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Laughter from the main room causes us to pause and peek out the little window the kitchen has to where all the kids are at. It’s meant to be the window where they pick up their trays to eat, but we’re still a good twenty minutes off from serving.
Another bout of laughter has me straining my neck to look over the grannies teetering in front of me. The scene before me shocks me.
Thorin, with his sleeves rolled up his forearms, is trying to follow a dance some of the girls created and failing miserably at it. A laugh bubbles up inside of me. It’s such a ridiculous thing to see, I can’t help the amusement.
“He looks different,” Nana Noel comments.
I twist my head to look at her, noticing her eyes are focused out the window as well. “Hmm?”
“Thorin.” His name from her lips has everything screeching to a halt inside of me. She doesn’t seem to notice that I’ve grown still beside her, the amusement and joy fading away. “He’s grown. Filled out more than when he was in college. I didn’t realize you two were reconciling.”
“How did you–”
Nana Noel finally turns to face me, a haughty look crossing her face. “Bexley Anne, I know who he is. I can read his biography on his company’s website and look at his social media pages just like everyone else. What I don’t understand is what he’s doing here with you. I thought you were done with him?”
I sigh heavily. “So did I.”
“Is this why you said it was complicated?”
“Yes. But we’re not together,” I quickly add. “I’m just helping him find some charities he’s wishing to donate more towards.” Not exactly an outright lie.
Nana Noel taps her nose, silently berating me on her smelling bullshit. “Not together,” she mimics. “One of these days you kids are going to come to your senses. I’d like to not be dead by the time that rolls around.”
“Now who’s being dramatic?”
“Me,” she firmly states. “I’m old. I’m allowed to be as dramatic as I wish. I’ve earned that right. Eighty years on this planet and I think I’m allowed to say whatever the hell I want.”
“Noel, we’re in church!” Mary Lou, another grandma, admonishes.
“And Jesus has already made up his mind about me and told God, Mary Lou,” Nana Noel fires back. “I can say whatever I damn well please.”
I love her. I want to be her when I grow up. “Just not in front of the kids,” I remind her.
Nana Noel has the audacity to look affronted. “I’m not a heathen.”
Oh no, of course not. I roll my eyes again. “You’re something alright.”
“Sass only gets you so far in life.” She twirls her finger in Thorin’s direction. “You could introduce us.”
Absolutely not. Is she crazy? Actually, I already know the answer to that. “No.”
“He would love me.”
As if that’s not already a given. Thorin would absolutely adore her. But that’s not the point. “He’s basically a client.”
Her nose wrinkles at that. “Does your father know?”
“Yes.”
“Good grief.” She doesn’t elaborate but she doesn’t need to. If Dad is involved it means nothing good according to her. Although, to be fair, Dad essentially is helping to blackmail me into doing this so she’s not wrong in her reaction. She would be absolutely furious if she knew the whole story.
“Aillard is out there tutoring,” I inform her. Thanks to everything that happened, Nana Noel is very informed over all parties that sent me spiraling at college.
She whips her head up, eyes narrowing as she moves her gaze from Thorin to the blond man at the table. “That Whitney girl you just brought over is his girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Maybe he’s getting smarter instead of dumber.”
