Chapter 18:In an inspired moment
Nicole and I spent the balance of the morning looking for a ring after promising Jimmy we would do something with him that afternoon. It took a while, but Nicole finally settled on a half-carat diamond with two smaller diamonds, one on each side. Nicole's hands were small and a large diamond wouldn't look right on her hand. I agreed with her choice and all that remained would be to have it sized. It would be ready before she left at the end of the week.
It was cold and raw that afternoon and after some discussion with Jimmy, we settled on a movie. Nicole and I held hands throughout the picture while Jimmy watched in fascination at the special effects as the good guys tried to stop something called Megatron. It seemed pretty violent to me and the women were scantily dressed, but the place was packed with kids along with a few parent-victims like us. I learned later that it was all part of some franchise called Transformers and Jimmy had a few action figures to show me how they could be changed from a car into a creature or even a plane.
"I think I like live theater better," I said quietly to Nicole.
"Me too," she agreed. "But he and his friends all collect the toys, so I guess I'm out of step with the times."
"I think that's the fate of all parents throughout time. The kids race ahead of us to whatever the future is. You want to fix your computer? Call a high school kid. He knows how. You want to program your DVR, call a ten-year old. They know how."
She was nodding, knowing it was so.
"I've taken this week off so we can be together," I told her.
"Wonderful! Oh, I'm so glad. This is perfect."
"Yeah, everything is perfect except that I'm going to lose you for another three weeks again. Surely you'll be home for Christmas?"
"Yes, I'm sure. We're not leaving until Monday afternoon because of Thanksgiving. Oh! That reminds me, do you think your parents would come to Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It will give them a chance to get to know my family."
"I'll call when we get home. I haven't heard about any special plans, so I'm hoping they will come. They want to meet you and see who stole my heart. I've been telling them about Jimmy as well. I think they'd be excited to come. At least, I hope so."
I called them late that afternoon and got an enthusiastic "Yes" to the invitation. They had no plans for Thanksgiving and were worried that they wouldn't see me with Nicole being home for this particular week. I had been keeping them informed about our courtship and I was sure they expected us to marry, but it wasn't until I told them about the ring and getting Jimmy's acceptance that it was official.
I know my mother was extremely interested in meeting Nicole. She had been lukewarm at best to Leona. They never did quite click. The big bonus, of course, was Jimmy, a ready-made grandson. I had been praising him to the skies as well, so I hoped he would accept my parents the way he had accepted me.
We had picked up the engagement ring the day before Thanksgiving and Nicole couldn't stop looking at it. She would fidget with it, turning it back and forth with her thumb. This was all new to her, never having been engaged before. I got a clap on the shoulder from Angus when he saw it, a clear indication we had chosen well.
We had asked my parents to come early on Thursday afternoon. Dinner would be served at five o'clock and I wanted them to have time to get to know the Carlisle family. They arrived bearing gifts, as I guessed they might. Dad had a bottle of very nice white wine, while mother brought a floral arrangement that Mary immediately put in the center of the dining room table.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Mary and Angus Carlisle. Mary, Angus, meet Pauline and Thomas Travers, my parents. And, this is Nicole and her son, Jimmy," I stumbled, trying to get the introductions done gracefully.
My parents are pretty laid-back and I was reasonably confident that they would get along well with Mary and Angus and I was right. There was every sign that they had a lot in common, not the least of which was the happiness of Nicole and me. My parents, devoid of grandchildren, made a fuss over Jimmy and he reveled in it. I wondered if he might be a bit shy with the new people and all the fuss being made about his mother and me, but he watched and listened and some time later when I looked, I saw him sitting beside my father and talking to him.
My dad is an illustrator for magazines and other publications. At one point he was the editorial cartoonist for the Post, but when they decided to eliminate the position and run syndicated cartoons, he was out of a job. His severance bridged him until he could re-establish himself in the commercial world and now he's doing fine, working from home and making a good living. I'm not quite sure how Mom feels about him being there so much of the time, but I don't see any sign that it isn't working.
Jimmy disappeared briefly, returning with a notebook and a pencil, handing it to my father. I knew what was coming. Jimmy sat wordlessly as he watched my father create something with pencil and paper. I saw him look up at my dad once in a while, but not so long that he wouldn't return immediately to whatever he was drawing for the boy. When he was satisfied, he handed the notebook to Jimmy.
The youngster smiled and raced to his mother. "Look Mom, look!" he exclaimed. "It's you, Mom, it's you."
"Oh, Jimmy, that's wonderful. Thank you, Thomas," she said, genuinely pleased.
"Can I keep it, Mom? Can I?"
"You'll have to ask Grampa Travers," she said.
"Of course you can, Jimmy. I did it for you," my father said quickly.
"Gee, thanks. I never had a picture of my mom before. Thanks, Grampa," he said, his eyes still fixed on the drawing.
At that moment I found I had something in my eye, and as I glanced around the room I found I wasn't alone. It was one of those magic moments you couldn't create. They just happened.
Later, when the feast was over, we were sitting in the living room fighting off the effects of tryptophan with coffee. Jimmy had gone off somewhere to play, now bored with the adults. It was quiet for a few moments before my father spoke.
"I had a conversation with Jimmy this afternoon. I found I had to keep looking at him to make sure he was only six years old. We talked about a lot of things, but the ones that made me stop and think centered around the idea that for the first time in his life, he was going to have a dad. And for the first time in my life, I was going to have a grandson."
The room went silent at that. I could see the look on my mother's face. Her lower lip was trembling and her eyes were blinking furiously as she fought to hold back her emotions. I had never really realized just how important that was to them until that moment.
In an inspired moment, Mary got up and went to my mother's side, holding her in her embrace. It was something that would remain with me for the rest of my life. The bonds between people, related or not, come from genuine feelings and emotions. They can't be contrived. We can see right through those most of the time. The bonds that were formed between my parents and the Carlisle family were genuine.
When Jimmy had gone to bed and my parents left for their home, I turned to Nicole and wrapped her in my arms. There wasn't anything that needed to be said. It was all self-evident in the words and actions of the afternoon and evening.