Page 118 of This Kind of Forever

Why does my phone keep pinging?

Luke

Because we’re giving Gabe shit.

I wouldn’t be so cocky, brother. I have a long memory. And one of these days, you’ll be in my position.

Clara

Ooooh. He’s got you there.

Delilah

Everything is going to go great, Gabe. She’s going to say yes!

Thank you, Delilah.

See how easy it is to be nice? You two should try it sometime.

Clara

Meh.

Luke

No comment.

Mom

We love you, sweetie. Keep us updated!

When Hallie gets home a little while later, I greet her at the door. “Hey,” I say. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

As soon as she sets her sights on her grandfather, her eyes brighten. “Pops!”

“My Junebug,” he says.

“What are you doing here?” Hallie asks, leaning down to give him a hug.

“Gabe and Abbie invited me to dinner.” He sends me a quick wink. “They figured I could use a change of scenery.”

She smiles. “I’m glad you’re here. I can show you the guesthouse after we eat!”

I breathe an almost silent sigh of relief. This is already going easier than I anticipated. I worried that having Pops here would be too suspicious, but luckily, she’s just glad to see him. I make a mental note to have him over more often.

Once the food is finished, we all gather around the kitchen table. Hallie looks at me gratefully when she sees all the different vegetarian dishes on the table. I won’t be giving up meat anytime soon, but I’ll admit her food tastes good.

“Sorry I was late,” Hallie says as we dig in. “I was talking to Carole about this idea I’ve had for a while. I wanted to run it past her before I got too excited about it.”

“It’s fine, baby,” I assure her. More than fine, actually. “What’s this idea?”

She takes a sip of her water. “Abbie was actually the one to give it to me.”

My daughter perks up at that. “I was?”

Hallie smiles. “You were. That day you came home from school upset and we started painting, I thought about what it would be like to help other kids connect with art the way I did.” She looks at Pops. “It gave me an outlet when I needed it. I want to do the same for kids like me.”

“A wonderful idea,” Pops says.