Grace took Tyler’s face in her hands. “The man’s name is Ben, and he’s coming to visit Miriam. He’s a photographer they met in New Mexico.”

“Is he Miriam’s boyfriend?”

“Heavens, no, Tyler. He’s just a friend.”

“It’s what Amelia was so concerned about,” Hannah said. “Well, we’ll have to wait to see what he’s like and what happens.”

“What’s going to happen?” Tyler looked from one to the other.

“We don’t know, Tyler. Maybe he and Miriam will fall in love and get married, and she’ll move away, and maybe they won’t and nothing will change,” Hannah said.

“I don’t think they should get married. They might get divorced like my dad and Emily, and that would hurt Sadie. She’s like a cousin to Melissa and me. I wouldn’t want her to move away.” Tyler looked at the kitchen clock. “I gotta go. Dad’s got a business meeting tonight, and I gotta get dinner and watch Melissa this evening. Thanks a million, Hannah. Bye, Granny Grace. Dad’ll be by later to pick up the kite, okay?” And he was gone, forgetting to show the kite to Grace and leaving his bag of trash behind him.

38

Grace

Grace was exhausted. She had run errands for herself, for Bob, for the household, and at every turn, traffic had impeded her progress. At one point she smacked the steering wheel with her palm and muttered unkind words under her breath. Red lights held on for what seemed an eternity; drivers in other cars were as impatient as she was. Long lines in stores and young, seemingly indifferent clerks annoyed Grace. Had everyone hired teenagers for the summer, and not bothered to train them? Frustrated, she had tapped her foot impatiently and worried that Hannah was home alone.

What a relief, then, to see Tyler’s car in the driveway. He had just turned sixteen, and she fussed when his father bought him a used Chevy. But it checked out well and had not given Tyler any trouble. She had driven with him once and been satisfied that he understood that a car was a dangerous weapon. Of course, you never knew what teenagers would do when other teens egged them on. But Tyler’s mother had been killed by a speeding driver, so he was surely more cautious than other teens might be. She could not make herself crazy worrying about everyone.

With Tyler gone, Grace moved between the pantry to the fridge, putting away canned goods, fresh fruit, and vegetables. A can of beans slipped from her hand and rolled beneath the table. Getting down was fine; getting up, well, that was not so easy, but she managed, holding on to the edge of the table and pulling herself to her feet.