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After all, age need not be necessarily measured as time already lived. In terms of the time Genevieve had yet to live, statistically speaking, she was still middle-aged. Sixty was the new forty, right?
Yeah, well, tell that to your knees.
Well, snowballs didn’t have knees, did they? So she could—she would—enjoy this roll downhill.
Right toward the gravestone in the cemetery at the end of the road.
Splat.
Okay, this new attitude of hers needed some fine-tuning.
She turned her gaze toward the window and the snow-covered mountain meadow. Where did the time go? She’d been thirty-nine ten minutes ago, facing her fortieth. Now, sixty. That old saying about youth being wasted on the young… so much truth. And yet so silly to bemoan a birthday. Wasn’t she still on this side of the grass? Wasn’t she spending glorious time with her grandchildren, watching them grow and learn and thrive, despite losing their father so young?
Just like her children had lost their father.Oh, David. I wish you could join us on playdates. I wish you could be here to watch Jake marry the woman of his dreams. I wish you’d been here to grow old with me. I’m so lonely.
Tears welled in her eyes, and as she furiously blinked them away, Emma’s small hand stole into hers. “It’s okay, Nana. Don’t cry. I’m here.”
Out of the mouths of babes.“I know, sweetheart. I’m so glad. So very glad.”
The rest she’d get figured out.
In time.
Chapter Five
NOAH HAD PUT THEtask off for as long as possible, but his online order had been delayed. He was down to two cans of beans and half a loaf of bread. Even more serious, he was out of coffee. He had to go to the grocery store again.
After his last venture into town, he’d decided that the only thing worse than going to the post office in Lake in the Clouds was making a local grocery run.
A shopper had two stores from which to choose for groceries: a national chain store and a small mom-and-pop, been-there-forever type of place called simply the General Store. He preferred the anonymity of the chain store, but the mom-and-pop carried local and regional brands he’d come to love. So, for the Mocha Moose Morning Blend coffee beans and the Rocky Mountain Road ice cream made over in Eternity Springs, he’d brave nosy Nettie Parkin, who ran the register at the General Store.
The place closed at seven. Having learned by experience that Nettie was most inquisitive early in the day, he timed his arrival for six thirty. With his list in hand, he entered thestore, grabbed a grocery cart, and headed for the produce. Potatoes. Onions. The tomatoes looked sorry, so he skipped those. He’d just tossed a handful of garlic bulbs into the cart when he heard an excited voice exclaim, “Mr. Tannehill! Hi, Mr. Tannehill! It’s me. Drew. Remember me? I haven’t seen you in so long!”
Noah looked up to see the boy, wearing sneakers, a coat, and Spider-Man pajamas, darting toward him.
“What are you buying, Mr. Tannehill? Is that garlic? My nana uses garlic when she makes lasagna. It’s awesome. She made it for us this week, and she has this little plastic roller thingy that you put the garlic inside and roll it and the peel comes right off the garlic. It’s way cool. Have you ever seen that? I think they should make one big enough for onions, but Nana says she’s never seen one of those. Maybe I’ll invent it when I grow up. What else are you buying? We’re buying Froot Loops instead of eggs for breakfast. Can you believe that? I ask and ask and ask and Mom never lets me have them, but this time I wore her down ’cause she’s so tired from getting ready for the wedding. Do you like Froot Loops?”
“Take a breath, kid.” Noah frowned down at Drew. “I don’t want you passing out and keeling over here in the bananas.”
Drew giggled. “I’m just excited to see you. I talk a lot when I’m excited.”
“I think you’re excited all the time.” Noah placed a bunch of bananas in his shopping cart. “So, your mom is getting married?”
“No. Not my mom. My uncle Jake. The wedding was gonna be in Texas but the building burned down so now they’re getting married here and having the party at my nana’s lodge. My mom is planning the party because it’s her job and UncleJake and Aunt Tess—she’ll be my aunt after the wedding—had to work. Want to come to the party? My mom told me I could invite a friend. It’s in five days. Will you come?”
Noah was taken aback. “I’m not your friend.”
“Oh.” The boy’s face fell. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the floor. “Okay.”
Noah felt like a heel. He hadn’t exactly been Mr. Cheerful for the past year, but he didn’t go around kicking puppies or children. Instead, he immediately attempted to backtrack. “I mean, I’m sure your mother meant a friend your own age.”
“I don’t have any friends my age in Lake in the Clouds. Not yet. I’m trying to make friends but it’s hard ’cause I’m homeschooled and Lake in the Clouds doesn’t have a co-op or pods for kids like me. Mom is sad about that. Once Little League starts next month, it will be better, and I’ll make lots of friends. Now all I have is my sister. She’s only four. Her birthday is soon, though.”
“Look, kid. I’ll be your friend, but I don’t need to go to any wedding reception.”
Noah’s words flipped Drew’s switch, and he brightened. “Since we’re friends, can I come over to your house and play? We can have playdates like I have with my nana. Will you let me help you make dollhouses? I really want to do that.”
“Hold on. Hold on. Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Noah wanted to abandon his grocery cart and head for the exit. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Your mom wasn’t very happy that you came over to my house the first time.”
