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Mary grinned. “He’s a little stiff. Still, I think I could get the broomstick out of the back of his three-piece suit and slip something else in to make him laugh. What do you think of a Wigglin’ Willy?”
Her mother refused to smile. “I know you don’t want to let this business-book dream go. Working with him is one thing, though, and it’s a whole other thing to fall in love with this man. If you can go into this kind of relationship with your eyes wide open, knowing it will never last, you have more courage than I ever did.”
“I may never get into a relationship in the first place, you know. He’s showing zero interest in me or my book. But if he ever does … I didn’t really believe this family curse at all until now, Mom. Not until I’d felt — ”
“I know.”
“How did you know? I never talked about the curse.”
“No, but I did, a little. I had to warn you. I’ve seen it on your face that you didn’t believe what I was saying.”
“But surely it doesn’t have to be — ”
“Honey, I think love is the most important thing in anyone’s life, whether it’s heaven or hell. Your father,thatwasthehellishpart,whenheleft,Imean. But you, you are the heaven part. I knew what you thought about this … this … family curse. I just didn’t see any need to try every day to make you see this truth. Que sera sera. What will be will be.”
Mary hung her head. “Okay, so maybe I finally get it.IfIfeelthismuch,thisfast,likeeveryotherwoman in this family … Maybe I have to believe now that it will end badly if I try to see him again. But that’s later. Right now — ”
“Right now, falling in love is the most wonderful thing in the world. That’s what my mother thought when your Uncle Brock’s father came into her life, and again when my father did. That’s what I thought when I fell in love with your father. My mother tried to warn me. I didn’t listen.”
It was strange to hear her mother mention her father. That happened so rarely. “He worked in the same office, right, Mom?”
“Uh-huh. I was hoping I could find some nice man who would care about me, and I’d care about him, both of us like comfy old socks. Your father walked into the office, and I’ve never been able to look at a soft, warm old sock the same way again.”
Momshookherhead.“IknewIshouldrunfromhim as far and as fast as I could. My mother had told me how it would be. I started looking for a new job, but I couldn’t make myself look very hard. By the end of that first week, I already knew it was too late. I was besotted. I would have died for that man. I probably still would if he were around to die for.”
“How did you know he was The One, Mom?”
“Aside from being besotted? Oh, a woman knows these things. Little things. Little signs.” Mom stroked her nose absently.
So, Mom’s nose was one of those “little things”, just like her daughter’s? Some of it would be things he said or did, but when it came right down to it, the nose knew. They’d both breathed in the intoxicating scent of a particular man and were hooked for life.
“I think I inherited your nose, Mom. It tells me he’s my love and my life.” Not to mention her tingling earlobes, but she would not mention that to her mother. A daughter had to have some secrets.
“Honey, in our family, it doesn’t last, and it breaks your heart when you lose it. You get the love, for a littlewhile,butyoudon’tgetthelifetogether.Iwould so much rather you find that comfortable old sock you could be calmly happy with forever. A good man, whomightnotbewildlyattractive,butwhowillshare a perfectly good life with you.”
“So, you think I should leave this thing with Francis Van Deventer the Fifth alone. You think I should accept his no on the story and forget it, and forget him.”
“Yes. Definitely. Mary, listen to me. Didn’t you say he didn’t like his dog very much?”
Mary leaped into correcting that. “His aunt’s dog. And it was obvious the Basset Hound adored Van, or at least it would have been obvious if the dog hadn’t been so busy adoring Guinevere. Dogs know good people from bad, so Lancelot proves — ”
“You haven’t convinced me. You don’t know how lucky you are that you don’t have to see him ever again.”
Mary’s stubborn streak crept in. “You’re not convincing me either. We’re at a standoff.”
“What about leaving it up to Fate? Don’t go looking for anything with him. Stay away from him unless something throws him back in your path. Wait for a sign that couldn’t mean anything except that you should pursue this.”
Fate. Yeah. Sure. Who believed in Fate these days?
Consarn it, she did, that’s who. Maybe when you camefromafamilythatbelievedindoomedloveyou were predisposed to believe in Fate too.
Maybe Mom was right on the practical side. Mary should sit back and let que sera serado its thing. Sitting back was not usually Mary’s style, but there’s a first time for everything.
“Okay, Mom. I’ll — think about it. Seriously. I promise.”
Mom’s eyes glistened. “I’m glad, sweetheart. You won’t be sorry. I know it.”
Mom jumped up. “Let’s start right now on forgetting all about him. Look, the sun just hit the patio. Grab your tea. Let’s get outside and loll around and laugh and laze away this wonderful afternoon.”
