I nodded toward the door. “Come along. We can discuss it in the car.”
“Or we could just get two different kinds of pizza,” Madison said.
Robbie wasn’t the only smart one in the family.
I thanked Gillian again and then herded the kids out to my car.
On the way into town, Madison chattered the entire drive about Grace’s haunted hallway and how everyone thought her Trevor costume was very, very funny.
“It was basically the best costume of the whole party,” Madison said.
“I disagree,” Robbie said, but he was smiling.
This was right. This was good. They needed me, and I needed them. All of which added up to one happy family.
The shoe storeon Harbor Avenue had been there for decades, run by a woman named Pat who knew every kid in town by name and shoe size. Madison went straight for the display wall, eyes enormous.
“Grady. Look at these.” She held up a pair of purple sneakers with silver stars. “Can I try them on?”
“Absolutely. But what about your pink, sparkly shoes?” I asked.
Her face fell. “Yeah. I forgot about them for a second.” She was immediately distracted by a pair of rain boots with dogs on them. “Look at these, Grady. Aren’t they funny?”
“They’re hilarious,” I said.
“But I know I can only get one pair,” Madison said. “And I don’t really need the rain boots. I just think they’re cool.”
I crouched down to her level. “Today, you get to pick boots and some fancy sparkly shoes and even those purple sneakers.”
“But won’t that cost too much money?” Madison asked, eyes wide.
“Things are a little different now,” I said slowly. “There’s a little more room in the budget.”
She stared at me for a long moment. Then she glanced over at Pat, who had made herself busy by putting discarded shoes back onto the shelves, before whispering, “Can I really get three?”
I’d buy you the store if I thought your mother wouldn’t wring my neck.Out loud I said, “I think just this once.”
She threw her arms around my neck so hard she almost knocked me over. Then she released me and took off toward Pat with the intensity of a woman on a mission. Shoes seemed to do that to a girl.
I stood up and found Robbie beside me, watching his sister with an expression that made my chest ache.
“You just made her really happy,” Robbie said, his voice catching in a very non Robbie way. “But you have to guard your fortune carefully. Spending sprees are not wise.”
I guided him over to the boys section. “
“Okay, listen, kiddo. From now on, I worry about money. Not you.”
“But if we take too much of yours, you might not like us anymore.”
“Nothing could ever make that happen,” I said. “And as much as I appreciate you always looking after your mom, you’re a kid. Let me worry about her and take care of her, okay? That way you can be your genius self, solving the world’s problems through science.”
“I do really want that,” Robbie said. “I accept. Since you brought it up, thereisa pair of loafers I’ve had my eye on since last time we were here.”
Loafers? I almost choked from trying not to laugh. “Show me the way.”
“They’re not Italian leather, but that’s to be expected.” He led me over to a section displaying men’s dress shoes and pointedto a pair of fine looking black loafers. The kind a thirty year old man would wear to his office job, paired with an expensive suit. I used to own quite a few of them myself. But not typical for a fourteen-year-old boy. Then again, this was Robbie.
“Okay, if those are the ones you want, I’ll get them for you.” I placed my fingers on his shoulder for a split second. “But are you sure they won’t encourage those bullies Tyler protects you from?”
