“We can wash them up before you leave. And Macaroni does just fine in the back,” he tells me, somehow reading my mind.
“Nugget, huh?” I ask, pointing to Richard’s dog.
He shrugs. “Take a guess who named him.”
Why am I not surprised? Zoey obviously has Richard wrapped around her little finger.
“Back to why you called me about the house.”
“Told you Suzie was like a daughter to me.”
“So why not…”
“Why not, what? You think I’m crazy, I can see it, but Addy’s my family in every sense of the word. For fifteen years, she’s given me a reason to not be so lonely. When this one came into the mix,” he says, nodding at Zoey, “and Addy asked if I’d be Zoey’s Pop, I felt like I’d been given a second family. Nothing in this life matters more than that, Beau. Nothing.”
I sit quietly, still not understanding but not knowing exactly how to ask again without looking like an idiot.
“C’mere, Zoey. Come sit on Pop’s lap.”
She stands from her place on the ground and climbs up onto his lap, still holding the kitten.
“What is it that I asked of you when you first agreed to buy this house?”
“To keep it a home.”
“And what did I say would make it a home?”
“Bring her here. That’s all you said.”
He notices the second the lightbulb finally goes off in my big dumb brain.
“Bring her here. That’s how you’ll make it a home.”
I stand up quickly and begin pacing the deck.
When I look at Richard and Zoey, they’re not paying me any attention. They’re invested in each other. Laughing and smiling. He’s her Pop.
Bring her here.
Make it a home.
“You knew about me,” I say quietly, leaning over the porch railing and looking out.
“I did.”
“And you want the house to stay in the family.”
“I do. Addy and I are close. We share things. Important things.”
“And that means you think I’m going to bring your family here to live.”
“I don’t think that. I know that.”
I turn around and face him. He doesn’t look smug or proud. He also doesn’t look nervous. The expression on his face could only come from a deep contentment and happiness.
“You know that I’m going to bring Addy and Zoey here to live with me and we’ll keep this house in your family because you think of Addy as your granddaughter and Zoey, too.”
“By George I think he’s got it, Zoey!” he cheers, making her giggle.
“You’re silly, Pop.”
“I am. But I’m also right. And your uncle Beau here is just learning that about me.”
“You gonna make this house a happy home, Beau? For our girls?”
Without hesitation, I promise him, “Yes. I am.”
“Good. That brings me peace.”
“I’m a little blown away right now.”
“Figured you would be. Knew Addy didn’t tell you anything about me or the house. She called me the other day, yelled at me for not telling her I was selling the house and I told her she needed to trust me that I knew what I was doing. Made her promise not to say anything to you because I needed to explain my reasoning to you.”
“Reasoning?”
“Why I called you and asked if you wanted to come look at the house.”
He sets Zoey down. “Hey, Zoey. Why don’t you go see the rest of the kittens? They’re in a box right inside the barn door.”
I start to protest and he holds up a hand. “We’ll be able to see her from here. She knows the place like it’s her own. I wouldn’t do anything to put her in danger.”
I relax and sit back down.
“Okay, Pop!” She takes off running toward the barn and Richard and I watch her the entire way.
“For years Addy’s spoken of you. When she got pregnant, she was devastated. She thought for sure she’d lost you forever. I knew, though. The way she talked of you and how you were to her, that wouldn’t be the case.”
Shame fills me when I recall how I treated her and Chris after Zoey was born.
He shakes his head. “Don’t you think about that. Suzie and me, we knew. The reason you went distant wasn’t because of Addy, it was because you were heartbroken.”
I nod. There’s no use denying it.
“We didn’t tell Addy that. Figured you would need to be the one to explain that to her eventually. Just like I’ll let her be the one who explains her feelings for you when she’s ready.