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Frankie first noticed Grace, really noticed her, in the summer of 1981. Sol had insisted that he and Frankie attend a barbeque at the Hanson’s and, although the thought of spending all day with a bunch of WASPs made her want to throw up, she had smiled and agreed to accompany him. She had already known Grace for three years by this point and despite her best efforts their relationship was almost frosty. Not so thinly-veiled insults seemed to sneak out of Grace’s mouth with regularity, immediately causing Frankie to see only bitterness when she looked at her. On that summer’s day in ’81 though, Frankie saw something else entirely. Something she was hardly prepared for.
She and Sol had been the first to arrive and he immediately took off with Robert to the study to do some boring lawyer-related activity, Robert telling Frankie that Grace was out in the garden with an elaborate sweep of an arm. She made her way through the kitchen, rolling her eyes at the pretentious spread of foodstuff adorning the table. Making her way down the back step her eyes landed on Grace and she froze. There, right in front of the wild spray of a pink rose bush, stood the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. The sun was behind Grace, surrounding her in a halo of light, her profile almost shadowed. Her cream summer dress moved subtly in the gentle breeze, the only evidence that she was indeed real and not a masterpiece on canvass.
Frankie had paused, momentarily perplexed by Grace’s utter stillness, before she realised what she was seeing in front of her. Grace’s face was so serene as she looked down, the tiniest yet most sincere smile tugging at her lips as all her attention appeared to be focused within her. Frankie’s gaze followed Grace’s and she almost gasped when she realised the truth behind this moment. Grace’s hands rested lightly over the slight swell of her belly, her fingers stroking for a moment before pressing gently as though hugging herself. At four and a half months pregnant she was still amazingly slim but the growing bump was noticeable. Frankie had heard her grumble about tightening waistbands and the perils of morning sickness but now, in this moment, Grace Hanson looked more radiant and happier than Frankie had ever seen her.
It was clear then what she had stumbled across, the intimate moment that she had inadvertently interrupted. Grace was feeling her baby moving inside her, was connecting and communicating with her child in a way that Frankie could only ever dream of. And it was beautiful.
Grace had looked up then and spied her, her lips lifting in a genuine smile as her hands dropped from her stomach and she took a deep breath. “Frankie, hello,” she had said, sounding almost far away. Frankie had cleared her throat and stepped forward, returning the smile. She greeted her with a hand to the shoulder and an air-kiss to the cheek before glancing down to Grace’s bump, her hand covering it once more.
“How’s the little one?”
“Great,” Grace beamed and Frankie had never seen her look so happy. “I just felt her move for the first time.” Frankie was taken aback by Grace’s disclosure, certain that she wouldn’t have wanted to share this special moment with her of all people but so glad that she did. She beamed back at her.
“She?”
“I have a feeling…” Grace shrugged. Frankie smiled with a nod and considered that she would never again look at this face and see only bitterness.
From now on she would see only beauty.