She turned to the water also and smiled. “Again, Sam? Don’t you think the fish have seen enough of your backside.”
She turned back to him a few seconds later, still smiling at the memory, but he was gone. Looking over at the patio door to see if he was there, she saw someone else. Della Hart was standing there, looking at her. Seeing the woman on the deck in gray slacks and a navy blue dress shirt and heels almost made Natalie laugh. The woman was dressed for the office, not for being in the hot sun by the lake.
She put her cards down on the table, upside down like you’re supposed to so no one can see your hand as if she and Sam were going to continue playing.
“Can we talk, Natalie?” She said her name. After all the time they spent together, it sounded foreign coming from her.
“Yes, come and sit down.” Natalie gestured to Sam’s chair. Then she started to pick up the cards she had just dealt to put away, needing something to do with her hands.
“Can I hug you first? I’ve waited so long to hug you again,” Della asked, walking to her.
Stopping what she was doing, she stood up and let the smaller woman hug her. After a moment, Natalie hugged her back. It was weird to be so much taller than her own mom, even her mom in high heels. Della pulled away and wiped a tear away as she sat down in the chair she had been offered.
“Did you watch the movie?” Natalie didn’t know what else to say as she started to clumsily pick up the remaining cards.
“Yes. Over and over again. It was the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten. I had my daughter back. I called your dad, Patrick, and we talked. Mostly about you. I thanked him for being the best dad ever, all he did for you and mostly alone.”
“He was great. I never lacked love in my life. Or support. My childhood was so perfect because of him.” Natalie felt the tears coming again. Her dad had been her rock for her entire life. Yet she hadn’t treated him as such all the time.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Della asked, stopping her hands on the cards with her own, clasping them both in hers.
“I didn’t know if you wanted to know me. I didn’t know if I wanted to know you. I had great parents.” The truth was easy to say.
“Why now? I got your letter years ago. I sent another, but I never heard from you again.”
“I guess now my life was spiraling. Maybe not out of control, but it got emotional. A week ago today I was getting married. Not to Sam,” she emphasized. “It was a guy I had dated for a few years, but we were comfortable, not in love. It doesn’t matter now. But before the wedding, I stood in the basement of the church and wanted my mom there. That had never happened before. I had always had my dad. He was already enough. I knew that Lara was there, even if she had passed years ago. Dad always says she’s there, and I knew she wouldn’t miss my wedding. But I knew it was you I wanted there. I wanted my real mom to watch me get married.”
“I would have loved to be there. If you had asked, nothing would have stopped me from being there.” Della bit her lip, but it didn’t stop them from trembling.
Sam walked quietly out of the house and put a tissue box between them.
“It wasn’t only you. It was a lot of things. I made my friend Mia make sure that my friend Hazel was there, and she was. But I suddenly wanted her as a bridesmaid; I needed her as a bridesmaid. I suddenly felt that I couldn’t get married without her as a bridesmaid. I needed her as my friend again. I know what I’m saying makes no sense, and it makes no sense to me either, but that was what was running through my head then. So, I ran, literally, right into Sam’s arms. He took me home and saved me again.” She chuckled through her tears. “I asked him to take me to see you. I thought I could take care of that emotion first, the easier one. I have to go back and see Hazel and try and get over that emotion. That will be much harder.”
“Hazel is the remaining triplet?” Della squeezed her hand.
Of course, Della would know about the triplets. They were a major part of her life—for twelve years, they were nearly the center of it. Their faces must have been in every frame of the videos. And she knew he would somehow have explained the accident aftermath.
Natalie just nodded. “I don’t want to talk about it. It tends to send me into a depression.”
“I’ll not push you to open up to me. I’ll not push you into anything you’re not ready for. Why did you leave in the night?” She squeezed Natalie’s hand.
“Are you mad I left?” Natalie asked, hoping the older woman would be able to forgive her.
“Hart’s push away. It’s what we do. Why did you run?”
“I just let my demons take over, let all the doubts get to me. I don’t look like you. I really don’t look like you.” Natalie leaned back in her chair, letting her mom’s hands go.
“I know. I knew you wouldn’t. When I saw you at birth, I knew you would never look like me. You were dark-haired. Oh, so much hair. And even then, you were big, almost ten pounds. But I loved you right from the beginning.” Della was looking at her, maybe comparing her to the baby of her memory.
“Why did you give me up?” Natalie needed to know.
“Because I was sixteen, and my father wasn’t going to help. He wasn’t like your father. I didn’t think I had a choice.” Della was starting to straighten the cards on the table between them.
“How about my father?”
“I don’t know who it was.” Della looked at the cards as she spoke, not at her daughter. “I went to a party at a fraternity at the university and drank too much. I woke up hours later and never knew what happened. I knew I’d had sex. That I could tell. Months later, I realized that I was pregnant. My dad was not happy.”
“What were you doing at a college party at fifteen?” Natalie didn’t even go to parties at fifteen. Okay, maybe she did, but not college parties.