“Hey,” he said, “you and Grandpa could both come to our prom. We’ve got a great jazz band this year.”

Grace laughed. “That might be fun, and it’s a lot closer than going into Asheville to a hotel to dance.” She hooked her arm through his and they climbed the steps, entered the house, and walked into the kitchen.

“How come,” he asked, “you always take people straight into the kitchen, and Aunt Amelia takes them into the living room?”

Grace set her purse and a small bag, from which she removed a bottle of vitamins, on the counter. “I was just about out of my multivitamins,” she said. Then she turned and looked at him. “I don’t know, Tyler. I guess it’s a habit. I enjoy sitting at the kitchen table and having a chat over a cup of tea or milk and cookies. Amelia’s more formal than I am. She prefers to chat with her guests in the living room. It doesn’t matter, does it? Guests who come here are happy either way.” She reached for an apron and fastened it about her waist. “What would you like, cocoa, tea, juice, milk?”

As far as Tyler could recall, his own mother had never worn an apron, nor had Emily, his former stepmother. The apron suited Granny Grace in a way it would not have suited his mom or Emily. Granny Grace was a very special person, and he felt happy knowing that she loved him and was always there for him.

“Milk,” he said. “Milk will be just fine.”

“And cookies.” Grace set an old-fashioned tin box decorated with flowers on the table. “Help yourself. I bought these. Didn’t have time this week to bake.”

He pulled the box against his chest, pried the lid off, and removed several oatmeal cookies dark with raisins. No need to beat around the bush, to hem and haw, before getting to the point as he did with Dad. With Granny Grace you got right to the point.

“I got a girlfriend problem.”

“What kind of a girlfriend problem?”

When you talked to Granny Grace it was eyeball to eyeball, no studying your feet or shifting your gaze about. “Her name’s Alicia Hibbs. She lives over near where we used to live before Emily left and we moved closer to you and Grandpa.” He paused for a moment. “We’re in several classes together. In chemistry lab we work on the same assignments at the same table.”

“So what’s the problem, my boy?” She loved calling him her boy and thinking of him as her boy. She noted the flush on his cheeks. “Well, you just say whatever you want, Tyler. Get it off your chest.”