“I didn’t tell her I was stopping in. I just wanted to see you. Jenna is picking her up from school and probably feeding her way too much sugar.”
That makes Mable laugh.
Glenda brushes my arm and looks between Mable and me. “I’ll be out in the common room if you need anything.”
We both nod, Mable gesturing for me to sit at the small table housed by the large window that bathes the room is warm sunlight. As soon as my butt hits the red cushion, I sigh and stare at the people walking the gardens. They’re beautiful in the springtime when the flowers bloom, and even prettier when some of the residents—like Mable—go out and plant more in the summer.
“What’s wrong, dear?”
Sweet, sweet Mable. I love her like she’s my own grandma. And, in a way, she is. My grandparents passed away long before I was born, and I never got to know what it was like to be spoiled by them. Mable filled that hole, even being my temporary grandparent during the allotted days in elementary school when I had nobody who came to eat lunch with me like the other kids whose grandpas and grandmas sat with them.
Swiping the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip, I turn my eyes on her. “Carter Ford is one of my professors this semester at Linwood University. You remember him, right?”
She doesn’t take pause as she reaches for her teacup and brings it to her mouth. After a short sip, she nods. “Of course. Fine young man, that one. Danny was very fond of him and your brother.”
Right. Which leads to my next question, one I probably shouldn’t ask. But Mable has never shied away from talking about Danny like it hurts her. So, I go for it. “Did you ever hear from him after…?” I wave my hand in the air. “I was just wondering. I didn’t see him that day and wondered if maybe he and Danny had stopped talking altogether.”
Mable sets her cup down and rests her hands on the table. “Those boys had their own lives. I didn’t take offense to them not checking in on a little old lady they had no obligation to.”
“But…” Maybe Easton is right to tell me to let it go. Mable doesn’t seem bothered by the situation, so why should I be? “Yeah, I guess so.”
“He’s doing well them?”
I smile. “He seems to be.” Truthfully, I have no clue. It isn’t like he and I have a lot of time to catch up, and I doubt he’d want to. “I think he’s doing what he loves. You should see him teach, Mable. He’s good.”
Her smile is light on her face as she reaches out and pats my hand. “You always had the cutest crush on him. To be honest, I would have thought you’d end up with one of those two. Jesse probably would have had a fit, but the idea of you and Danny always made me happy.”
My cheeks burn over this unexpected turn of events. Not wanting to dive into old feelings, some not so old, I change the topic. “Ainsley’s birthday is in a couple weeks. I was thinking of asking Glenda or one of the other nurses if it’d be okay if I could sign you out for the day to come to our house. I’m doing a small theme party. Cake, presents, the works.”
“I’d love that, Piper.”
I sink into my seat. “Mable?”
“Hmm.”
I pause, looking out the window again and staring at the elderly couple walking hand-in-hand. I smile absently at them as they laugh at something the other says. “Do you think about Danny a lot? Get angry over what happened?”
“I think about him all the time,” she admits, moving her cup out of the way. The sound of glass against wood causes me to focus back on her. “But I’ve learned a long time ago that anger gets us nowhere in life.”
I let that soak in. She’s always handled loss so well. Sometimes I envied her. Then I realized how sad that is, to envy someone who’s lost so much—her husband, her daughter, her grandson. It makes me sick to my stomach that something so horrible can happen to people like her. People undeserving of tragedy.
Her hands shake slightly as she lifts her cup and examines the contents. “Oh, my. When did I finish that?”
My brows pinch slightly. “Want me to get you more?” I know how much she loves her green tea in