“Requests?” He points around the table.

“Turkey burger,” Sarah pipes up.

“What time is this game?” Paula asks.

“Noon,” I reply.

“One o’clock here—you’re on East Coast time now,” Craig reminds me.

“So we’ll eat before the game. Twelve thirty,” Paula states.

“Oh, um.” I close my mouth. The Packers aren’t going to lose because I eat a burger before kickoff. Although it’s the Bears, and do I really want to risk it? Thank Lombardi I brought my Donald Driver jersey with me.

“Wait a second, don’t you usually do it at halftime?” Craig pipes in.

“Yes, it’s tradition.”

“When is halftime?” Paula asks.

“Probably around two thirty or three.”

“No, that’s far too late to eat lunch.”

“Dinner isn’t until seven, and we’ll have a late breakfast,” Craig argues. “Can’t mess with very important and time-honored football traditions.”

See, Craig totally gets it.

“What do you want me to grill up for tomorrow, Ally? Burger? Cheeseburger? Brat? I can go to Whole Foods and get some of those fancy salmon burgers or veggie burgers.”

“Just a cheeseburger would be nice, thanks,” I reply. I don’t want him to make a fuss, but it does warm my heart that he’s going through all this effort to give me a small sense of my life before.

“Come on! This is a big game. You got to keep up your strength! You know, I think you should come with me to the grocery store to make sure I don’t get something offensive, like Vermont cheddar.”

I laugh. It echoes loudly in the dining room. Sarah giggles along, and Craig is pretty pleased with himself.

“Okay, then, we’ll head over to Whole Foods later. We’ll get some meat and cheese. Maybe some dips. Oh, and I can grab some sushi for dinner later.”

I wrinkle my nose at the mention of sushi.

“Have you never had sushi?” Craig asks.

I shake my head. I’ve seen it on TV, but could never imagine eating raw fish. I’ve watched Dad cut open fish all the time, and it’s hard enough to eat that stuff after it’s been cooked.

“It’s delicious,” Sarah replies. “Shrimp tempura roll for me.”

“Got it! It’s in the vault.” Craig taps his head. “We’ll start you off with something easy, Ally. Like a California roll and work our way up to sashimi.”

“Okay.”

Paula clears her throat loudly. Her face is sad. “You used to eat only grilled cheese.”

“What’s that, sweetie?” Craig asks.

“Mandy would eat only grilled cheese sandwiches when she was little. For dinner. For lunch. Once I had to make her one for breakfast. I couldn’t look at a grilled cheese for years.”

Way to bring down the room, Paula.

Besides, wasn’t she the one who said we had to stop thinking about the past?