Page 95 of Holmes, Margaret and Poe

Jannie brought over bowls of roasted root vegetables and rice. Ali was already seated at the table — well, more like slouched at the table, head down, staring at his iPad.

“No electronics at the table,” Nana Mama said sharply. “You know my rule.”

Ali groaned, got up, put the tablet on the counter, then made a dramatic show of returning to the table and sitting down hard.

“What’s up your butt?” asked Jannie, who’d come home to do laundry and have dinner.

“Nothing’s up my butt,” he shot back. “I just don’t like injustice.”

“Knock it off,” I said, sitting down. “You’re no victim here. You’re lucky you weren’t arrested for obstruction. So sit there, be quiet, eat your dinner, clean up, and go to your room.”

“Dad,” he said. “C’mon.”

I stared at him until he shrugged and said, “Whatever.”

The entire exchange put a damper on the mood at dinner,though the meal itself was off-the-charts good. The chicken melted in your mouth, and the mustard, garlic, and saffron sauce on the jasmine rice had everyone fighting for seconds.

“You’ve outdone yourself, Nana,” I said as the kids cleared the table.

“Wish I could take credit,” she said. “I saw someone do it on one of my cooking shows. And a friend of mine from down the block brought me the saffron all the way from India.”

“One hundred percent repeat, Nana,” I said. “Right, Bree?”

My wife was staring off into space again. She startled and then said to my grandmother, “My God, if you don’t repeat it, my life won’t be complete.”

Nana thought that was pretty funny. She cackled and said, “I had wonderful news today. The school district wants me to deliver more talks on YouTube because I guess my last one was a hit.”

Ali frowned, put a stack of dirty plates on the counter, and went to his iPad. A moment later, he started laughing. “Nana, you’ve got like ten thousand views!”

“What?” we all cried. We crowded around his screen and saw it was true. And when we scrolled down to the comments, we saw remarks likeNeed more teachers like this, challenging students in a kind wayandA master class in Zoom teachingandNinety-something great-grandmother has bored kids in the palm of her hand. Make more, Mrs. Cross.

Nana Mama had tears in her eyes. “You see what happens when purpose comes back into your life?”

“Look,” Ali said. “Like fifteen more people have watched it since we got on the page. You’re not a star in the making, Nana. You’re already a star!”

CHAPTER 81

GRINNING FROM EAR TOear, I left the kitchen and decided to watch a college football game to unwind. Jannie came in and sat at the other end of the couch.

Bree came over and sat next to me. “Good game?”

“Just started,” I said.

Nana Mama came in holding several paperback books. “I’ve got some rereading to do before I go on camera and open my yap again,” she announced to everyone’s amusement. “I think I’ll go up to my room for the night.”

I got up and gave her a hug. “We’re all proud of you, of what you stand for.”

She got teary-eyed again. “It goes both ways. With all of you.”

We all told her good night and we were returning to the game when Ali came in and started toward an empty seat. “Nana’s got like another twenty views. I think she’s going viral and —”

“Ali,” I said. “Upstairs.”

He stared at me incredulously. “C’mon, Dad.”

“March.”

He didn’t storm out of the room and up the stairs. But it was close.

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