Amber didn’t hesitate. “Wednesday. It would be the perfect way to break up our week. Me and Hunter are always looking for reasons to get out of the house.”

“Great.” Bea opened her closet and eyed her clothes. “I’ll let Marge know. Thanks, Amber.”

“We’re excited about it.” Her voice changed to baby talk. “Aren’t we, little mister?”

Bea smiled. “Cool. Well, I better get back to packing.”

“I’m not excited about that part,” Amber said.

“I know.” Bea looked around her little bedroom. It was familiar and comfortable, but it was time to move on. “We’ll come back to visit as often as we can.”

“It won’t be the same.”

“Hunter will be walking soon.”

“So?”

“So you’ll be way too busy to think about me.”

Amber laughed. “That’s true.”

They said good-bye, and Bea tossed her phone on the bed. How had she gotten so settled into this place in less than three months? She was going to need another bag if she was going to take her winter gear. And where had her vitamins gone? She couldn’t keep track of anything these days.

She thought again about Grandma June, and her heart twisted. What exactly had Dad told her? From the beginning, the doctor had mentioned the possibility of the disease being classified as early onset due to Grandma’s age and had warned them about the rare familial variety. But had anything ever been determined for sure? She hadn’t been to any of the appointments and had relied on Dad for the information.

He’d been more irritable than usual and unable to fix the fridge. She’d been forgetful and had lost everything from her hair dryer to her favorite pair of socks. A chill swept over her. As unlikely as it seemed, she couldn’t help but wonder. Familial Alzheimer’s? She’d tried to put it out of her mind from the beginning, not wanting to overreact. It wasn’t a serious consideration. But what if . . .

“Yoo-hoo. Anyone home?”

Bea shook the unpleasant thoughts from her mind and stuck her head out the door into the hall. “I’m up here.”

It no longer surprised, shocked, or dismayed her when Marge showed up at the house. It was still awkward, but at this point, Bea was just happy her dad had another friend. Frank was great and all, but he had seventy-some congregants constantly vying for his attention.

“Oh my.” Marge bounced up the stairs and stood in Bea’s doorway. “You’re busy.”

“Just packing.” She opened and closed the little drawer in her bedside table. Where had she put her vitamins?

“We’re going to miss you.”

Her use of the word we kind of made Bea cringe but also made her smile. “You’ll have your hands full with my grandma.”

“I suppose so. What’s the matter?”