Mom shook her head and said, “Absolutely not. That sweet girl is not coming home from one of the best parts of her life to watch me shrivel up.”
“But Grammy—” Caroline started to protest.
“No,” Grammy interrupted. “Life is for the living, darling. Don’t you ever forget it.”
I cleared my throat, trying to swallow my tears and turned to see Hippie Hal walking through the gate, Kimmy on his heels. I laughed. “It’s almost ten o’clock at night, you crazies.”
“We come bearing gifts,” Hal said.
I pointed to Jack’s wine. “I guess everyone thought we needed gifts tonight.”
“Oh, we can do better than wine,” Kimmy said, winking at me.
I raised my eyebrows. Hal reached into his backpack and pulled out a Tupperware container, and I was no longer confused.
Emerson burst out laughing, and Caroline said, “Those better be gluten free.”
“Obviously,” Kimmy said. “I would never leave you out.”
“No,” I said, trying to put on my most serious face. “Absolutely not. There are children in this house, and there will be no drugs here.”
“They’re not for you, Ansley,” Hal said. “They’re for Grammy.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Grammy,” Hal said, “we brought you nature’s very best pain reliever.”
“Oh, hogwash,” she said, wrapping her pashmina tighter around her shoulders. “If oxycodone isn’t killing the pain, I doubt some herb is going to.”
“It’s pot, Grammy,” Kimmy said, pulling the chairs from the dining table on the other side of the porch across from the couch and sitting down in one.
Mom cackled, deepening the expression lines in her face that had become more pronounced as she lost weight. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?”
“Count me out,” Sloane said. “What if we have to go to the emergency room in the middle of the night?”
“James fell asleep on the couch,” Caroline said. “He can be our emergency driver.”
I could see the smile playing on Sloane’s lips. I started to protest, but they weren’t children anymore. They could decide whether they wanted pot brownies.
We all took our seats in a circle around the side of the porch. I looked out over the low tide, taking in the sliver of crescent moon perched in the sky. Hal passed the brownies around and when they got to me, I kept passing them.
“Mom, come on,” Caroline said. “It’s just a little brownie. Loosen up.”
I shook my head. “What if it makes me paranoid or something?” I gasped. “What if it’s laced with something horrible and we all die?”
Kimmy’s turn to gasp. “Ansley Murphy, I am offended. I tended this beautiful bud every day of its life, and if you can’t respect its perfection, then you don’t deserve any.”
Hal and Kyle burst out laughing. “Simmer down, Kim,” Kyle said.
Jack squeezed my arm. “If you’re ever going to do it, now’s the time. You know where it came from, so you know it’s the best of the best.”
“Thank you,” Kimmy said, grinning at Jack. “Finally. Someone who understands me.”
“Yeah, Mom,” Emerson said. “Come on. Do something fun for once in your life.”
“Shock us, Mom,” Sloane said.
I couldn’t help but share a quick glance with Jack. No doubt about it, I could shock those girls if I wanted to.
