“I’m not being forced,” he says quietly. “I’m choosing.”
Grandpa studies him a long moment. “I understand what you’re saying,” Grandpa replies. “And I don’t doubt you.”
Miles holds his gaze steady.
“But,” Grandpa continues, “I talked this over with Josie.”
Josie steps forward from the kitchen, drying her hands. “I didn’t want to say anything until we had a plan,” she says softly.
My stomach drops.
“What plan?” I whisper.
Grandpa smiles faintly. “Dean’s got the house next door,” he says. “He’s been wanting to rent it out. We’re gonna set me up there.”
I stare at him.
“What?”
“I’ll have the caregivers the insurance pays for,” he continues. “And I’ll use the money from selling this house to pay for the rest until I die.”
The words hit hard.
“Don’t say it like that,” I whisper.
“Like what?” he asks gently. “Like it’s true?”
My vision blurs.
“I don’t have much time left,” he says calmly. “You know that better than anyone.”
I do. I’ve watched his oxygen levels drop. I’ve watched his hands shake with uncontrollable tremors that advance more every day. I’ve watched the way exhaustion steals more from him every month. But hearing him say it feels like losing him all over again.
“I want to see my granddaughters having happiness before I die,” he states.
His voice breaks slightly. “Can you give me that?”
The room is silent except for my breathing, ragged and uneven. I look at Josie. She nods, tears in her eyes. “We can manage,” she tells me. “Between Dean’s place and caregivers. I’ll be there. Raff’s there. We’ll make it work. Then Miles stays with the Hellions and we get even more support too.”
I look at Miles. He doesn’t speak. He just stands there, steady and sure.
“I don’t want you in a home,” I whisper again.
“I won’t be,” Grandpa says. “Not like you’re picturing. I’ll be next door. You can visit whenever you want. Call every day if you need to. North Carolina has good weather. I can’t go fishin’ anymore. Dean’s gonna make sure I have a big window to look out. I can watch Justice and Journey growing up. And not to put any pressure on you and Miles, here, but if you give me another little blessing, I’ll be there to see that one too. With everyone so close and the caregivers, I won’t be a burden to your life anymore either.”
My chest feels like it’s splitting open. Tears stream down my face unchecked.
“You’re not a burden,” I say.
“I know you feel that way,” he replies. “But, you’re not only my nurse. You’re my granddaughter. And you are my granddaughter first and always.”
That undoes me completely.
I press my face into his hands and sob. He strokes my hair the way he did when I was five and scraped my knee. “I raised you to be strong,” he says quietly. “Not to chain yourself to me.”
Miles steps closer then. He kneels beside me, one hand settling on my back.
Grandpa states firmly, “Danae, this is us choosing forward.”
