Marissa looked at the child. She could see signs of Tristan in his hair and the shape of his little face. Next she looked to the couple. They were younger than Marissa had anticipated. The man was tall and slight, his features sharp. The woman was short. Her bobbed hair had a sprinkling of gray. She was clutching a tissue. Marissa realized that she was crying.

The introductions were awkward, especially with Elaine Olaf-son struggling through tears. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “But seeing Tristan brings back the pain of losing Eva. And we have gotten so attached to Chauncey.”

For the moment, Chauncey was holding on to Elaine’s leg. His eyes darted from Marissa to his father.

Marissa couldn’t help but sympathize with Elaine. The woman had lost her only child and was now about to lose the grandson she had been caring for for three years.

As they entered the house, Marissa smelled the wonderful aroma of a roasting turkey. She had always loved Thanksgiving. Her memories of Thanksgiving dinners in Virginia were warm and wonderful. It had always been a comfortable, secure time.

Tristan and Eric soon retired to the den to watch football, cans of beer in hand. Marissa and Elaine went into the kitchen. After some initial shyness, Chauncey attempted to straddle both rooms, moving back and forth from the kitchen to the den every few minutes. Tristan had decided not to force anything. He wanted Chauncey to have the chance to get used to him.

“Put me to work,” Marissa told Elaine. She knew for a dinner like this there would be much to do.

Elaine told Marissa to relax, but Marissa insisted. Soon she found herself rinsing the salad greens. They chatted about the journey that morning from Butte, Montana, to San Francisco. But as Elaine calmed, they moved to more personal issues.

“Tristan told Eric on the phone that you and he are planning to be married?” Elaine said.

“That’s the current plan,” Marissa said. It was hard for her to believe it herself. Only months previously she never would have imagined that she’d be capable of such a major step. But the transition from friendship to romance had started slowly. It had grown steadily through their months in hiding. Then, to Marissa’s surprise, their budding romance had flowered with sudden and intense passion.

“And you are going to adopt Chauncey?” Elaine asked. She opened the oven and basted the turkey.