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“Thank you, Dr. Freeman,” Pappy says.
He nods and shifts on his feet. I notice his bright orange sneakers for the first time. Hard to miss them.
“A nurse will let you know when you can come back,” he says.
We thank him again and when he leaves, we huddle around my dad.
“I guess that means no more S’mores pie,” I say.
“And I’ll be swinging by to pick her up on the way to my workouts,” Zac adds.
“Count me in,” Dad says.
We all laugh softly, grabbing onto any lightness when we should probably just bawl our eyes out. We break from the huddle and Pappy squeezes Dad’s shoulder.
“She’s okay, son. She’s gonna be okay.” Pappy’s eyes are glassy and before long, tears are spilling down his cheeks.
He pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket, never without one, and dries his face with it.
“I want to tell you something,” he says to my dad. “You’ve been given a second chance here. You and-and our Daisy. I want you to live this next phase of your life exactly how you want. You and Daisy want to travel? You travel. You want to putter around together, hitting those antique shops she’s into, you do it. I tell you what youdon’tdo…you don’t worry about me. You guys have gone above and beyond what most kids would do for me, moving in after Gran died, looking after me. I’m doing all right. You need to focus on you, focus onher, don’t let this old coot hold you back for a second.” He smiles a shaky smile at Dad and squeezes his shoulder again. “You hear me?”
Dad nods. “I hear you. It hasn’t been a hardship to look after you, just so you know…” He grabs a tissue from a box nearby and winces as he blows.
“Oh, I know I’m easy as all get-out,” Pappy says, winking. “We all know I’ve been a sad sap for a long time without Gran. But I’m still here, so I figure I’ve got some living to do yet, best make the most of it. And so do you. This isyourtime. Don’t let anything or anyone keep you from living it up.”
Dad nods and we shuffle back to sit. Zac calls Autumn to let her know about Mom and I look at my phone, looking at the text I left hanging with Scarlett.
Thinking about the words Pappy said…I don’t want to look back on my life when I’m my dad’s age and Pappy’s age and have regrets. Both have been workaholics at different times in their lives and I’ve been following that track for a while now too. Zac and I have talked about it some—the adjustments he’s made having Ivy and then marrying Autumn—it takes a conscious effort to prioritize what’s important. I didn’t think I’d be ready to take this look at my own life so soon.
I send the text before I can overthink it.
I don’t have any idea yet of how we do all this, but I want to figure it out with you.
And then I add…
My mom’s out of surgery and it went well. We haven’t seen her yet, but hopefully soon.
It’s quiet for a while before I get a text back.
Scarlett
I’m so glad it went well! Keep me posted.
And then I second-guess whether we’re on the same page at all.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
CLUES
SCARLETT
The past week has been madness.
We get a rush of families coming in, the lodge is at max capacity. I barely have time to sit down, helping at the front desk when it’s busiest and making sure everything is operating seamlessly behind the scenes. It’s what I used to do all day, every day, but it feels completely different.
In such a short time, Jamison has infiltrated every part of the Landmark Mountain Lodge and Ski Resort. Where I thought I’d always miss Granddad’s presence, I miss him more when I’m with Grinny or at their house.
The void at the lodge is Jamison. He brought a new energy to the place, an excitement and fresh approach that I’d been trying to carry on my own. With him here, it had just started to feel like I could relax a little bit. I stayed busy at the lodge, but it wasn’t all-encompassing.
