Page 97 of Until Then

“But she’s not old, and if you get married, does that mean she’s my grandma? I don’t think I can call her Grandma.”

Head dropped forward, I pinch my mouth shut, barely holding back my laughter this time. “You don’t have to call her Grandma.”

“Oh.” She brightens, her shoulders straightening. “Good. That was stressing me out.”

“Was that all that was bothering you?”

“Just about,” she chirps. “I’m gonna play my game now.” With that, she scurries up the stairs and back to the swing, where she launches herself with so much force it hits the railing behind it.

Shaking my head, I stand, trying to ignore the way my knees groan.

Fuck, the kid is right. Iamold.

Izzy walksin the door just as I’m setting Lili’s dinner plate in front of her.

“Hey, we have a visitor,” I call out in a cheerful tone. There’s no telling what might come out of Izzy’s mouth, and there’s a fifty-fifty chance it wouldn’t be appropriate for my granddaughter.

“Oh, hey, Lili.” She sets her bag on the floor and scoops up Wonton from where he jumps at her feet, eager for her affection. “I missed you, too, boy.” She showers the little white dog with kisses.

After she’s thoroughly smothered Wonton with love, she sets him on the tile again. “Burgers?” she asks, surveying the counter. “Thank God. I’m starving.”

She practically skips to me, and when she’s standing inches away, she pops up on her tiptoes, going in for a kiss. But before she can make contact, she drops back down onto flat feet and backs up, eyeing Lili.

Lili blinks, unfazed. “You can kiss him if you want. I know you’re his girlfriend. But I’m not calling you Grandma.”

Izzy bursts into laughter. The sound is so light, so happy, that I find myself grinning.

“Noted,” she says, wiping tears from her eyes. “I appreciate it.” She bumps my hip so she can get by to make up a plate of food. I kept it simple, grilling burgers and corn on the cob.

“How’d it go with the Harrisons?” I ask as I sidle up beside her.

Her smile is nearly blinding. “Great. They understand that I don’t have a background in interior design, but I showed them my ideas, and they loved it. I told them that if they’re willing to let me film the progress, I’ll do it for free.”

“And what did they say?”

While she swipes a glob of mayonnaise across her bun, I pull a can of Coke from the fridge. Then I join Lili at the table where my plate sits waiting for me.

“They agreed right away. Frankly, I would’ve done it for free regardless. I don’t feel right charging for a service I have no experience with yet. But I’m thrilled that they’ll let me film it. I miss filming content,” she admits with a slump of her shoulders. “I’m itching to pick up a camera again.”

I don’t like the reminder of LA, of the life possibly still waiting for her there. She’s been vocal about her dislike of the city and she’s been clear that she doesn’t want to go back, but we haven’t talked about her plans beyond that. Does she want to live with me? Is it too soon for that? Would she get her own place? Would she settle in Parkerville or in one of the surrounding cities?

“I’ve watched some of your videos,” Lili pipes in.

“Really?” Izzy asks, her brows lifting with the same level of surprise I feel at my granddaughter’s admission. “What did you think?”

“The makeup ones are kind of boring, but I like the ones where you travel. Are you going anywhere soon?”

Izzy shakes her head as she joins us at the table. “No, I don’t have any plans right now. I’m exploring other things.”

“Like what?”

“I want to help people decorate their houses, or in the case your grandpa and I were just talking about, a restaurant, and I’ll film the content for my channel.”

Lili scrunches her face, further smearing a drop of ketchup at the corner of her mouth. “That’s boring. Stick with traveling.”

Izzy laughs. “I’d love to travel some, too, but right now, there are other things I want to pursue.” She zeroes in on me, making it clear that I am those “other things.”

“Maybe when I grow up, I’ll travel and film it like you.”

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