“Why not what?” Griffin said, appearing in the kitchen.
“Uncle Griffin!” Jeremy exclaimed. “You can come to the fair with us. Phoebe said yes.”
I chuckled. The little guy sure knew how to negotiate.
“My parents would like to go too,” I added.
“Sure, we’re flexible,” Griffin said.
“Great! Mom, Dad, come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Do you want to rest before leaving?” Griffin asked.
“No,” Mom replied. “The journey wasn’t too long. And we’re not that old.”
Griffin gave me a panicked look, and I laughed. “No one was suggesting that, Mom. Come on, follow me.” I went through the narrow corridor leading to the downstairs bedroom.
Mom stopped at the foot of the staircase, looking up longingly.
“I love Queen Anne buildings,” she said.
“I know. And this one is gorgeous.”
Griffin had put their suitcases by the door.
“This is so spacious,” Mom said.
“We only need about ten minutes to freshen up, and then we’ll be right out,” Dad added.
“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen. Are you sure you don’t want to snack or anything?” I said.
Dad shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Speaking of snacks…,” Mom said, hurrying to the suitcase. She opened it, taking a Tupperware box from between the clothes. “Here are the cookies.”
I immediately grabbed the box from her. My stomach rumbled. “Will you look at that? I wasn’t even hungry. Thanks, Mom.”
I opened the lid as soon as I stepped into the corridor, munching on one cookie while standing there in the hallway. I closed my eyes and got transported right back to my childhood. Nana loved to bake in the summer. She typically also made a delicious grapefruit lemonade. No one else I knew loved grapefruit, but she and I did.
With a sigh, I opened my eyes and headed to the kitchen. “I’ve got cookies for everyone, homemade by my nana.”
Everyone reached for the Tupperware as soon as I put it on the table.
“You know what? Let me take a pic, and I’ll send it to Nana.” Well, to my granddad. My grandma wasn’t terribly good with her phone. But Granddad was quite good at using WhatsApp. “All of you smile and hold up a cookie.” I said, and they did. “And, Griffin, can you stand a bit taller? Just so, you know…”
“You stand out,” Chase teased. “Yeah, good thinking.”
“Hey, you know what? I’ve got an even better idea,” Duncan added. “What if he’s the only one who holds up a cookie? That should earn him points, right?”
I looked over the phone at the group.
“That is a great idea,” Chase said. “Little bro needs to earn all the points he can.”
“Come on, everyone hold up a cookie,” Griffin said on a laugh.
I snapped a pic and immediately sent it to Granddad.
Phoebe: Thank you for the cookies. Everyone is loving them. Love you. P.S. That’s Griffin in the middle.
