“I’m on board with that. What’s this idea of yours?”
“It’s not well thought out, but as soon as it popped into my mind I liked it. Gran talked about contacting her life insurance company and cashing in her policy. My plan is to do my best to talk her into leaving it alone for now. Here’s my reasoning. Finding a decent senior retirement home these days is impossible, but what if we find her an apartment where she can stay until she and Malcom get to know each other better and decide for sure whether they want to get married?”
Blake tapped his finger on his lips. “That’s not a bad idea. Where did she live before?”
“In an apartment. She was tired of living by herself and ready to try living in a place filled with seniors.”
“Grandpop felt the same way. She likes it there, right? She probably won’t want to go back to apartment living even for a little while. Not if she’s as stubborn as you say.”
Vi blew out a breath. “It’s a long shot, I know, but still worth a try. What’ve you come up with?”
“Nothing yet, except I keep thinking about the stubborn streak both our grandparents seem to have.”
He wrinkled his brow in thought, not unlike his grandpa, and she had to ask. “Are you as stubborn as Malcom?”
After a moment, he answered. “I’d say I’m more tenacious than stubborn. What about you? Are you like Caroline?”
“I don’t give up easily, and I have my own opinion about things. Does that qualify as stubborn, and what’s the difference between it and tenacity?”
“Finally a question I can answer. Tenacious is determination to get what you want, going after it, and making needed adjustments along the way till you get it. Like when I searched for the right location for this space. I found out about this building and contacted the builder. His terms weren’t what I wanted, and he didn’t like my offer, so we negotiated until we reached an agreement. Stubborn is refusing to change your mind, period. Sound like anyone we know?”
“Certainly does. Where did you learn the difference?”
He gave a modest shrug. “I picked it up in business school. Same one Grandpop graduated from.”
In that respect, not unlike Malcom. “Where did you go to college?”
“The University of Washington both for my undergraduate degree and MBA.”
“One of the top ten best MBA programs in the country. I’m impressed. I also graduated from the UW, but I never saw you.”
“With around fifty thousand students at the Seattle campus, that makes sense. What did you study?”
“Psychology.” She’d worked her way through college to pay her way and was proud of that.
“Tell me you’re not going to analyze me.”
His wary expression made her smile. “I wouldn’t know how.”
“That’s a relief. There’s a lot of crap in there.” He pointed at his head.
She wanted him to say more, but they were here to figure out how to slow the grandparents down. Stroking her chin like the long ago analysts in white coats she’d seen in old movies, she teased in a really bad accent of a German analyst, “You sound like a very interesting case. Tell me more.”
His laughter bubbled through the store. “We should get back to brainstorming.”
“Before I forget, my sister had to sign a prenup before she married Peter. Does Malcom expect Caroline to do the same?”
“That was one of the first questions I asked him. His lawyer is drawing it up as we speak.”
“At least he isn’t so blindsided by his so-called love to overlook that. Do you think Gran knows about it?”
“That’s a good question.” Blake squinted her way and seemed to be lost in thought. “If she doesn’t know and he springs it on her, would she be willing to sign it? If not?—”
“Maybe they’ll both take a step back. I don’t know her feelings about that, except she wasn’t happy when Rose signed hers. If she doesn’t like the idea, it’d be a good time to suggest she rent an apartment for a while.”
“We need to find out ASAP. I’ll be busy most of next week. Why not invite ourselves to dinner tonight. Unless you have plans.”
On a Sunday evening? Vi’s social calendar wasn’t exactly hopping. She’d planned to order takeout and stream a movie, but liked Blake’s idea. “Good plan. At the moment, slowing them down is at the top of my list.”
