Page 72 of The Heartbreak Blitz

“I think I had the same look when I was first dating your grandfather. He was something else. Handsome. Smart. Funny. You know, I stole him away from the meanest girl in school? I didn’t feel bad about it either.”

A laugh springs up my throat, surprising me.

“Still don’t,” she states. “We had the best life together, and I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.”

My chest warms with the thought. “Well, I don’t know if I can say Cade and I will be forever, but…it’s nice to think about.”

“He certainly has good manners, dropping you off at home like he’s been doing.”

“I didn’t want him to at first,” I confess. The more our feet trek across the sidewalk, the easier talking with her is. A connection pulls us together. Familial and familiar. “He didn’t know about Dad, and I didn’t really want him to.”

“It must be hard for you to do it all alone.” We’re silent for a few moments, and I wonder if it was wrong to bring up Dad. If what I’ve always suspected is true, and he’s the reason why they stopped picking me up. She probably spoke her mind, and he decided it was time to cut her off.

“How is your dad doing?”

I shrug. I don’t remember how he was the last time she was around, exactly. He’d started to get health problems early. Rapid weight gain. Depression. Things only compounded when the doctors pulled him out of work and there was no reason for him to get out of the house, but I’ve been living with this version of my dad for so long that I can’t remember when it started.

I’d be willing to bet he’s so much worse than he was.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“I don’t know what to say. He’s…sick.”

“I haven’t seen him leave the house.”

“He doesn’t.”

She nods like she’d been expecting that. “I would drive by from time to time on my way home from getting groceries. Or make Gerald drive by on Christmas, Thanksgiving. We would sit in the car and hold each other because you were so close, but you were also so far away. That house has been like a fortress, keeping you locked up.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, staring down at the sidewalk. I don’t know what to say.

“Ugh,” she groans in frustration. “I promised myself I wouldn’t. Maybe I could also have my own soap opera. Kick Bev out as the gossiper.” She wrings her hands in front of herself. “Tell me more about…Cade? Was it Cade?”

“Yes, Cade. He’s the wide receiver, and he’s really good. He treats me nice, though I wasn’t very nice to him at first.”

“It’s best to let them know what they’re getting into from the get-go. No issue with that. You don’t want to sugarcoat things and have them expect rainbows and red carpets when all you’re willing to give is a reality check.”

“To be honest, I think he kind of liked it.”

“Good man.” Grandma nods, confirming. “In my experience, men think they want the easy ones, but they don’t. They like the challenge. They want someone with a little spunk. I nearlyran Gerald’s girlfriend over with my car. It was an accident, you see…” Her eyes gleam, and I really think there was no accident about it.

I can’t help but laugh.

“It was, I swear. I’ve sworn so from the day it happened, and I’ll never tell a different story. I mistook the brake for the gas, and there I was, driving my Plymouth straight toward her. I can still remember the look on her face.”

Instead of looking horrified, a grin spreads across her lips.

This is my kind of grandma.

“She got out of my way after that.”

“I bet she did.”

We turn around at the end of the block and start walking toward the house. In the area where there are no streetlights, I peer up at the sky, watching the lights twinkle at me.

“You’re a star watcher, too?”

“They’re pretty. I can see them from my bedroom window.”

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