Judging by the way she got up and scurried to the bathroom this morning, I had a feeling I’d failed in my attempts of offering her my assistance and my help. Helena was a strong, independent woman. She always had been, and I was convinced that our son got his independent streak from her. That was perfectly fine with me.
I wanted to be surrounded by people who were happy, content, and excited about living their lives to the fullest.
Today, though, I needed to find a way to support my wife. She wasn’t ready to admit that she was having a problem, but it was okay. I’d been Helena’s husband for thirty years. I knew that sometimes, she needed space. Sometimes, she needed me. Either way, I’d wait until she was ready to ask for help. I’d wait until she was ready for me to care for her.
I stood, stretching in the bedroom. She was in the shower, and I knew from experience that she’d be in there for a good, long while.
Good.
She deserved a break.
I headed downstairs to make breakfast. I got the coffee going, fried up a couple of eggs, threw on the bacon, and by the time Helena was done with her shower and ready to start the day, breakfast was served. We ate in silence together and then I took my turn showering while she relaxed with a book. The dishes and cleanup could wait until later. That was something I’d learned long ago.
There was no need to stress about the little things, and if the dishes were one of the little things, then I didn’t need to be stressing about them.
By noon, the two of us were officially ready to start our days. We loaded up the truck with decorations and treats for the rehearsal dinner, and I drove us to the restaurant, Granny’s, where we’d be having the rehearsal dinner.
“Are you sure we got everything?”
“We’ve got it all,” I assured Helena.
“Good,” she nodded, leaning back in the front seat of the truck. I put on some tunes and we listened, humming along as we made our way to the restaurant.
Granny’s was a staple in Ashton. It was one of the cutest little restaurants in town, and it was a place where lots of different things had happened. People held birthday parties and receptions here. They had special lunches and first dates and from time-to-time, even the drunken mistake.
Tonight, though, it was going to be transformed into the place where the rehearsal dinner for our son and future-daughter-in-law would take place.
Well, at least the back room would be reserved.
Helena and I loaded our arms up with bags and boxes and headed inside. Granny herself was behind the front register, and she squealed when she saw us. Granny was old when I was a kid. By now she must have been pushing 90.
“You’re here,” she said.
“We’re here,” I agreed. “Is it okay if we start setting up?”
We’d rented the room for the entire day instead of just a couple of hours. By my calculations, that would make things much simpler. It meant that we didn’t need to worry about rushing when it came to decorating or cleaning up. We’d have all of the time in the world.
“Of course,” Granny agreed. She led us carefully through the tiny restaurant. It had a full wood interior with wooden floors and hand-carved wooden booths. Her husband had designed the tables long ago. Although he’d passed away, the furniture lived on. He’d done an incredible job.
Granny brought us to the back of the restaurant where there were two doors side-by-side. Strangely enough, these didn’t lead to the kitchen. Instead, they led to a cute little room where parties were held somewhat regularly. Tonight would be ours.
Correction: tonight would be our children’s.
I heard laughter and looked toward the front of the restaurant where Matthew and Dora had just arrived.
“Dad!” They both called for me at the same time and hurried over. Matthew took one of the boxes I was balancing from me, and Dora grabbed a bag.
“You beat us,” she laughed.
“I do my best to show up my kid as much as possible,” I joked.
Dora just shook her head.
“You’re the best. Is Granny already in the room?”
“She’s in there with Mom,” I confirmed.
“Let’s go, then,” Matthew patted me on the shoulder, somehow balancing the boxes on his other hand, and then the three of us headed into the party room. Granny was in there with Helena, just as I’d said, and the two of them were discussing table placement.