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“Oh my,” Grandad exclaims with surprise. “What’s all this?”
Piper smiles warmly and steps inside. “I brought you a little housewarming gift.”
“Let me help you,” I offer as I take the two items from her, and we make our way to the kitchen.
“This is such a beautiful home, Gene,” Piper remarks with genuine admiration. “Thank you for inviting me over to see it.”
“I’m so glad you came. And thank you for this lovely gift. Shall I open it now?”
She nods eagerly, a smile on her face. He opens the bag to reveal a bocce ball set, and the bakery box contains his favorite treats from Blissful Bakery.
“Piper, you are incredibly sweet. I love it! Now I can beat both of you right here at home,” he teases us with a wink. “Do you have time for a game after a tour of the house?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Gene. But you better watch out, I’ve been practicing my throw,” she jokes back at Grandad with a playful tone.
“We’ll see about that!” Gene wiggles his finger at her.
“Did you forget to bring Gizmo with you?” I ask Piper, a playful smile on my face.
She bites her lip, trying not to laugh. “I totally forgot him in my rush to get here. Please don’t tell him or he’ll probably take it out on a few shoes.”
“I promise your secret is safe with me,” I assure her as we giggle together.
“Shall we start the tour?” I hold out my hand for her to take.
“I would love that,” she replies, placing her small palm in mine.
There’s something about our contact that feels deep and meaningful. We begin exploring each room with my grandfather as our guide, hearing all about his plans for the house.
We enter one of the bedrooms. “This will be Caleb’s room whenever he comes to visit,” he looks to Piper and nudges her arm. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Piper’s cheeks turn red and she looks up at me with a shy smile. As we continue, I realize this place already feels like a home. It’s not just a museum or an art collection; it has a warmth and coziness that makes me envision my grandfather spending his days here surrounded by friends, playing games on the lawn with the “Grey Legends”. It’s the perfect new beginning for him, and I feel a pang of regret for leaving him alone in that big house back home.
But now he’ll have a whole community looking after him, and I vow to be better about visiting. I won’t have any more regrets. As we walk through each beautifully paneled room, I silently promise myself to make the most of every moment with my grandfather. But somehow…it doesn’t feel like enough.
18
Piper
“I’ll cover the guests up front,” Mia volunteers as she slips by us into the workroom.
I turn to watch her disappear behind the curtain and inhale the sweet scent of freshly-baked pastries, a comforting aroma for my frazzled mind. Today, I’m finishing Missy’s wedding cake due for delivery in just two days.
“I thought Mia didn’t like dealing with people,” Caleb whispers to me.
The bell above the front door jingles as customers come and go. My focus needs to remain on this three-tiered masterpiece in front of me. The crumb coat is on, and the cakes are fresh from the refrigerator for me to frost. Caleb has volunteered to help with anything I ask. In reality, other than a few of the baby’s breath blotting technique flowers on wax paper, no one was going near this cake except me. I knew the exacting nature of Missy, and I am determined for nothing to go wrong.
“Mia always comes through in a pinch,” I say confidently while standing at the stainless-steel island, my hands expertly maneuvering the frosting bag as I spin the first layer.
Caleb watches in awe and says, “Wow, you make it look so easy.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” I playfully tease him, getting lost in his stunning eyes for a moment longer than I should.
“You have my full attention,” he declares.
I grab the frosting scraper and glide it over the freshly piped frosting on the cake. With a quick flick of my wrist, the frosting becomes perfectly smooth against the cake’s surface. I make a few more precise movements to ensure all sides are flawless before moving on to the top, which requires more precision.
“Okay, that’s talent.” Caleb looks genuinely surprised.
