summer sun was still high, even though it was close to dinner, and when we made it outside, we stopped before dispersing, the Blum’s chatting as Mom turned to me.
She touched my arm and tried to smile. “I’m heading to the restaurant to check in, or Mama won’t let me into her hospital room.”
“Can she really stop you with a busted hip?”
She gave me a look. “As long as she has full use of her mouth, she can stop anyone from doing anything. She’s probably extra grumpy knowing she’s going into surgery tomorrow. If I don’t have a full report on the restaurant, I’m gonna be in big trouble.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“Maybe come by the hospital later, but I’ll text you after I see how she’s feeling.”
I nodded. “Are you gonna tell her?”
She heard the unspoken part of that question—about Priscilla. “I think we should wait until after surgery. Presley, do you think Priscilla would like to come meet her Abuelita at the hospital? I don’t want to scare her—we can wait if you think it’s best.”
Presley laughed. “Nothing can scare that child. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
“Then she’ll fit in great with Mama.”
“When do you want to meet her?” Presley asked. I wondered if anyone else would note the uncertainty in her voice or if I just knew her that well.
“As soon as y’all are ready,” Mom answered, barely concealing her joy. “We’ve prayed for this, for her. So you just say the word, Presley.”
“We don’t have anything going on, but you’ve got your hands full. So you tell me.”
“Can we text tomorrow? I have a feeling Mama’s gonna be asleep most of the day, but I won’t know until the last minute. Maybe I can sneak away for a little bit.”
“Of course.”
Mom nodded. I thought she was going to say goodbye, but instead, she launched herself at Presley to wrap her up in a hug.
“I’m just so happy. Thank you for giving us a dream we didn’t believe we’d ever see come true.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” she said softly.
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” With a final squeeze, Mom let her go. She sniffled and pressed her finger to the corner of her eye. “Okay, y’all go. I’ll text you later, Bastian. Bye, girls.” She twiddled her fingers at the Blums, who waved back.
Everybody had those schmoopy looks on their faces. I probably had one on too and didn’t know it.
Presley smiled up at me.
“Wanna get out of here?” I asked.
“I really do.”
“Is Priscilla okay with your mom? I want to take you somewhere.”
“She prefers Mom to me. Nonnies are lawless creatures with a never-ending supply of sweets. Trust me, she’s good. So where to?”
I took her hand. “Come on, and I’ll show you.”
When we started for my truck, she waved over her shoulder at her cousins. A cursory glance back revealed that their schmoopy faces had devolved into salacious ones.
“Don’t mind us,” Poppy sang. “You two have a good time now, you hear?”
“Don’t get in any trouble,” Jo warned. “Public indecency is a crime.”
“Iris Jo,” Dottie scolded. “You watch your mouth.”
“My mouth isn’t the one you should be worried about.”
“Bye,” Presley said on a laugh before falling into step beside me. “Ignore them.”
“The Blum sisters have made an Olympic sport out of heckling. I learned how to ignore them in middle school.”
I walked around to the passenger side of my truck and opened the door for her, offering a hand to help her in, enjoying the hell out of her flushed cheeks.
That was really the reason for any gentlemanly behavior. It was entirely selfish, motivated purely by the look on a woman’s face when she was treated like she should be.
Once she was inside, I strode to my side and climbed in, firing up the engine, resting my hand on the back of her seat as I looked over my shoulder to back up.
“What a weird couple of days,” she said.
“That’s putting it lightly.” I turned onto Main Street.
Presley watched out the window at the buildings we passed. “I can’t imagine what the world would be like without this town in it.”
“I don’t want to even think about it. Goddamn Mitchell. He won’t get away with it. I don’t give a shit how many of their kind have run this town. We’re stronger than he is if we stick together.”
“You think you can really stop him?”
“I know we can. I don’t know how yet, but we’ll do it. I wouldn’t be sad to