Joe must have sensed she was stuck because he went on. “So, you’re getting your business degree at Yale, even though you wish it were English?”
“That’s the plan.” She lifted her mug and swallowed a sip of bitter coffee gone cold. She really didn’t like coffee, but she didn’t want to answer his implied question either. “Assuming we find my grandmother before the semester starts. I don’t know if I could leave my mom alone to keep up the search.”
“Your mom would let you bail on college?”
“Oh, no.” Nora shook her head, the ends of her ponytail bouncing against her spine as if it wanted to add an exclamation point to her reply. “She wants me there. She’d pitch a fit if I said I was staying behind, but part of me would definitely feel guilty about leaving her to find my grandmother alone.”
“Well, good thing you’ve already found her. It’s just about catching up now.”
She nodded and took another look at the phone booth where her mom stood, a long cord stretching from her ear to the receiver’s base like an umbilical tether to the life she’d left behind in New York. Even from across the diner, Nora could see the subtle shift in her mother’s shoulders when she hung up—disappointmentagain.
“He’s not home,” Nora murmured. “He never is.”
Joe followed her gaze but didn’t say anything. She appreciated that. Most people rushed in with a silver lining or a bad joke. Joe just saw her. That alone felt special—precious.
“Sometimes I wonder… I don’t know. When I leave for college, what’s she going to have? My dad practically lives at the office. I just—”
“You’re worried about her.” Joe’s voice was gentle.
Nora shot him a look, half glare, half surrender. “You’re annoyingly good at this, you know.”
“At what?”
“Being an investigative journalist.”
He grinned. “You’re only mad because I’m right. But also, you practically said it out loud.”
“Okay, maybe. I wish I knew where to start.”
“I think you mean at being human.”
Nora didn’t know what to say to that, so she pivoted back to the search. “I shouldn’t be thinking about myself anyway. I need to think about catching up to my grandmother. I just wish I knew how.”
“I might,” Joe said. “You’re not the only one who wants to be face-to-face with the Dame of Rock and Roll.”
Nora let herself smile then, the kind that tugged at the corners slowly and settled in her cheeks.
“I’ll request an official interview with her. My last one was a quick chat as she walked offstage,” Joe said. “You come with me, and we can both talk to her.”
“You mean like a real press pitch?”
“Yeah, why not?” Joe leaned forward, that spark of excitement lighting his eyes like a backstage bulb. “What musician after a contract can resist a good spotlight? Might work better than showing up with a guilt trip and a suitcase. Plus, your grandma kinda likes me.”
Nora wasn’t surprised. It was hard not to like Joe. “You’d really let me come along?” Her fingers started to tingle at the prospect.
“Of course.” Joe shrugged. “We’re coconspirators now.”
“Journalistic partners in crime. And,” she added, “if it doesn’t work, we’re no worse off than we are now.”
He raised his mug like a toast. “To catching grandmothers…and maybe ourselves in the process.”
Nora clinked her mug against his. “And to bylines.”
“The next festival is in Atlanta. Starts in a few days.” Joe glanced at the tab he was folding in half.
“It’ll take that long just to get there.” Nora blinked. Being on this road trip felt like tripping down the highway always a day behind.
He nodded, unfazed by her dramatics. “I’m actually heading out after this. Figured I’d get a jump on the road so I can be there before it kicks off. I’ve got a hunch your grandma is doing the same. Might be able to meet up with her for the interview before the festival.”
