Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Three: The Great-Grandchild
The call came on a sunny Tuesday in September.
Lina was in the garden, deadheading roses, when her phone buzzed with Stella's name on the screen. She wiped her hands on her apron and answered.
"Grandma," Stella said, her voice different. Softer. "I'm pregnant."
Lina sat down on the bench.
"Pregnant," she repeated. "You're pregnant."
"I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!"
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"Congratulations, sweetheart," she said. "I'm so happy for you."
---
The family celebrated.
The penthouse was filled with people—Victoria and Victor and Katherine, David and his half-siblings, Lily and Jake and Grace and Clara and Samuel, Leo and Maya, Emily and Hope, friends and neighbors and the particular chaos of a family that had something to celebrate.
Stella sat on the couch, her hand on her stomach, her smile bright.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a great-grandmother," Victoria said.
Lina looked at her. "Neither can I."
Victoria laughed. "We're old."
Lina laughed too. "We're experienced."
"That's what old people say."
---
The months passed.
Stella's belly grew. She was tired and emotional and hungry all the time. Daniel took care of her, bringing her ice cream at midnight, rubbing her feet, reading to the baby.
Grace talked to her cousin's belly, explaining the stars to the unborn child.
"She's going to be an astronaut," Grace said.
Stella laughed. "She's going to be whatever she wants to be."
Grace nodded. "That's true. But she's also going to be an astronaut."
---
The baby was born on a rainy Tuesday in March.
A girl. Small and perfect and beautiful.
Stella and Daniel named her Eleanor.
Lina held her in the hospital room, tears streaming down her face.
"She's beautiful," Lina said.
Stella nodded. "She is."
"She looks like you."
Stella smiled. "She looks like herself."
Lina handed the baby back.
"I love you," she said.
Stella hugged her. "I love you too, Grandma."
---
Lina became a great-grandmother.
She visited every week, holding Eleanor, singing to her, reading her stories. She watched her grow from a newborn to a baby to a toddler.
Grace was a devoted cousin. She held Eleanor's hand. She talked to her. She taught her about the stars.
"She's going to be an astronaut," Grace said.
Lina smiled. "She's going to be whatever she wants to be."
Grace nodded. "That's true. But she's also going to be an astronaut."
---
Victoria held Eleanor in her arms.
"A great-grandchild," she said. "I never thought I would see this day."
Lina sat beside her.
"Neither did I," she said.
Victoria looked at her. "You gave me this. You gave me a family."
Lina took her hand.
"We gave each other a family," she said. "That's what love does."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"I love you," she said.
Lina squeezed her hand.
"I love you too," she said.
---
One afternoon, Lina sat in the garden with Eleanor.
The sun was warm. The flowers were blooming. The birds were singing.
Eleanor was three years old, with curly hair and a gap-toothed smile.
"Tell me a story, Grandma," she said.
Lina thought about the question.
"Once upon a time," she said, "there was a woman who lost her memory. She didn't know who she was. She didn't know who to trust."
Eleanor's eyes were wide.
"But she had people who loved her," Lina continued. "And they helped her remember. They helped her find her way home."
Eleanor leaned into her. "Like you?"
Lina pulled her great-granddaughter into her arms.
"Like me," she said.
---
That night, Lina sat on the couch with Ethan.
The penthouse was quiet. The twins were grown. The grandchildren were grown. The great-grandchild was asleep.
"How do you feel?" Ethan asked.
"Full," Lina said. "Not from the food. From... everything. From watching them grow. From seeing them shine."
Ethan put his arm around her. "They get it from you."
"Get what?"
"The shining. The confidence. The ability to love and be loved."
Lina leaned into him. "They get it from you too."
"Maybe. Or maybe they get it from themselves. Maybe they're just who they're supposed to be."
Lina thought about that.
She thought about Grace, the astronaut. Stella, the scientist. Clara, the dancer. Samuel, the doctor. Eleanor, the baby. All of them perfect, just as they were.
"I can't wait to see who they become," Lina said.
Ethan kissed her forehead.
"Neither can I," he said.
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End of Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Three