“As a matter of fact, I can. Brenda’s attorney wants to negotiate. It’s out of the blue. I think she’s getting desperate. Hopefully, that means I’m closer to getting what I want.”
“Paige full-time,” she says, and I hear the smile she wears, even though I can’t see it.
She’s been spending more time with my daughter the past couple of days. Mom and Dad have been on duty, but they’re accustomed to lazy afternoons, and Paige doesn’t know the meaning. She’s been over at Irma’s getting hair braiding lessons from Lou, determined to become the “queen of crown braids.” Whatever that means.
“Or, at least, most of the time. Much more than I get now, anyway.”
“That is more than good, it’s the best news. It’s hopeful, Grady.”
“It is,” I agree. “Plus, my parents are more likely to move back if Paige is here, too.”
“Then, it’s the very best and very helpful,” she says. “Thank you for telling me, it’s exactly the happy news I needed before passing out after a long day.”
“Can you spare a couple of minutes to chat with a worried eight-year-old? She’s been waiting up to hear how your flight was.”
“I always have time for Paige. Always,” she says, and I go find my daughter with a lighter heart than I’ve had for most of the day. I find her curled up against my mother’s side on the sofa, her eyelids heavy but determined.
“Is that Lulu?”
“It is,” I tell her, handing her the phone. She immediately starts rattling off questions about the flight. Wanting to know how fast the plane went, if they gave her a meal on a funny tray with lots of divisions, what the flight attendants wore, and if it smelled like farts because Becca, at school, told her the first plane she went on smelled like it.
By the time she hands the phone back to me, Lou, too, is lighter with laughter.
And I’m more certain than ever that I’m falling in love with the woman who sets aside everything at my daughter’s behest.
Nineteen
Lou
“The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.”
Madeleine L’Engle
“Happy birthday, Lou!” The shouts come in unison as I step into Grady’s house the night after I return from New York. It was another long travel day, filled with the stress from today being the day I begin to tell my story. Along with the jet lag that always comes from coast-to-coast travel. All of that is forgotten with my small surprise party the Steeles have planned.
Sam is here, too, with a few of his poker friends. And Ruthie from the bookstore.
“Jerry wanted to be here, but he’s on a call,” Grady says as he leads me further into the house.
“This is amazing, and so unexpected,” I say, swiping at my leaking eye. I’ve celebrated birthdays before, of course. However, it’s been years since someone planned anything special for me. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”
“Of course, we did,” Paige disputes. “It was your birthday yesterday and you had to work.”
She’s dressed up in a rainbow of tulle bedazzled with glittering sequins, her hair in loose braids that I know she’s done herself.
“You look fabulous,” I say, kneeling to hug her. “And your braids are perfect.”
“Thank you! I got you thebestpresent. I can’t wait for you to open it!”
“I brought you a present, too,” I tell her, pointing to the bag I dropped by the front door.
“Can I open it?”
“Of course, go get it.”
I greet everyone else, thanking them for being here, while Paige drags the bag over to my feet and starts to pull items out.
“Oh, my goodness! Dad, look! It’s a whole head!”
