Finding Ashley by Danielle Steel (free ebook reader for iphone txt) 📗

wearing matching red parkas and blue jeans and sneakers. Alexandra’s were pink with sparkles and lit up. Andrew’s had Superman on them, and Melissa smiled when she saw them.

“This is your grandma,” Michaela explained. She had prepared them to meet her before they came, but now she was real.

“Like Gigi Marla?” Andrew asked with interest.

“Yes,” Michaela said simply. “Like that.”

Melissa chatted with them for a few minutes, feeling awkward at the newness of it, but they were very polite, endearing children, as Hattie had said. Michaela left with her family a few minutes later, and they were meeting up again for dinner at an Italian restaurant in the neighborhood that the Mark had recommended. Melissa took a cab back to her own hotel then, and walked around for a little while, and then went back to her room.

They met up again promptly at six. Melissa had put on another of her new sweaters, the pink one, for Alexandra. They all talked and laughed their way through dinner. She was back at her hotel at eight-thirty, overwhelmed by the abundant blessings of the day. She was going to the park with Michaela and the children the next day, while David went to his meetings.

Melissa had fun running around with them at the playground and was tired at the end of the day. She wasn’t used to young children anymore, but she enjoyed it. She brought presents to dinner for them, a pink tutu with silver sparkles for Alexandra, and superhero pajamas for Andy she’d found at a children’s store. Hattie joined them for dinner, wearing jeans and one of her Disneyland sweatshirts. They all had a great time together. Michaela and David and the children were flying back to L.A. in the morning, and they talked about Thanksgiving again at dinner. They had so much to look forward to. The meetings in New York had been a great success, and every time Michaela called her “Mom,” she and Melissa smiled at each other, savoring the word and all it meant.

Melissa hugged them all before they piled into a cab to go back to the Mark after dinner, and she walked Hattie to the subway to go back to the Bronx.

“I still can’t believe this happened.” Melissa looked awestruck. “And you did it for me,” she said gratefully.

“Neither can I,” Hattie said. It had shaken her faith in the Church she had dedicated eighteen years to, and her vocation, but when she saw the look in her sister’s eyes, it was worth it. Melissa looked happy again for the first time in years.

“Do you want to come to L.A. for Thanksgiving with me?” Melissa invited her, but Hattie shook her head.

“I need to be at the convent. We throw open our doors and serve free Thanksgiving dinners to the poor, and I’ll be working in the kitchen.” Melissa didn’t criticize her for it, or make a sarcastic comment as she would have in the past. She had deep respect for her sister now, and gratitude for what she had done. They hugged and Hattie hurried down the steps to the subway, and Melissa walked back to her hotel, thinking of the time she had just spent with her daughter and grandchildren, and she liked David too. He seemed reliable and warm, a good husband and father, and it was obvious that Michaela was happy and in love with him. She was only sorry Robbie hadn’t met them, and they’d never know him.

Melissa was driving back to the Berkshires in the morning. She had a lot of time to think on the trip home. It reminded her of that saying in the Bible, about returning beauty for ashes. Her life had been so bitter for so long now, her losses so painful, and now she had this sudden, unexpected abundance of love and joy. She didn’t feel as though she deserved it, but she loved it.

—

Norm called her as soon as she got home, and wanted to hear all about it. He hadn’t called her in New York because he didn’t want to disturb her. He offered to cook her dinner again that night and she accepted. He arrived with hamburgers and French fries from the local restaurant, with onion rings, and she pretended to be surprised.

“What? No lobster?”

“I didn’t have time to shop or cook,” he said sheepishly. “I came straight from a client meeting. They hate my design for their new pool and patio. Oh God, there are times when I think politics would have been easier. They want a guesthouse too, and they want it to look like Hansel and Gretel’s cottage. I won’t win any awards for this one.” She laughed at his description and the look on his face. Then she told him all about her two days with Michaela. She wore the new red sweater for him. He noticed it right away and said he liked it.

“It sounds like a resounding success.” He celebrated with her as they poured ketchup on the French fries.

“She called me Mom. Marla prefers to be called by her first name. She doesn’t want people to know she has such a grown-up daughter, and grandchildren. I kind of like it.”

“What did they call you?”

“Grandma Mel. It was all I could think of on the spur of the moment. I hadn’t thought about it before, I was so focused on Michaela. It bowled me over when she asked to call me Mom. I hope Marla doesn’t mind.”

“It doesn’t sound like she will,” Norm said matter-of-factly, as they finished the burgers and he smiled at her.

“I missed you,” he said in a soft voice, and then leaned over and kissed her. “I thought maybe we could pick up where we left off.”

“And where was that?” she whispered in a silky tone, teasing him.

“I’ll show you,” he whispered back, and fondled her breast as he kissed her. He hadn’t done that before. They were making rapid progress, but she didn’t object.

They adjourned to the