“Hi, Gracie. Hey, Mae, good to see you again. These tulips are for both of you from my mom’s garden.”
Gracie beams. “Aw, my favorite color. You didn’t have to do that, Danny, but it’s so sweet of you. Thank you.”
I hum, giving her a soft smile. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a vase though. Do you have one here that we could use?”
Gracie thinks for a moment before her face falls. “Shoot. No, not anymore. D-dad, erm, b-broke it during one of his b-benders or something.”
Mae and I share a look of sadness. I know that Grace has a long road ahead in overcoming the repercussions of her dad’s abuse.
“Well, we’ll just have to pick up a new vase then. Tomorrow,” Mae announces with resolve. I notice Gracie’s shoulders relax.
“Maybe they’ll have a bee-shaped vase at the flower shop,” Gracie muses, smiling to herself.
“In the meantime, this will do.” Mae opens a cupboard, grabbing a mason jar. She adds a few inches of water and gently places the tulips inside, fluffing them up. “See? Beautiful. Just like you,” she compliments as she turns toward her granddaughter.
“Yes, she is,” I say.
Gracie’s eyes widen as a blush blooms up her neck.
“Queen Bee, I’ve been meaning to ask. Would you mind popping over to the corner pharmacy to pick up my meds? My doctor called them in before I arrived so I could pick them up right away.”
“I’m happy to pick them up, Mae,” I offer.
“Honey, I haven’t seen you in a long time, so maybe you can stay behind.” Mae leans forward and whispers like she hasa secret. “Plus, I didn’t want to have to say it, but I’m already getting a little sick of Bee.”
Gracie laughs and rolls her eyes. “It hasn’t even been a week!” She starts washing the flour off her hands. “I’ll go, but don’t talk about me behind my back too much, you two.”
“We will, dear, but only in Pig Latin.”
“Huh?” I ask in between bouts of loud laughter. Mae is something else.
“Everyone knows that if you gossip in Pig Latin, it’s less toxic. It’s like how if you buy a snack that says ‘only five ingredients,’ it’s automatically healthy—even if three of those five ingredients are some form of sugar.”
“Okay, okay, enough,” Gracie giggles. “I’ll leave.”
“Bye, Dear! Now, Danny. EDDY-RAY OOO-TAY AWK-TAY BOUT-AY RACE-GAY?”
Gracie’s hysterical laughter is so loud we can hear it through the closed front door.
I turn to Mae after Gracie leaves. “Um, do we really have to talk in Pig Latin?”
Mae tilts her head with a wry grin. “If I said we did, you would, wouldn’t you?”
I shift on my feet. “Yeah, but I might be pretty slow.”
She beams, holding out her arms for a hug. “Oh, Daniel. Honey, you have not changed a lick. Bring it in.”
Mae squeezes me so hard that I feel like the last bit of toothpaste in the tube. When she pulls away, I’m surprised to see misty, emotional eyes.
“Daniel,” she whispers. “You are so precious to me.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“You protected my granddaughter. Better than anyone. Better than me. That makes you precious.”
I put my hands in my pockets and nervously play with some loose change, not used to all these compliments. There’s so much more I could’ve done.
“I could live to be two hundred years old and thank you every day for what you did, and it still wouldn’t be enough. I’m so happy she has you in her life, someone that loves her with all they have.”
