“I called you.”
“Right.”
“Don’t worry. I can lift a kettlebell just fine while we talk. Any word from Flowers United?” That wasn’t why I was calling, but Grace did better when there was a purpose to our conversations. I asked about her business a lot. It started most of our conversations. Always had. She probably thought it was all I cared about.Me, business guy.You, business owner. I wasn’t sure why I was a caveman in this scenario, but thought bunnies were strange things.
“Yeah, they called me right before close and told me they were working on an offer. Isaac didn’t say anything to you? He said he would.”
“Isaac’s pretty much dead to me the second he’s off work these days.”
“It’s newlywed brain.”
She wasn’t wrong there. Carmen and Isaac were the newly-est newlyweds ever.
In the background, I heard Piper’s little voice. “Mom, is that Dean? I want to talk to him.”
I grinned. Grace sighed and promised she’d put me on speaker. I could hear scratching like a squirrel had gotten aholdof the phone before Piper’s little voice asked, “Will he be able to hear me good? Dean? Can you hear me?”
“Yep. Hi, pumpkin. I can hear you. What are you doing right now?”
“We’re making dinner. What are you eating?”
“A protein shake.”
“Ooh, what’s that?”
Grace answered for me. “It’s a disgusting meal replacement. Like a chocolate shake, but filled with sadness.”
“Yeah, right, Mom.” Piper was used to Grace’s dry sense of humor and didn’t believe a word she said. “Is it good, Dean?”
“It’s goodforme. But your mom’s right; it’s not dinner.”
“Then come eat dinner with us. We’re having mac and cheese. There’s no sadness in it.”
It was a great sales pitch, but unless Grace was the one asking, it unfortunately didn’t mean a whole lot. I quickly changed the subject, asking her about school.
Piper filled me in on more than I ever wanted to know about the first grade, having pink eye, who got it after she did, and how their class pet went missing for six days. This morning, the janitor found Mr. Wiggles hiding behind a bucket.
“What is Mr. Wiggles?” I asked.
“A corn snake,” she told me proudly. “He’s a good hider.”
“He must be.”
“Dean,” Grace said, when there was a lull. “You’re welcome to come over. She’s got a lot more to talk about, and I’ve heard it all. I’m so glad you got to hear that she gave the whole class pink eye. I’m mom of the year over here.”
“Not the whole class,” Piper corrected her. “Just the kids I play the hand-clapping game with. The teacher says we can’t do that at recess anymore unless we use hand-appetizer.”
“Hand sanitizer?” Grace asked.
“That’s what I said.”
I was too stuck on the first thing Grace said to laugh at their back and forth. She was inviting me over? The only thingsshe ever invited me to were arguments. “I’d love to come over. I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay, good.” Grace sounded nervous. That made two of us.
As soon as they hung up, I put the kettlebell back on the rack and ran upstairs to shower. My house in the hills north of Phoenix was about a twenty-minute drive from Grace’s small, older house in the city. I’d need to hurry.
Chapter 13 – Grace
