Emma held out her arms to bring her daughter onto her lap, even though she was getting too big for Emma’s lap. “What would you think about possibly moving to Vermont?” While she waited for Simone to reply, Emma held her breath.

“Like forever?”

“Pretty much.”

Simone thought about that for a minute. “Would we live with Grayson?”

“Umm…”

Ray smirked at Emma. “Yes, Emma, I’d like to know that, too.”

“Probably?” Emma’s voice was a high squeak that made her dad laugh.

“That’d be okay,” Simone said.

“You’d have to change schools and leave your friends.” Emma wanted there to be no ambiguity about what Simone would be agreeing to.

“Could we come back and visit sometime?”

“Of course.”

“And could I text them and FaceTime?”

“Absolutely.”

“What about Pop? We can’t leave him here by himself.”

“I’d go with you,” Ray said.

Simone’s eyes got very big. “You would move to Vermont, too?”

“That’s right. I want to be wherever you, your mommy and Auntie Lu are.”

“Then I guess it would be okay. I like it there. It’s fun. There’s always stuff to do, and Auntie Lu is there, and I want to ski some more. When would we go?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to figure that out, but it’d probably be soon.”

“Can I bring all my toys?”

“Only the ones you still play with. The rest we could donate to kids who aren’t as lucky as you are.”

“Okay.”

“Okay what?” Emma asked.

“We can move.”

“Are you sure? Our whole lives would change, and you need to be all right with that.”

“Would Grayson be my dad when we move?”

Emma glanced at Ray, who looked away when his eyes filled. “I’m sure he’d love that. He already adores you.”

“I like him, too, and he makes you smile a lot.”

“Yes, he does.” Emma hugged her daughter as tightly as she had in years. “Love you, Pooh.”

“Love you, too.”

“Give your Pop a kiss and get in bed.”

Simone hugged and kissed Ray. “Thanks for a fun time this weekend.”

“I had a blast, sweetheart. Thank you.”

Simone scampered off to her room.

Emma looked at her dad. “So…”

“So… What d’you say we move to Vermont?”

Emma felt like she was on the precipice of jumping off the high dive for the first time in her life. “I say let’s do it.”

By the time Grayson called at nine, Emma was about to spontaneously combust from excitement. Before he could even say hello, she said, “You aren’t going to believe it! Your uncle offered my dad a job helping to build the warehouse, and he’s actually interested. We talked to Simone, and she’s all for it, and… I think we’re going to do it.”

“Are you saying what I think you are?”