Beth hovered near the dessert buffet. The guests lined up to fill their plates, as excited and expectant as children waiting for slices of birthday cake. She swelled with pride.
“It’s so good, Gran,” Ethan said, his mouth smeared with chocolate and melted marshmallow.
“You’re so good,” she said, bending down to kiss his head. The music seemed to grow louder, a song that always reminded her of her wedding party, Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration.”
Howard appeared beside her, holding a full plate, and slipped his arm around her.
“Your new career is going to wreak havoc on my waistline,” he said.
“You’ve never looked better,” she said, and it was true. She thought of the day she’d spotted him down the beach, how it was like looking at him thirty years earlier. With the success of the evening, she herself felt decades younger. And she’d never wanted him more.
As if sensing what she was thinking, he leaned over, kissed her, and whispered, “I can’t wait to celebrate later, just the two of us.”
Ethan tugged on her hand. “Can we go sit with Mom?”
“Yes,” Howard said. “Good idea. Beth, you’ve been on your feet all day. Everyone’s over there waiting.”
Everyone?
Sure enough, at a table tucked away in the corner, she found Stephanie and Lauren sitting side by side. And the filmmaker. And Nora and her friend Henny. And was that…Rory’s brother? Incredulous, she looked at Howard. He shrugged.
“Life happens when you’re making doughnuts.”
When only close friends and family were left, Nora pushed all the tables aside and the dining room became a dance floor. Lauren’s parents hadn’t sat down in half a dozen songs and showed no signs of stopping.
Matt said he had to drive back to New York, and Lauren walked him to the door.
“Don’t come outside. I won’t be able to leave,” he said.
“So don’t,” she said, surprising herself. “Stay.”
“I have a meeting first thing in the morning.”
She nodded. Maybe it was for the best. She didn’t want him to go but she wasn’t ready for him to stay.
He hugged her and she clung to him. “Good-bye,” she whispered.
“For now,” he said. “Only good-bye for now.”
But when the door closed behind him, she wasn’t so sure. The warm, crowded room suddenly felt empty.
Stephanie appeared, handbag over her shoulder, trailed by Ethan.
“Are you leaving?” Lauren asked.
“He’s tired.”
“I’m not!” Ethan said, stifling a yawn.
“I’ll take him home,” Lauren offered.
“No, stay. It’s fine.”
“Matt left and I was about to get going anyway. Really. I’d be happy for the company.”
Outside, the air was heavy with moisture. Lauren inhaled, taking Ethan’s hand, then led him to the boardwalk. The feel of the wood planks under her feet reminded her she hadn’t gone running in the past few days. She looked out at the ocean, glowing silver-black under the bright moon and stars. A clear night, a transparent sky.
Ethan hummed quietly to himself.
“Did you have fun at the party?” she asked.
“It was a great party!” he pronounced.
“What was your favorite doughnut?” she asked.
“S’mores,” he said.
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that.” She squeezed his hand.
The Miley Cyrus song “Party in the U.S.A.” played in one of the nearby houses lining the boardwalk. A teenage couple with sun-bleached hair walked by holding hands. They looked like such babies, and yet they were no younger than she had been when she fell in love with Rory.
“Aunt Lauren, who was that man at the party?” Ethan asked.
She stopped walking. “Um, my friend? Matt?”
“No,” Ethan said. “The big, big tall one.”
Okay, Lauren thought. This was it. Sooner than expected. But it was here.
“That man,” Lauren said, “was your father’s older brother.”
His eyes widened. “Did you know my father?”
Lauren nodded. “I did. His name was Rory. He was…he was very special.”
Ethan seemed to consider this. “Did he like soccer?”
“Soccer? Yeah, he did. But his favorite sport was ice hockey. And he was one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”
Ethan just stared at her. She wasn’t sure if she should say more or if she was overwhelming him. She’d thought it would be difficult to start the conversation, but the reality was that it was hard to stop. It felt good to talk to him about Rory. It felt right. “You know what else he loved?” She looked up and pointed. “The stars.”
Ethan smiled. “Like me!”
“Yes,” she said. “Just like you.”
Then she gasped as she noticed three particularly bright stars that had been pointed out to her by a boy on a night just like this, only a lifetime ago.
She bent down next to Ethan. “Ethan, look. Those three lights are Vega, Deneb, and Altair. The Summer Triangle. Do you see?”
“Yeah,” he said. “A constellation!”
“Actually, it’s not a constellation. It’s a star pattern called an asterism. Your father taught me that.”
Ethan grabbed her hand and they continued on toward the Green Gable. When the house came into view, Lauren said, “We’re home.”