I barely hide my gasp.
“Darlin’, I am up for the task,” Uncle Hal says, standing taller.
“Hal, don’t be scaring these beautiful ladies before we’ve even settled in town,” Papa says.
I decide to jump in before Uncle Hal gets any bolder. “Thanks for bringing the flyer over, Grandma Donna.”
She smiles sweetly at me.
“What have you got there?” Papa asks her.
Donna’s cheeks flush again. “It’s a little something I’m…” She waves her hand. “It’s nothing really.”
I reach out and touch her arm. “It’s not nothing. I can’t tell you how much I love this idea.” I look at Papa. “She’s dedicating a bench on the Whitmans’ new property for anyone who needs a friend to listen. The Friendship Bench.”
Papa’s eyes soften. “That’s really lovely.”
Donna looks flustered. “We all need someone to talk to at times…it doesn’t cost me a thing to listen.”
Papa nods. “That’s beautiful.”
“I got the idea from a news program,” she says, like that diminishes her part in this.
“Not everyone would take it to heart like you are,” he says.
“Well. Thank you.” She gives him a soft smile.
It does my sad heart some good to see genuine kindness between two people I love very much. Grandma Donna has had a difficult year, losing her husband.
Meanwhile, I hear Grandma Nancy huff and shake her head at Uncle Hal.
“You are something else,” she says, tsking.
“Something good, I hope,” he says, undeterred.
I lean closer to Papa and mutter, “I had no idea you and Uncle Hal were such flirts.”
He smiles. “Me? No. Your uncle, yes.”
“Um, you were working some of your magic too.” My eyes widen.And I think it worked, I mouth.
He chuckles and pats my back. “She has kind eyes. And a kind heart.” He leans in and whispers, “And she’s as pretty as she always was.”
I point at him. “See? You were flirting!”
He laughs, and we continue watching Uncle Hal and Grandma Nancy spar.
“I’ll be ready if you ever need to get out and razzle-dazzle me even more,” Uncle Hal says.
She raises one sculpted, perfectly penciled brow. “Keep dreaming.”
I lose it. I have to move behind the counter and make it look like I’m cleaning something because I’m cracking up.
The grandmas gather their things with quiet dignity. Grandma Donna says something about picking up knitting needles.
As they pass, Uncle Hal tips his head. “We’ll be seeing you lovely ladies soon.”
Grandma Nancy walks by and sniffs. “Only if you’re lucky.”
