Page 143 of Take This Heart
His eyes flash. That hit.
“Why don’t you admit this is over? You tried to put a stop to this and it didn’t work and you’re mad that Ava is seeing through your shit.”
He looks around, his jaw set. In the distance, a few workers laugh. Sunlight filters through my arch and it practically glows.
“This isn’t over,” he growls. “I’ll be watching and ready when everything starts falling apart. And you may have Avafooled into believing in this fairy tale, but she’s a Granger—she’ll see through all of you.”
My heart thumps faster, but I take a step closer to him.
“This place? It’s not falling apart, it’s just going to get better and better. And like it or not, Ava is one of us too.”
He doesn’t respond. He turns and stalks back to his car. When the engine growls to life and his tires squeal out, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
I hope my words come to pass and not his.
The sun glints off the lake, and for a moment, I let myself believe that everything hard is already behind us. That the tightness in my chest from seeing Bruce earlier has been carried off in the wind and drowned in the water.
However, I’m trying really hard to not live in denial these days. Sometimes life is hard. There’s no avoiding that. Even when so much going on around me is good, there will still be hard things.
But that’s for another day. Tonight we’re celebrating my dad. He’s finished his last round of chemo and we’re going to rejoice in that.
The house is loud before I even reach the porch. Music is playing through the outdoor speakers, laughter rises and falls like the water against the rocks, my family is all here together…life iswonderful.
Kevin barrels ahead of me, little paws flying and his tail wagging so hard, his whole back half shakes. He makes a beeline for Tully, who’s sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs. Kevin flops against his leg and looks back at Tully likeI’m here, why aren’t you scratching my butt?
“There he is.” Tully laughs, ruffling the soft fur above Kevin’s fountain tail. “The king of the land.”
Kevin closes his eyes, blissed out.
“How did you manage to avoid a sweater tonight?” he whispers to Kevin.
“I got him out early before Grandma Donna could get one on him,” I whisper back.
Tully laughs.
Grayson runs up and pets Kevin.
“Whoa, hold up. Where are my hugs?” I ask.
“Hi, Auntie,” he says sweetly. “Where’s Milo?”
“He’ll be here soon,” I promise.
I walk over to hug Dad and Kevin follows me. He loves scratches, but he loves to be wherever Dad and I am more.
Dad’s eyes are bright when I pull back from our hug.
“You look good, Dad.”
“Thanks, buttercup. I feel good. Hopeful.”
“I’m so glad you’re done with chemo. So, so glad.”
“Me too, honey.” He pats my cheek, his eyes filling with tears. “Sorry, I’m an emotional old man, but I’m just so grateful. Thanks for being with me through it every step of the way.”
My lip wobbles. “Always. And you’ve earned the right to be emotional…even though you’re not an old man yet.”
He hugs me again and I sigh, beyond happy.
