Page 31 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

She nods. “Oh, he sure did. I ripped my novel from his hands and smacked him right atop the head with it.”

“And he didn’t run?” I ask, trying to imagine a young Gram completely taking out a potential suitor with a book.

She lets out an annoyed sigh. “No. He was persistent. I’ll give him that.”

“Grandpa used to swear the moment she hit him with that book, he fell in love with her,” Preston remarks.

I turn to look at him for a moment, loving the way he speaks about his grandparents. I’ve learned more and more about him throughout the day, and I’m scared to admit that there’s nothing I’ve discovered that I don’t like.

He tips his chin up, gesturing for me to keep listening to Gram. I follow his direction, looking at her once again and waiting for her to keep telling the story.

She stays quiet for a moment, a serene smile on her face before she speaks up again. “Preston is right. He used to say that—although I don’t know how much I believed him. Either way, I hit him upside the head with that book, and it didn’t deter him for a second. He asked me to dance again, and I told him there was no music.”

“Very bold of him to ask you to dance if there wasn’t any music,” I note, taking a drink of some fruity cocktail that’s one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. I’m on my second one, and I’m trying not to drink them too quickly so I don’t end up tipsy like last night—and have to deal with a hangover tomorrow. But it’s hard to not want to drink it all at once with how great it tastes.

“If Joseph was anything, it was bold. He didn’t care that there wasn’t any music. He said we’d make our own, and then he held his hand out to me.”

I’m quiet and shift my position, eager to hear what happens next. Luckily, she doesn’t make me wait long.

“I don’t know what compelled me to take it, but I did. He pulled me up onto that pier, and we danced.”

“Without any music?” I ask, trying to imagine a young Gram being swept off her feet by a handsome stranger. It’s incredibly romantic.

“Without any music,” she responds. “And I didn’t admit it to myself for a very long time, but I fell in love with him on that pier. The way he hummed my favorite song as we danced, even though he had no way of knowing it was my favorite. The way he asked about my book, sat on the pier with me, our feet hanging over the edge, and listened for twenty minutes as I told him the entire plot of the novel. It was…” She pauses, looking up at the stars and closing her eyes for a moment. You can feel the love she had for her husband radiating off her—the love she still holds for him, even though he’s left this world.

“Romantic?” I finish for her, my voice full of awe. I’ve slowly watched my friends fall in love, and it’s something I crave—something I want to experience. Looking at Gram, I wonder what it’s like to have such fond memories of someone decades later and still hold so much love for him.

Gram opens her misty eyes and looks right at me. “Yes,” she manages to get out. She reaches over and grabs my hand. Her cold fingers wrap around mine, holding tightly as she gives them a firm squeeze. “It was romantic. He was a romantic. And it was the easiest decision I ever made to say yes to his proposal a month later.”

My eyes widen. “A month?” I look around the table to see if anyone is as shocked as me about how quick their romance was, but their faces tell me all I need to know. They’ve heard this story before and aren’t shocked at all about how quickly their love story unfolded.

Gram smiles, squeezing my hand again. “If we’re being honest, it was more like three weeks, but I always thought saying a month sounded better. When you know, you know. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all time limit for love.” She looks at Preston over my shoulder for a moment. “Right, Preston?” she prods, raising a thin eyebrow.

Preston coughs. I choke on my own spit. The two of us create a symphony of different noises at Gram’s words.

“Lord have mercy,” Gram barks, rubbing my back.

Preston and I pull it together under the scrutinizing stares of his family.

“Sorry to ruin the story,” I comment, taking a drink of my water. My throat burns from coughing, but the ice water helps to soothe it.

Gram swats at the air. “It’s fine. I’ve told it a million times.”

“Thank you for telling it to me. It’s beautiful. The two of you seemed really lucky to meet and share a life together.”

This gets Gram to smile so big her entire face lights up. “We were the luckiest. I’d give anything to dance on the pier with him again.”

No one speaks, letting her words hang in the air around us. My eyes roam the table, looking at the elegant flower arrangements expertly placed along the table. Lit candlesticks also line the table, the gold sticking out against the white tablecloth.

An idea pops into my head. In one quick motion, I’m pushing off the pillow on the ground and leaning over the table. One by one, I begin to blow out the candles.

“What are you doing?” Preston’s mom asks. All I do is briefly look up and give her an apologetic smile. I don’t care what she thinks of my idea; all I care about at the moment is Gram.

Once I’ve made my way around the table and blown out every single candle, I spin to look at Gram with a hesitant smile. We don’t have a pier, but we have a table, which will have to do. I hold my hand out, waiting for her to take it. I do a deep bow, trying to make the moment as dramatic as possible. “Dance with me?”

CHAPTER 17

PRESTON

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