Page 55 of Grit
Lovely. Thanks, Bev. That was professional-level undermining.“Abby, I know your grandparents would love if we lived closer to them, but who would take care of the ranch if we lived on the coast? Who would take care of your goats?”
“The goats could come with us.”
Melissa kept her eyes straight ahead. “I know Oakville isn’t as fancy as Paso Robles, but it’s our home. And that’s where we’re going to live, okay?”
“Okay.” The girl stared out the window as flat rolling fields passed by.
It was late summer in the valley, and fields that had been green and growing were drying out, nearing harvest time. Wide-leafed cotton and spiky safflower. Dairies and tomato fields. Everything grew in the valley, and currently everything was dusty.
Ten minutes of silence passed before Abby spoke again. “Uncle Devin and Aunt Audrey are fighting a lot.”
Oh man.“I’m very sorry to hear that. Fighting is never fun.”
“Do you think they’re going to get divorced?”
“Abby, I wish I could tell you, but I can’t. Sometimes people fight. It doesn’t mean they’re going to get divorced.” But it could, and with Devin and Audrey, nothing would surprise Melissa.
Another ten minutes of silence as Abby contemplated the almond orchards they were driving past.
“Jessie’s mom and dad got divorced,” her daughter said, “and now she has to sleep on the couch at her dad’s house because she doesn’t have a room there.”
“That sounds… not great. I’m sorry to hear that.” Melissa wasn’t sure who Jessie was. It seemed like Abby was friends with the entire Oakville Elementary some days. “Is Jessie in your grade?”
“No, she’s younger than me, but she lives next door to Marta.”
“Got it.” Marta and Abby had been friends since first grade. “You know what I think?”
“What?”
Melissa took the turnoff for Kettleman. She drove two blocks and pulled over into the parking lot where Greg or Bev would meet them. Then she turned to her daughter. “I think you are a wonderful, empathetic person and Jessie is lucky that you’re thinking about her. She’s probably having a really hard time right now, and older girls who are smart and kind like you and Marta could make a big difference. You could be a good friend for her to have.”
Abby’s face turned from suspicious to beaming. “Thanks, Mom.”
“So can you do that? Be thinking about Jessie and make sure she has good friends around her?”
Her daughter nodded vigorously. “Definitely.”
“I want you to remember something important.” How to get this across to a ten-year-old? “Sometimes in life things go wrong, and even if we want to, we can’t make them better.” She brushed Abby’s hair back. “Dads die in car accidents. Parents get divorced. Pets die. We can’t do anything to prevent those things. Whether we’re kids or adults.”
Abby’s brow was creased in worry.
Melissa continued. “What wecando for the people we love is come around them. Kind of like… You know the wire supports Grandma puts around her tomato plants?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Kind of like that. You and Marta and Jessie’s other friends can be right next to her while she’d growing through this. Keep her branches from drooping. Let her have a safe place to rest and have fun while she’s going through something hard. Does that make sense?”
Abby’s frown disappeared. “Totally. We can do that.”
“Awesome.” Melissa saw Greg’s Range Rover pull into the parking lot. “Looks like your grandpa’s here.”
Abby reached across the cab of the pickup and squeezed Melissa around the neck. “Thanks, Mom.”
“For what?”
“For driving me out so I can see Sunny, of course.” Her face was beaming. “I’m gonna tell Grandpa to send you pictures, okay?”
“Please.” She handed Abby the duffel bag from the back seat. “And what do you say if they try to buy you a cell phone?”
