Noah had finished with rehearsals early one afternoon and called me up to join him for a late lunch. Like most days, my schedule was very open, and I said yes. He decided he was in the mood for some steak, and Magnus was by his feet in the kitchen, desperate for any scraps that might “accidentally” fall his way. I was cutting up some lettuce for a salad that I hoped Noah enjoyed. By himself. This was going to be our last home-cooked meal for a while, because Shelby’s crew was going to demolish the kitchen tomorrow.

“But where will your cereal live?” I asked.

“In my bedroom until I have cabinets again.”

Then I noticed one of those DNA testing kits on his counter.

“Are you testing out your genes? I told you already, they’re good.”

He smiled over his shoulder at me and then put the steaks into the oven. “My publicist sent it over. The company wanted to hire me to be their spokesperson. I said no. I’m not interested in doing genetic testing. I don’t like the relatives I have now. Why would I go looking for more?”

“You mean your parents?”

He grabbed some baby spinach from the fridge and came over to the counter to join me. “No. My grandmother is the actual worst. She’s racist and anti-Semitic and a host of other fun -ist and anti- things that are awful. She likes to spend holidays insulting everyone and telling us how much she hates everybody and how we’ve all fallen short of her extremely high expectations.”

I knew it was no excuse, but maybe she’d been a product of her times. “How old is she?”

“Ninety-one.”

“Wow. That’s pretty old.”

“Yeah, well, she’s in fantastic shape and sharp as a tack. I figured she made a deal with the devil at some point and he’s in no hurry to have to live with her. And technically she’s only twelve in evil hag years, so . . .” He finished adding the spinach and threw in some cheese. “She was a stage mother who forced my mom into the business.”

“Maybe that could help you understand your own mother a little better.” It made me sad that Noah didn’t talk to his parents. He was such an amazing man that they were the ones who were definitely missing out. And I heard the note of loss in his voice when he talked about them. The one he tried to hide.

I told myself to stay quiet, but I did not like things that hurt him, and this did. “I know it’s none of my business, but I think you should consider calling your parents. I think it would be good for you and that some part of you does miss them and does want things to be better between you. People deserve a second chance.”