A chorus of, “We know, we know,” goes around the room and it lightens the mood.
“Jeez, you don’t have to be so mean,” he says, feigning hurt.
“Sam,” I say, and the room goes quiet. “I have no doubt you were Gram’s favorite, and I want to hear your best memory of her.”
His smile is so warm and genuine that my tears fall harder.
“Kira, you were Gram’s pride and joy. She was so proud of you and talked of you often. Everyone here can attest to that.” I glance around the room, take in all the people nodding. “She was a matchmaker, though. When I took her to the city, she would check out the young guys. I always thought she was a cougar.” He grins, and everyone laughs. “Until she explained that she was looking for the right man for her granddaughter. It couldn’t just be any man, she’d tell me. Because you were so special, the man for you practically had to walk on water. That put me out of the running, obviously,” he says with a grin.
“Far out of it,” Jason yells out.
Chuckles curl around me, and from the sofa, I look at Brett, who’s sitting awfully close to Amber. We had fun that night watching the game and baking cookies afterward. Maybe, like Gram, I really am a matchmaker. That thought warms me from the inside out.
“I felt like I knew you before I met you,” Sam continues. He takes a breath and looks down for a moment, his smile dissolving. “I was with her the day she died, Kira.”
I swallow the knot in my throat as tears pour down my cheek. “Thank you for taking care of her.”
“That’s the thing; she didn’t need taking care of. She was the strongest woman I knew. She was actually trying to make it easier on me that day.”
“I wish I could have been with her. I should have come home more often.”
Home? I think of Lunenburg as home now?
“Kira, don’t beat yourself up.” He puts his hand over his heart. “You were always here with Gram. She knew that. You were busy with school and work, she completely understood, but she always knew you were here with her.”
“Thank you,” I choke out.
“She was the most unselfish woman I knew, and her last words to me were about you. She wanted me to keep checking out the guys at the supermarket. I nearly got the shit kicked out of me for it a time or two.” He grins at me. “She wanted me to find the man who would find your daydreams adorable, who would support you in your work, and love you with every fiber of his being. All she ever wanted was for you to have a great love, the kind of love she had with your grandfather.”
I want that, too. I want it with Nate.
I stand, cross the floor, and put my arms around Sam. I cry into his shoulder and soak his shirt, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “Thank you,” I say as the room grows hushed. “You’re the big brother I never had but always wanted. You guys all are.” He hugs me tight and places a kiss on my forehead. I break the hug and look around the room. “Thank you all for being here. It means the world to me.”
In that instant, the fire flares for no apparent reason, and I swear to God, I can feel Gram’s arms around me and smell her scent of warm sunshine and freshly baked bread. As my heart heals, I hug myself and take a seat, catching Nate swiping at his eyes.
“Now, I’m pretty sure Gram would want us all to eat, and I’m certain she’d want me to have the biggest piece of lasagna,” Sam says. We all laugh, and as the room lightens, everyone stands. Chatter erupts as we make our way to the kitchen and fill our plates. We eat, we talk, we laugh, and we cry some more. With everyone wanting to talk to me, I lose sight of Nate.
Soon enough, the afternoon has slipped away, and there is a new lightness in