“No trouble at all. You go to the airport. You pay money.”

She reached out to put a cool hand on my cheek. It felt familiar and so comforting. What would I do without this ornery old woman? I couldn’t help thinking. What will I do?

“They said you’re going to be fine, Alex. I suppose that’s a relative concept, though, isn’t it?”

I’d been shot before. It’s traumatic—there’s no way around that—but not irreversible, at least not so far.

“I’ll be fine,” I told Nana. “Body and soul.”

“I told the children to wait outside. I want to say something to you, and then put it behind us.”

“Uh-oh. I’m in trouble again, aren’t I? Back in the doghouse.”

She didn’t return my smile, but she did take my hand in both of hers.

“I thank God for you every single day of my life, Alex, and I thank him for letting me raise you, and see you turn into the man you did. But I want you to think about why you came to me in the first place, what was going on between your poor parents before they died. Simply put, Jannie and Damon and Ali deserve better than you had.”

Nana stopped to make room for what was coming next. “Don’t make them orphans, Alex.”

Chapter 120

Chapter 120

I STARTED TO SPEAK my piece, but Nana Mama went on, gently raising her voice. “I’m the first of us to go. Don’t you dare argue with me.”

Finally, I just shrugged, which hurt my shoulder and neck.

“What can I say?”

“Nothing. You say nothing. You just listen to my wisdom, wisdom of the ages. You listen, and maybe one day you’ll finally learn something.”

We shared a long look into each other’s eyes. A lump rose in my throat, although what I felt wasn’t sadness. It was more like gratitude, and the most incredible love for this small, amazingly powerful woman—who was, indeed, wise beyond her years, and certainly mine.

“Believe it or not, I always listen to you,” I said.

“Yes, and then you go and do whatever you were going to do in the first place.”

Sounds from the hospital corridor came into the room as the door opened halfway. I looked over to see Damon’s eager face, and my heart did a little hop.

“Look who it is!” I wiped my eyes. “The man of the house has arrived.”

“They told us Jannie can’t come in ’cause she’s under twelve,” he said.

I sat up in bed. “Where is she?”

“I’m right here.” Jannie’s indignant tone came through clearly from behind the door.

“Well, then get in here before anyone sees you. C’mon. Nobody’s gonna arrest you. Except me, if you stay outside for one minute longer.”