“I don’t condone fighting,” Angi said even as her mind whirled. Andrew had confessed the ugly comments the other boy made about him, but her son hadn’t mentioned other kids being involved. Was it possible she’d missed a key portion of the story?

“Oh, me neither.” Avery nodded and then shook her head as if unable to decide which side she fell on. “It shouldn’t have come to that, but Violet said Andrew did his best to first use his words to diffuse the situation. I don’t know why there are still these unwritten playground rules about not getting teachers involved. They wouldn’t stand for it, I’m sure. But that boy said awful things. Violet wouldn’t even share some of them, which makes me know they were bad. She did say that it wasn’t until Johnny pushed one of her classmates that Andrew stepped in.”

Avery wrinkled her nose. “I know fighting isn’t right, but your son defended not just himself but several kids who couldn’t stand up for themselves. I think he deserves a little hero worship at this point.” Her expression cleared as she gestured to some of the decorations. “You deserve a bit of worship, too. Not only have you been a lifesaver with Carrie out of commission, but you just about performed a miracle in this shop. Everyone is talking about it, and Iris is beyond thrilled.”

“Gabe did the bulk of the work,” Angi said immediately.

“You suck at taking compliments.” Avery was far blunter than Emma had been, but the message was the same.

“I’m coming to understand that.” Angi shrugged. “Thank you. I’ve been working my butt off this week, but it’s worth it.”

“Angela, come over here, dear.”

Angi started forward at Iris’s gentle command, and it was like the Red Sea parting as people cleared a path.

“I wanted to thank you,” the older woman said, reaching out to take Angi’s hands. “And not just for my gorgeous nails.”

Angi made a show of studying the older woman’s gnarled fingers. She’d stopped at Shady Acres earlier to give Iris a manicure that included cheery red polish and a paraffin massage from a kit she’d bought at the local drugstore.

After Gabe’s attention to her feet earlier in the week, Angi thought about Iris and how it must feel not to be touched by people other than for clinical purposes.

Not that Angi had a lot of physical attention paid to her, but even at the ripe old age of ten, Andrew would sometimes snuggle up on the couch to watch a movie and he always wanted a good-night kiss and hug from both his mom and his grandmother.

So Angi had spent an hour she didn’t really have massaging Iris’s hands and then painting both of their nails. She’d hoped it would make Iris feel special.

“Your nails are as festive as you tonight,” Angi told her. “Your grandson did an excellent job with the shop, as well.”

“With your help,” Iris said, glancing up at Gabe and then back to her. “The two of you make a wonderful team.”