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At that time, it felt like a punishment worse than death.
I realized it wasn’t when my grandpa passed away during summer break a few months later. I knit a blue carnation for my mom to pin on his suit jacket so it would be buried with him.
The carnation was lopsided and had been soaked with tears on more than one occasion before it reached the hands of the funeral director, but it was a gift to the man who had let me sit on his shoulders whenever I wanted to see above the tall tree in our front yard. He always told me that my future was beyond that tree, and I’d know it when I found it.
Some days I still believe his words. Other days, I’m not sure if he believed themhimself.
“Eloise!” Stevie calls from the other side of the door. “Let us in. We have hot dogs and curly fries!”
I set my knitting on the coffee table, and uncurl from the couch.
I changed into red sweatpants and a matching T-shirt after school. My hair is braided to the side and my face hasn’t seen a stitch of makeup all day. I blame that on my almost all night knitting session.
“I’m coming!” I yell back.
“We didn’t bring any of those green beans mom makes.”
By the time I swing open the door, I’m laughing. Astrid and Stevie are too.
They look adorable in matching outfits of jeans and white sweaters that I knit for both of them.
“It was match your best friend day at school today,” Stevie says as she hops into my apartment carrying a takeout bag. “So, Mom and me made it match your best friend at home today day, too.”
She laughs at her own words. “Did that make sense?”
“It made perfect sense.” I motion for both of them to enter.
I’ve always felt a twinge of awkwardness when I open the door to find my cousin on the other side since she owns the apartment.
Astrid shoves a tray holding three cups with paper straws in my direction. “Strawberry milkshakes for the win.”
“For the women,” Stevie says. “It’s hot dog, milkshake and dress measurement day. That’s why we didn’t invite Gaines to come.”
I drop my gaze to her face. “Gaines?”
“My dad’s cousin,” she explains. “You met him at our house, remember? He’s the tall doctor guy.”
Tugging the bag from Stevie’s grip, Astrid chuckles. “Eloise knows who Gaines is. I think she was asking why we’d invite him in the first place.”
“Ohhh,” Stevie draws the single word out. “We wouldn’t, but we saw him in Vinyl Crush just now.”
I turn toward the table to hide the shock I feel. Gaines was in the record store?
I expected to hear him from at some point during the last week, even if it was via text, but I didn’t. I attributed that to his work schedule. The pressure he’s under is something I can’t even imagine dealing with.
“We saw him walking right toward us,” Astrid goes on to explain, “We laughed when we reached the door to the building at the same time.”
He was on his way to see me.
“Apparently, he’s browsing for an album for a friend.” Astrid shrugs. “I’m sure Castle will be able to recommend something perfect.”
“Right.” I take a deep breath to slow my racing heart.
“Maybe his friend is a lady doctor.” Stevie whistles. “Sometimes doctors marry doctors.”
I don’t want that doctor to marry another doctor.
“Gaines may never get married, Stevie,” Astrid tells her daughter. “His job is very important to him.”
