We lapsed into a comfortable silence, and with every passing moment, Lucy relaxed farther into me.
She trailed her finger along the box in my lap. “Should we eat some cake?”
I snorted a laugh. “I’m not sure how well it survived the treacherous journey.”
“Ugly cake is still cake. And I haven’t eaten dinner, so I’m not picky.”
“You need to eat dinner.” My words came out in a stern tone Ididn’t recognize. Everyone in my life knew me as laid-back Leo, but Lucy seemed to bring out another side of me.
She gestured at the box. “Uh-huh. Dinner.”
I shook my head. This girl. “I guess I’m going to have to make sure you eat real food tomorrow.”
“Whatever you need to do,” she said primly.
Lucy pointed my phone’s flashlight at the box as I opened it, revealing a cake that looked absolutely perfect.
“And you were acting like my driving was bad.” She pulled out two plastic forks from her small purse.
“I plead the fifth.”
She elbowed me, laughing, and dug in. I followed, my eyes widening as the taste of fresh mango burst on my tongue. I immediately loaded my fork with another bite.
“Summer made this?”
“Isn’t it amazing? She’s been in recipe-testing mode as she finalizes her bakery menu, and I’ve definitely reaped the rewards. I’m organizing the grand opening. You should come.” She nudged my side in a touch that was so casual and perfect it made my heart ache.
“If her other baked goods taste like this, I’ll be there every day. By the way, was the whale movie you watchedDark Depths?”
“Yes! Have you seen it?”
I chuckled. “You could say that. I also watched it as a kid, and it kind of shaped the trajectory of my life. The first time I saw it, we were still living in Iran. My parents had just told me we were moving to the U.S. and I was furious about it, especially since Bibi couldn’t come with us.”
“She couldn’t? Why not?”
“Her husband, my grandpa, was a horrible man. He was barely home, but when he was, it was a nightmare.” My jaw clenched as old rage rushed through me. “My parents wanted to bring her with us, but she couldn’t leave the country without his permission, and he refused to give it.”
Lucy squeezed my hand. “That’s horrible.”
“My parents refused to leave her at first, but my mom is a midwife and was offered a fellowship in Maine to further her research into rural maternal health. It was an amazing opportunity for her, and they also wanted to ensure Parisa had access to whatever opportunities she wanted.” I swallowed hard. “My mom was terrified of leaving my grandma behind. I don’t know what Bibi said to convince them to move, but she’s pretty impossible to say no to.”
“How did she get over here? Did her husband change his mind?”
I shook my head. “No, we got lucky because he died like a month after we moved here. Maman was on the phone with our family in Iran the next day to arrange Bibi’s travel.”
“I’m so glad you have her.”
“Me, too. But anyway, when I found out we were moving, I was upset. I didn’t want to leave my friends or home, but Baba told me we were moving to a coastal town and promised we would go whale watching.”
“Did you?”
I grinned. “Oh yeah. I even convinced my entire family to go on an Alaskan cruise the summer after my senior year so we could see the whales. I toyed with being a marine biologist for a while, but I barely passed my science classes freshman year of college, so I went into Ocean Rescue instead. I figured it would keep me close to the sea.”
“I wanted to be a marine biologist for a while, too. Funny how things turn out.”
“Yeah, it is.” And for the first time in a long time, I thought my life had turned out okay if it brought me to this moment in time.
We were down to the last bite of cake.
