Grandma waved a dismissive hand towards the front of the house. “Well, they can leave because there isn’t enough food,” she said even though she hadn’t looked at the grill.
“I can throw more food on if you want,” Jason offered.
“That won’t be necessary,” Grandma said, shaking her head.
Chris cleared his throat. “They’re rather insistent about joining, ma’am.”
“Tell them to go away or I’ll write them out of my will in the morning,” Grandma said firmly.
Chris hid his smile as he turned around to do just that.
Jason gave them all a curious look before shrugging it off. Apparently, he really didn’t care enough to be bothered, which was a good thing for her. She’d earned her way in life and didn’t want anyone thinking any differently. All of her friends knew that she came from money and none of them cared. She was just Haley to them and she planned to keep it that way.
“What did you think of your father’s birthday gift, Haley?” Grandma asked.
Jason frowned. “I missed your birthday?”
“It was months ago,” Haley said with a shrug.
“And he just remembered today?” Jason asked, frowning.
“It’s no big deal,” Haley said, giving him a tight smile.
Jason scoffed. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Ah, children? If I may interrupt? Haley, have you looked at your gift?” Grandma asked.
“Not yet.” There was no rush since she already knew what she would find inside the card, twenty-five one-hundred-dollar bills for the twenty-fifth birthday.
“Well, go get it,” Grandma said, gesturing for her to move her butt.
With a sigh, Haley went inside, rolling her eyes at the overfilled bags of groceries that covered her kitchen counters and table, and retrieved the envelope from her purse. She carried it outside and sat down.
“Well, open it!” Grandma said with a pointed look at the card.
“Why are you so eager for me to see this gift?” Haley asked, narrowing her eyes on her grandmother.
“Because I’m the one that suggested your gift,” Grandma said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Haley bit her lip so that she wouldn’t cry. Not only had her father forgotten her birthday, but Grandma had to be the one to finally remind him and was most likely responsible for whatever was inside.
She opened the card and wasn’t all that surprised to see the card wasn’t signed, which wasn’t exactly a surprise since he never bothered signing her cards. Her eyes shifted to her gift and froze there. It was a full minute before she began breathing again. In another ten seconds, Haley was up and around the table, hugging her grandmother and kissing her.
“You are the best grandmother, ever!” Haley said between kisses.
Grandma laughed. “I’m glad you like it. I wanted to give those to you, but you’re so damn stubborn, so I used your father’s stupidity. Now, you have to accept them,” Grandma said with a firm nod, making Haley smile.
Jason stood up and flipped the burgers before he added the hot dogs. He turned back in time to see Haley jumping up and down and giggling like a schoolgirl.
“Well, don’t leave me in suspense,” he said, earning a loud squeal from Haley.
Apparently, she was beyond words, so she pushed the card in his hands. He looked down, blinked and blinked again before stumbling back into a chair. Did he just wet himself? Ah, who cared? He was holding four tickets to the Yankees vs. Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium for this Friday and they were without a doubt the best seats in the stadium.
