in her life. He said, “I would also like you to explain what you heard from Dana about men and me if you think that’s possible.”

“Does she know about the man that you’ve met?” asked Cathy.

“Yes, she does, and they are out shopping at this moment for new items for the house.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic!” said Cathy. “So they get along?”

“It looks like they do so far,” said Vincent. “Mandy was already talking his ear off when they left.”

“Well, I think that we could have a heart-to-heart talk together then. We will have plenty to discuss, but I’ll also plan some fun movies and games. Do you mind if I order pizza for dinner for the two of us?”

“That sounds perfect,” said Vincent. “The plan is for Wednesday evening if that works for you.”

“I could do either Wednesday or Thursday,” said Cathy.

“That’s great to know. I haven’t told Andrew yet, so it will be good to have the extra option. And, Cathy, thank you so very much. I don’t know how we got so lucky to have you in our lives.”

Cathy said, “Dana was one of my favorite people in the entire world. Now that I am getting to know you and your beautiful daughter, the two of you are in that category, too. I would love to do anything I can to help.”

Vincent smiled and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment. Listening to Cathy’s words, he was sure Dana was still smiling over them. He said, “I’ll let you go for now. I have additional plans to make for Wednesday night, and I’ll verify with you after I’ve talked to Andrew.”

After he said goodbye to Cathy, Vincent called Parsley and Thyme, one of the most elegant restaurants in the city to make reservations for Wednesday night. He asked to speak with the sous chef, an enterprising young man who formerly worked in one of Vincent’s grocery stores.

With the personal connection, Vincent managed to secure a table near the kitchen. It was one of the most desired spots to dine in the entire city.

Dinner wasn’t the only element that Vincent planned for the romantic evening. He also made reservations for a limousine service to carry them both downtown to dinner and back home again later. He booked enough time to allow for post-dinner cruising around the streets of the city if they had time. Vincent had experience riding in a limousine, but he only kissed twice in one. The first was on high school prom night and the second was his wedding. More than fifteen years later, he hoped for another chance.

A final touch for the evening was his arrangement to have roses at the restaurant dinner and chocolates in the back of the limousine. After making all of the phone calls, Vincent sat back on the couch with a beatific smile on his face. He realized it was going to be a long wait for Wednesday evening.

It was time for the more somber element of Vincent’s Saturday afternoon. With Mandy out of the house and a few hours of time on his own, he decided to visit Dana’s gravesite. The last time he went on his own was nearly three months back. It was time for a return visit.

Vincent climbed into the car and drove the short distance to the neighborhood florist. He purchased a spray of fresh flowers with delphiniums, Dana’s favorite. Just three weeks earlier, he visited the grave with Mandy at his side, and they left artificial flowers. Those would last for a few more months before replacement was necessary.

Vincent also liked to lay fresh cut flowers on the grass near the headstone. He wrapped the stems in damp paper, and he knew that they would not last long, but there was something very special to him about the ephemeral display.

His mood was slightly unsettled by a stormy mix of emotions as it always was for the gravesite visits. Vincent still missed Dana. He missed how she always said good morning to him. When she was away on professional trips, she even called first thing in the morning to just say good morning. Then they said goodnight in bed in each other’s arms or over the cell phone if they couldn’t be together in person. She even said good morning on the day that she died.

As he drove across the city, Vincent wondered how Andrew and Mandy were getting along. He didn’t have long to wait. When he stopped the car at the base of the small knoll in the cemetery where Dana was buried, Mandy sent him a text message with a photo of a sunny, yellow lamp. The message attached asked,

He typed back,

Andrew sent a text that read,

Vincent returned a smiley face emoji in response to Andrew’s message.

He climbed the knoll. In the months before her death, Vincent and Dana negotiated with the cemetery to find a final resting spot for the two of them just 50 feet or so from one pair of her grandparents and the plots reserved for her parents. They were the grandparents whose money funded Vincent’s grocery store chain.

The sun broke through clouds just as Vincent reached the gravesite. He knew in his head that it was only a random occurrence in the weather, but in his heart, it was a positive sign for the future.

Vincent squatted down beside the headstone, and then he decided to sit cross-legged on the cool grass. He laid the bouquet of flowers in the shadow of the monument and adjusted the arrangement of silk flowers in the vase provided by the cemetery.

He spoke out loud saying, “Dana, I’m still keeping our promise. Remember back in college we said that we wanted to always share our lives with each other? We made the same vow in front of everyone just a few years later. I’ll never stop sharing my life with you.”

Vincent looked around. He liked this particular spot in the cemetery. It was not only because of Dana’s final resting spot, but also because it was beautiful. An old tree grew near the grandparents’ stones, and those buried nearby ranged across at least the last century. Vincent liked the eclectic variety of stones. He imagined that Dana had a fascinating selection of people to meet and get to know.

Vincent said, “Cathy told me about your observations, and I think I’ve found a good man. I think you would like Andrew. Perhaps you already do like him. You might even know more about him than I do.” He glanced up toward the sky and said, “I feel you looking down on us. I do. I know you’re there.” Vincent paused and spread the fresh flowers apart. Then he added, “I really do.”

He continued to speak in a low conversational tone. “I know you would like the new house. It’s gorgeous. It’s like some of the houses we looked at just after we got married. We wondered if we would ever be able to afford any of them. Mandy is so excited about it. She is helping design her own bedroom.”

Vincent was silent for several minutes. When he broke the silence, he said, “I still miss you so very much. Dana, I miss your touch. I can see you in my dreams. I can see you in Mandy’s eyes. I can hear you speaking in my mind, but it’s so much harder to touch.” Vincent lowered his head and shed a tear. He said, “I’ll bring Mandy with me again soon. I love you so very much, and I always will.”

He leaned forward and kissed the stone just above Dana’s name. Vincent climbed to his feet and brushed off the back of his jeans. As he walked back to the car, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Another text message from Mandy greeted him. She said,

“I picked this out just for you, Dad.”

She sent a photo of a simple, blonde wood, mid-century dresser topped by a mirror. It would match the house perfectly and be an impressive piece for his bedroom. Vincent typed back,

“That is fantastic! I can’t wait to hear all about your day.”

Mandy responded,

“I miss you, Dad. We’re having a lot of fun, but I want to see you.”

He said,

“Enjoy the rest of the time, and I’ll see you soon. Tell Andrew hi for me.”

Vincent laughed when seconds later a text message arrived from Andrew saying,

“Hi!”

Vincent drove back home mostly in silence. He contemplated how fortunate he was to have such a bright future ahead. He had spent so much of the previous eighteen months feeling mournful about Dana’s passing. Now he was finally looking forward with acceptance of the past and enthusiasm about the future. The sun was still shining brightly, and he took that as a clear, positive sign that good days were ahead.