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“Heather, please take Collins upstairs,” he said. “There’s a movie she’s been wanting to watch that we were saving for a special time, and now’s as good a time as any.”
Collins had eaten about all she was going to eat from the plate of too-fancy food. Honestly, the kid was four. They might as well have served her raw oysters.
“Let’s get to it, then,” I said, offering my hand to her. My appetite had vanished as soon as I realized just how politely this family could eviscerate one another.
I put Collins’ headphones on so she could immerse completely in her distraction while I…God help me, I crept back to the stairs and listened to the voices echoing upward.
“You had no right to involve yourself like this,” Graham was raging. “And certainly no right to assume you know what’s best for my family.”
“Of course I know what’s best for this family,” his mother shrilled. “I am its matriarch, after all.”
“I was talking about Collins and me.”
“That girl deserves a mother. Not just some stand-in.”
“You are the one sending ridiculous and utterly inexplicable candidates for the position!”
Lauren poked her head up the stairwell, and I recoiled, startled out of my mind. What would she think about me being so nosy in her family’s fight?
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, halting my retreat just short of the door where Collins was watching her movie. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
Lauren laughed gently. “How could you not? They’re not even trying to keep it civil down there—or quiet.”
“I was just trying to figure out if I needed to get Collins out of here,” I said. “You know…if things got really rough.”
She laughed even louder, and I winced, chancing a glance into the room. Thankfully, Collins was completely absorbed in the movie. “Sorry,” Lauren said. “But there’s a lot of things you don’t understand. Our family dynamic is…challenging. This is pretty par for the course. We’d never come to blows if that’s what you’re implying. Collins has certainly seen and heard worse than this.”
“So that’s why I’m really here,” I said, nodding to myself. “Damage control between Collins and her relatives. Got it.”
“We’re not all bad,” Lauren defensively said just as Graham came up the stairs.
“We’re done here,” he said. “Can Collins be ready to go?”
“As long as we can keep the screen on,” I said. “Lauren, it was lovely to meet you.”
“Could I maybe take Collins off your hands some night?” she asked as Graham swept by us to gather his daughter in his arms. “I’d love to have a little one-on-one time with my only niece. I think I take being an aunt for granted sometimes.”
“Oh, he’s the decision-maker,” I joked, jerking my thumb at Graham. Collins had settled into his arms complacently, not taking her eyes off the screen. She probably didn’t even recognize we were about to change venues. That’s how comfortable she was. Why didn’t he see just how much she loved and trusted him—how safe he always made her? Why was he so intent on getting someone else to do what he was already doing? “I’m just the temp.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. You’re great. That kiddo is a handful at the best of times, and you have her eating out of your hand. What do you say, big brother? Can’t an aunt have a small girls’ night celebration?”
“You’re always busy,” Graham said flatly. “And you’ve never shown any interest before.”
“I’m sorry,” Lauren said, instantly contrite. “I know I’ve been absent. I’ve been…busy. Well, some thinking about family things. I don’t know. What I’m saying is I could be a better aunt. Iwantto be a better aunt to Collins. Please let me try.”
“Text me,” Graham said. “It’ll be fine. Right now, though, we’re going.”
“I’ll follow up,” I whispered to a crestfallen Lauren as I followed Graham to the stairs. “Don’t worry. Happy birthday.”
13
Graham
One good thing they never tell you about having a kid is how quickly they can calm you.
My mother was hard to get along with on the best of days. When she was in rare form, like she decided to be on my sister’s birthday, she was impossible. I’d ended things early and taken Collins away before, but I wanted a kinder and simpler exit for my daughter. She didn’t deserve to know how her grandmother was like when she was still so young.
As it was, having Collins in my arms was instantly calming. As long as I kept her screen steady and her headphones on, she relaxed into my hold, not even so as much as blinking when we got back into the car.
