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“That’s nothing. That’s—” West grabbed for the notice, but Tad held it out of reach.
“December twelfth is Grinch Day. Please make sure your child comes to school in costume. The twelfth? That’s tomorrow.” Tad felt his heart sink. “West? Did you know about this?”
West hung his head.
“You did? Where’s your costume?”
West stared at the floor. Tad made a low sound, between a laugh and a groan.
“You know who you look like, all guilty like that? You look like that dog they’ve got up at Will’s. He dips his headjust like thatwhen he’s snacked on someone’s shoe.” He chucked West under the chin. “C’mon, look at me. You knew this was coming. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“’Cause you’re always busy.” West’s voice was small. “I didn’t want to bug you, so I thought I’d just…tell the teacher I forgot.”
Tad closed his eyes against his blooming headache. None of this would’ve happened when Mom was alive. Not West’s missing homework, not his forgotten costume.Gram’s magic,she’d called it, the way she made it all happen. She’d had her finger on the pulse of her grandson’s whole world—what was hot, what was cool, what was happening at school. She’d been his West whisperer. Tad was just…
“Dad?”
Tad swallowed hard. He’d been busy that night, too, the night Mom had died. His last words to her had been“there’s Tylenol in the cupboard. I’ll call the dentist first thing.”He hadn’t even looked up. If he had, would he have spotted something not right? Some sign of the heart attack that took her in her sleep? A toothache out of nowhere, he should’ve known.
“I’m sorry,” said West. “Did I…did I hurt your feelings?”
Tad looked up sharply, and his chest went tight. West’s lip was trembling, and Tad’s stomach clenched. Had he just made his son cry over a costume? He pinched the bridge of his nose—what would Mom do?Mom wouldn’t freak out, that was for sure. Nothing had ever rattled her, not even when Tad’s summer fling had resulted in West. Not even the chaos when West’s mom ran off.
“It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll figure something out, but first, your homework. Go grab a trash bag from under the sink.”
West scurried off. Tad dug in his backpack and pulled out a scarf. He found a book underneath, and a pair of red mittens. And under the mittens, barely crumpled at all—
“Ta-da!” He held up West’s math sheet as the front door swung open. Cold air rushed in and plucked the paper from his hand. It sailed across the kitchen and into the sink. Sarah watched it go.
“Oh no. Was that important?”
“Just my homework,” called West. “It’s fine, just wet.”
Sarah sighed with relief. She looked cute, Tad thought, all bundled against the cold, a lick of blonde hair straggling out of her hat. She had that blue scarf on, the one that brought out her eyes. He’d tried not to notice how attractive his client was, but that had proven too tough. He’d noticed but kept their relationship in the friend zone. Tad smiled, moved to stand, and caught sight of her bag.
“What’ve you got there?”
“A surprise for you, as it happens.” She beckoned West over. “Beth mentioned you might be short a costume, and look what I found at the back of her closet!” She pulled out a limp onesie the color of pea soup. Tad stared, confused, but West lit up.
“A Grinch suit! You found one!”
“I did, and that’s not all.” She reached into her bag again and retrieved a pair of antlers. “You can be Max, or you can go full Grinch.”
“I’ll be the Grinch.” West grabbed the onesie and stretched it out. It had a peaked hood with a green tuft on top, and a fat padded bottom just like the Grinch.
“Hold on,” said Tad. “You sure this is okay? What about Beth? Doesn’t she need this?”
“She and Ann made new costumes. They’re going as Whos.” Sarah took West’s hand and led him into the kitchen. She’d been baking again, and the air smelled of cinnamon. Tad had been enjoying that scent, but this Grinch thing, the costume, left a bad taste in his mouth. This was his mess to clean up, not anyone else’s. He wished Sarah hadn’t interfered.
“Uh, Sarah?”
“Hmm?” She was crouching already, measuring West for his onesie. “You might be kinda tall for this, but I’ll let it out here… Why don’t you try it on and we’ll see where we’re at?”
West dove into his costume, hopping and squirming, jerking the legs over his pants. “It’s got the Grinch feet and everything. Check out the toes!” He waggled a green foot at Tad, nearly toppling on his rear. Sarah laughed, sweet and clear, but Tad’s frown only deepened.
“This isn’t right,” he said. Sarah glanced his way.
“What do you mean?”
