It was six years after the show and five years after the divorce. Life went on.
Lynn had just put her baby down for a nap when the front door bell rang. She quietly walked through the house hoping that whoever is at the door is not so impatient as to ring the bell again and wake up Steven Walter Densmore. He was a little over a year old, but he captured her heart the first time she laid eyes on him, though right now Lynn really needed him to take a nap.
She smiles as she thinks of her husband Ross and the way they met three years ago at school. Though neither were raised in Maine, they both fell in love with the area and decided to stay there after graduation. They were married a few weeks out of college and nearly a year later their son entered their lives.
Life has not just gone on for her, it’s been pretty darn good recently, but that wasn’t always the case and once in a while has visions of her mother’s humiliating appearance on a nationally televised reality show.
Even after six years she and her mother only talk about once a month and for only about ten minutes at the most. Thus far she’s managed to keep their conversations extremely generic though she believes her mother is itchin’ to say more. Lynn knows someday she’ll probably have to hear her out, but would like to put it off for as long as possible.
She does get to the door before the bell sounds again and is astonished to see a woman standing with an expression of nervous anticipation laced with more than a bit of doubt and hopefulness.
“Mother?”
Lynn asked this almost not believing her eyes, but her thought was, “Damn…ready or not that someday I’ve been dreading is here!”
Sherry looked a bit thinner than Lynn remembered, but over all appeared healthy and well.
Not expecting her mother to just show up and unsure of what to do next, she instinctively took a step back and said, “Won’t you come in?”
Sherry did just that and was soon following her daughter into the living room.
“Can I get you some coffee or tea or…”
“Coffee would be fine if it’s not too much trouble.”
Lynn went into the kitchen to prepare a couple of cups while also using the time to collect her thoughts. Right now those thoughts were bouncing around her head like a super ball in a phone booth. She had no idea how to approach the impending conversation and knew if she ever had to “wing” anything, now was the time.
As Lynn was returning to the living room her mother said, “You and Ross have a very nice house dear. It’s not what I pictured though. It’s larger than I thought it would be.”
“Thank you. Ross put a lot of work into it.” Lynn then sat on the opposite end of the couch than her mother.
“I hope I’m not imposing on you too much sweetheart, but I really wanted to see my grandson.”
“He’s napping right now, but maybe we can take a peek later.”
Lynn placed her cup on the table for a moment then asked, “Did you bring your daughter on the trip?
“No…she’s back home with grandma. I wasn’t sure you wanted to…you know…see her.”
Lynn simply nodded.