“Please get me out of this car.”

“Okay, okay.” Reagan squeezed Jill’s hand and got out. She opened her mom’s door and reached in to grab her hand, helping her out of the car and making sure she didn’t trip over the curb. She positioned her mom and stood to the side. “On the count of three, you can take off the blindfold. One, two, three.”

With that, her mom took it off and stared up at the big white letters against the brick building that said Conor’s. She brought her hands to her mouth and gasped. “You named it after him?”

Reagan put her arm around her mom’s shoulders. “We did. Do you like it?”

Her mom brought her in for a hug and whispered in her ear, “Thank you.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too. He’d be so proud of you.”

Reagan nodded against her mom’s shoulders, trying to hold back her tears. When her mom let go, she turned to Jill and wrapped her in a tight hug. Reagan watched as her mom whispered in Jill’s ear before pulling back with a grin.

“Kathy,” Jill exclaimed, swatting her arm before putting her hands behind her back.

Her mom walked off with a wink and went after Gwen next. “What’d she say?” Reagan asked, narrowing her eyes at the slight blush on Jill’s cheeks.

“First, she thanked me for making you so happy,” Jill replied.

“Uh-huh. What else?”

Jill pulled a hand from behind her back and dangled the blindfold in front of Reagan. “Then she handed me this and told me to make good use of it.”

“Oh my god,” Reagan groaned as she buried her face against Jill’s shoulder. “Maybe we should have taped her mouth shut too.”

Jill chuckled and held Reagan away from her, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “I heard your mom. She’s right—your dad would be so proud of you. And I am too, Reagan. I know none of this has been easy, but you never shied away from any of it. I consider myself lucky to have been by your side through it all. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Reagan replied, leaning forward for a gentle kiss.

“Now, I believe someone promised me I’d get some food today.”

“So bossy,” Reagan said as she plucked the blindfold from Jill’s hand and put it in her back pocket.

“What are you going to do with that?”

Reagan grinned and whispered in her ear, “Stick around and maybe you’ll find out tonight.”

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