“Dash called me and told me he met you. I’d never seen him content like that. When you’d spend the night, I felt the love between them,” Amelia said, grinning.
“You spent the night with Dash after?” my mom asked. I watched her doing the math in her head. She didn’t need me to answer and gave a hearty huff. This couldn’t be the first time she figured it out.
“Beau. That was entirely too young,” she murmured.
“Too young for what?” Kailey asked. My smile grew as my mom’s face came into the screen. I laughed when she pointed a finger at me. I needed that moment to ease the tension.
“What was he too young for, Gigi?” Ava asked. My mom turned and kissed Ava’s forehead. She said nothing more to Amelia’s laughter. The sound was music to my ears.
“I enjoyed listening to Beau tell Dash no when he tried to talk him into anything. Dasham was always too smart and too charming. He got his way more than he ever should have. Beau never let him win one single time. I’d work around the house, loving the way Dash tried to talk Beau into his will,” Amelia said, smiling brightly now.
“Don’t give Beau a big head,” my mom said, still disgruntled. “He and I are going to talk about this when they come home.”
“She looks serious, Beau,” Amelia said, drawing her feet up on the sofa. “Do you remember packing Dash’s shoes to move to Chicago. We had to wrap each shoe individually.”
“I remember,” I said. “Then you were the only one allowed to pack them in the truck. Dash told me about when he was younger, and he was afraid of lookin’ pretentious.”
Amelia smiled so big that a laugh followed from both of us.
“For a time, he only wore clothes that came from the GAP. He felt like everyday people shopped there.” She shook her head at his silliness. “He was always so clueless in his attempts to appear normal.”
“I agree with that,” I said and reached over to take Dash’s hand. “I’d say he’s still like that. He can’t shake his wealthy upbringin’.”
“No, he can’t,” Amelia agreed. “I watch the girls grow and see so much of him inside them. Livie’s a younger Dasham. She has his smarts and willingness to follow the rules. Ava’s an older Dash, testing life’s limits. Mia will have his charm, his need to be grounded to the world. He’s always been so good to me. I hope I’ve given the same to him.”
“You know you have,” I said, immediately. “He loves you. You know that. We all do.”
She swallowed deeply, a trickle of tears spilling over again.
“Why does Abuela call Daddy Dasham and no one else does?” Mia asked.
“Dasham’s your dad’s full name. When I met him, I thought he was dashin’, so I shortened his name to Dash,” I explained. “And it took.”
“Like Prince Charming?” Livie said. “They said he was dashing when we were on the ship.”
“Yup, just like that.” I grinned at the comparison.
“Tell us more about what Dash was like when he was little,” I said, happy to listen to anything Amelia had to say. I had nothing but time from now until they checked in. Mia popped up beside Amelia, giving the tablet to Ava, getting straight in her grandmother’s face.
“Don’t cry, Abuela,” she said. “We love you.”
“I love you too. Do you want to hear about when your daddy was your age?” she asked, running a tissue over her eyes. Ava came in beside Mia, holding the tablet. Livie crawled on the other side.
“Yes,” they said in unison.
Amelia launched into her storytelling, gently tiptoeing around the secret bits of Dash’s life. I leaned in, hoping Dash could soak up all the love swirling around him—the life he cherished above all else.
An hour sprang forward as I basked in Amelia’s recounting of Dash’s escapades. From his attempt to save the turtles, his efforts as a young boy to take on the stock market, to the happiness he experienced after meeting me. I’d never heard many of the stories before. Amelia focused on the good times and stayed away from any of our difficult periods. Duke and Dixie didn’t even try to assert themselves into the conversation. They listened patiently too.
Suddenly, the night nurse pushed through the door, juggling fresh blankets in one arm, and a dinner plate in the other. “Everything about to happen is being performed around the new rules. Someone important cares for you two. The isolation protocols have been removed so your rule breaking self doesn’t have to be escorted out. I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten,” she said, yanking me back to reality as she placed both items on top of the rolling cart.
“I have to go,” I said. “Daddy’s nurse is here. Can we continue this tomorrow evenin’?”
The girls turned instantly forlorn when I said I had to go, then gleeful when I mentioned another evening spent together in this way.
“That’s a good idea. I feel better talking about our guy,” Amelia said. “Thank everyone at the hospital for all they’re doing for us.”
“I think she just heard you.”
