“You don’t hear him complaining, do you?” Thad asked.
Puddin’ barked and growled at him.
“Lies,” Thad said.
Ashanti laughed. She had no idea where this sense of humor had come from, but it was dangerous on him. She found him attractive enough when he was being a surly curmudgeon. She would not be able to handle funny and charming. And gorgeous. She couldn’t forget gorgeous.
Mrs. Frances spent the next ten minutes regaling them with the juicy gossip floating around the assisted living facility. Ashanti was both intrigued and disturbed by the coding system residents used to indicate who were swingers. She would never look at Mardi Gras beads in the same way again.
“Now, tell me about this trip to New York?” Mrs. Frances said. “It will be Puddin’s first time on an airplane. I think you should give him an edible just in case he gets anxious.”
“I’m not feeding your dog edibles,” Thad said.
“Why not? They’re calming.”
“Grams, you’re not up in here eating edibles, are you?”
Mrs. Frances stuck her nose in the air. “I’m seventy-eight years old, Thaddeus. I do what I want.”
“Grams.”
She leveled him with what Kara called the Grown-Ass, Unbothered, Black Woman Face and turned to Ashanti. “So,” she said. “About New York.”
“Grams!” Thad said.
Ashanti looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure if she should speak.
“Ashanti,” Mrs. Frances said, dismissing her grandson.Thad dropped his head back and muttered toward the sky. Was he a fan of the Serenity Prayer too?
“About New York,” Mrs. Frances pressed.
“Um, we have pretty exciting news,” Ashanti said. “Puddin’ will be onUp Early with Leah and Luke!”
Mrs. Frances clasped her hands against her chest. “That cute brother and sister duo? I love them! I knew it was only a matter of time before Duchess and Puddin’ became stars. You could not find two more precious dogs.” She gave Puddin’s head another kiss and hugged him.
“Now,” Mrs. Frances continued, “will you and Thaddeus be sharing a room while you’re in New York?”
“Grams,” Thad said.
“What? I don’t know how these things work. They’re flying you up there together, aren’t they?”
“You know the network doesn’t expect us to share a room.”
“Maybe they should,” she said.
Ashanti’s face felt as if she were standing next to a wood-burning pizza oven. “Uh, no. That would be inappropriate,” she said.
Her phone vibrated against her thigh. She pulled it out and read a text from Ridley, commanding both Ashanti and Thad come to her condo ASAP to meet with the public relations specialist.
Ashanti held up her phone. “Thad, we’re being summoned.”
“Go. Go,” Mrs. Frances said. “Show my baby New York City and then you come right back here so you can tell me about the trip. What day will you be on the show?”
“Friday morning,” Ashanti said. “I’ll text you before we’re about to go on. Just remember that New York is an hour ahead of us.”
“I finally learned how to use the DVR in my unit. I’m not missing a single moment of that show.” She pointed a manicured finger at Thad. “Remember what I said about the edibles.”
“Forget the edibles,” Thad said, giving her a kiss on her forehead.
