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“Don’t tell me you’re texting her to ask,” Mrs. Ferguson groans.

“No, I’m texting her grandfather,” I mumble.

“Using your resources. Good, good. Walk with me,” she insists. I offer her my arm, knowing I won’t be able to get out of this, and glance at the patio where I saw those men earlier.

They’re no longer there and I shake my head slightly. I don’t know why, but something doesn’t feel right about them.

“I can admit when I don’t know something,” I tell Mrs. Ferguson instead.

“Are you treating her well? I certainly hope so. You worked on her birthday, Arran.”

“Her son had plans with her.” Granted, I didn’t know that initially, but I knew I was going to join Isla after work. “It’s rude to interject yourself, Mrs. Ferguson.”

“I’m too old to bother with niceties like those,” she says, shrugging. “I suppose you still need to though. What else do you have other than flowers?”

“What do you get a woman who can clearly afford whatever she wants?” I ask instead, sighing. “She wears a necklace every day that her son bought her, and she prioritizes acts of service over things. I was going to steal her away tonight for a bike ride for a little quiet time after a busy day. Hopefully her family will sweep her son up for a sleepover. If not, I’ll figure something else out.”

“Ugh. You’re a disgustingly sweet man and yet still so clueless,” she murmurs, ignoring the way I scowl at her. I don’t mean it, and this is how we interact after all of this time. She pretends that she dislikes me, and I kowtow to the woman.

I check my phone as it vibrates and I sigh as the answer I’m waiting for pops up on the screen.

Emil

My granddaughter will want something that will live longer than a few days. Plant her a bush, skip the flowers.

“See?” I ask, showing Mrs. Ferguson the phone.

“Plant her something that’ll bloom regularly so that you can bring flowers into the house,” she says. “I can see what you mean. I suppose you’d better get moving then.”

“Bye, Mrs. Ferguson,” I say, grinning as I slip away.

I’m already trying to envision her backyard and where I’ll plant flowers. It’s set up to be low effort for her. The plant will need to be in a planter, and it’ll give me an excuse to come by to water them. My smile is wide as I decide to go by the plant nursery to find bright flowers for her backyard. I never need an excuse to see Isla, but I’ll gladly take one.

NOOR

I’m having the best day. Everyone came down for the next couple of days, and I’m talking to my sisters as they tell me all about school. Ari is in elementary school music classes, while Adelina likes art. They easily include Zayn as we wait to be seated and I begin to sway slightly. Since we’re a big party, the wait is a little longer.

“Do you have your seat?” Jared asks quietly beside me.

I nod, lifting my feet up one by one to increase circulation as I glance at him.

“That’s what I want to know too,” Theo says, crossing his arms beside him. “They said it’ll be another fifteen minutes, despite having called ahead. Please, sit.”

Why is it so easy for me to whip my tiny chair out at other places, but I’m embarrassed here? Also, why aren’t there any chairs for people to sit while they wait?

“Hey, beautiful,” Arran says, wrapping his arms around me. “I see you’re dancing, huh?”

“Ugh, yes.” The clutch I carry in my bag everywhere is easy to find, and I unzip it. Arran sets the legs on the floor, pushing down a little to make sure it’ll bear my weight. He doesn’t trust that something so small can actually be functional.

I sit down gingerly, breathing deeply as my body settles. I don’t know why I feel the need to fight with myself like this. Arran presses a kiss to my temple before saying hello to everyone and Zayn grins up at him.

“It looks like you had fun today,” Arran says. “Your mom’s been sending me pictures.”

“She drew the ocean,” Zayn sighs, his eyes soft as if thinking about it. I almost finished while we were there and I plan to complete it at home. The cliffs should scare me after what I’ve been through, but I was completely safe. I’ve done a lot of work at therapy to be able to enjoy life. None of it has been easy, but sitting next to my son as the wind pulled my hair from my braid, and the charcoal slid along the canvas as the salt from the ocean stung my nose, I have to admit it's completely worth it. The cliffs drop down to a cave, with some sand on the other side to call it a beach.

The Sunset Cliffs beach is so different from the woods where I ran away from the Devils in high school, I can’t equate the experiences as being alike in any way. I think I was simply able to enjoy the moment because of this.

Today is one of the best days I’ve had in San Diego, and there’s not a hint of a migraine in sight. My mind wanders as I think about how nice the drawings Zayn and I drew will look framed on my wall. I’m collecting memories, and earlier this year, I drew my sisters with my son as they watched a humpback whale breach the surface of the ocean on his birthday.