Chapter 17 - GRACE AND I TRY AGAIN
Grace and I did not fall back into romance immediately.
We co-parented.
We argued.
We learned.
Then five years after Thanksgiving, we went to dinner alone.
Not date, according to Grace.
It became one.
Slowly.
The old attraction remained.
So did history.
We attended couples therapy before calling ourselves a couple.
Romantic?
No.
Useful?
Yes.
Grace asked:
“How do I know you won’t choose family over me when things get difficult?”
I answered:
“You don’t.”
She stared.
Then I continued:
“You watch what I do.”
Better.
We dated for three years before marriage.
Small ceremony.
No family business agenda.
No merger.
No port lenders.
Luke stood between us during photographs because he wanted to.
Milena was invited to the ceremony only because Grace chose it.
She sat in the third row.
No pearl matriarch seat.
No speech.
May you like
No power.
That mattered more than where she sat.
