“Better than okay.” I beamed at no one. “Annie has a visitor.”
The line was silent for a beat, until he asked if said visitor was the ghost of Kathy Ryan. Like me, my dad wasn’t impressed with the foot traffic of Annie’s friends.
Or lack thereof.
“Two words,” I told him. “Christian Fox.”
“Huh,” he said. “He drove all the way down here? At his age?”
I admit, he had a point. We knew plenty of octogenarians who drove…but six hours? Across multiple states?
“Dad!” I whisper-yelled. “He and Annie were onceengaged!”
My dad, again: “Huh.”
“She broke it off because the Fox elders were Knickerbocker snobs back then,” I hurried. “But her sapphire ring’s diamond? That was fromhim.”
“And our names are suspiciously similar,” he said wryly. “Did she love my father at all?”
I gasped. “Dad!”
“I’mjust kidding, Liv.” He chuckled. “Although I’ve always wondered where she got that diamond…”
“He has so many stories about Annie.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’d really like to hear them.”
There was another pause on his end, but I didn’t think he was hesitating. Just thinking. “I would too,” he said after several seconds. “If he likes chicken piccata, he’s welcome to come for dinner.”
I smiled and speed-walked back to Annie’s room once we hung up. “And I have the sweetest daughter-in-law,” I heard my grandmother saying, which made me stop short. Her voice was soft and a bit strained, but this was the chattiest and most coherent she’d been since her surgery.
And Erica? The sweetest? What happened to calling herthat woman?
“She is such a good mother to my grandchildren and tries so hard with…” She lost her train of thought. “And she’s just so wildly creative. I used to love decorating the house for the holidays with her”—her voice soured—“but my family no longer lets me leave this place. Did you know Olivia stole my car?”
The corners of my eyes prickled. I hadn’tstolenher Mercedes, but guilt still coated my skin. Because I’d lied. “Please, Annie?” I remembered asking a couple years ago, playing it so cool. “The Jeep’s going to be in the shop for a few days, and I need a car to get around…”
I’d convinced my grandmother to let me borrow her car, with no plans to return it. Annie couldn’t be trusted on the road anymore, so my dad had sold it back to the Mercedes dealership. She’d asked about the car a few times, then she stopped one day. I still didn’t know if it was because she’d forgotten about it or realized it was never coming back to Elkins’ parking lot.
“Oh, Annette…” Christian laughed as I edged toward the doorway, not sure I wanted to interrupt. “Believe me, my daughter wants to steal my car too. Especially after today’s road trip.”
“Daughter?” Annie asked.
“Yes, Elise. I have two sons too.”
“Oh, that’s nice…” She didn’t ask any follow-up questions, which meant she was no longer comprehending. My heart twisted. “You took a road trip?”
“Yes,” he said. “A road trip to visit you.”
“Why?” she asked. “We saw each other just last month.” She laughed. “You almost drove the tractor into Job’s Neck!”
Christian was quiet. “Right,” I just barely heard him say. “Right, I’m so happy to hear that you haven’t forgotten.”
“Oh, I could never,” she said as two tears slipped down my cheeks. “Never.”
* * *
Christian didn’t say anything once we’d said goodbye to Annie; instead, he wrapped me in a firm hug.I’m so sorry, it seemed to say.
“Would you like to come over for dinner?” I asked.
