Page 94 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

A figure standing by the elevators catches my attention. I stop, forgetting all about the heavy weight of the bags in my hands.

“Gram?”

She jumps, the shocked tone of my voice taking her by surprise as she turns to face me. It’s definitely Gram, Preston and Peyton’s grandmother, although I have no idea why she’s here.

“Good lord, dear, how long were you going to make an old lady wait in the cold for you?”

My mouth hangs open as I take her in. She wears a massive parka in a dark shade of brown with a faux fur hat pulled over her gray hair. I let out a little sigh, just now realizing how much I missed the woman standing in front of me.

“Are you frozen? Take me up to your apartment so we can warm up.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask. I want to give her a hug, but my hands are too full to do anything. I shuffle my feet awkwardly to the elevator, pressing the button with my elbow as I keep looking over at Gram to see if she’s real or not.

Maybe I’m hallucinating. Can you do that when you’re too cold? Am I hypothermic?

The elevator bell rings, but I’m too busy opening and shutting my eyes to check if I’m seeing things to get in.

Gram’s eyebrows rise to her gray hairline. She waves her hands in the air. “Are you going to get in or just gawk at me?”

I jump, turning around and scurrying into the elevator before she can give me a lecture. The doors close. “Can you press floor sixteen?” I ask, my hands full and the button too low for me to get with my elbow.

Gram listens before crossing her arms over her chest. The elevator rises, and it’s quiet for a moment as we wait for it to reach my floor. I stare at Gram, a little dumbfounded, wondering why she’s here.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, my mind racing with the worst possibilities of why she’d come to visit me. I doubt this part of Manhattan is somewhere Gram visits frequently enough for her to just pop by. Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know how she found out where I live to begin with. I just took over the lease a month ago, and I’ve agreed to only pay monthly as I figure out what I want to do next.

“We’ll talk more when we get inside. I can barely see you over the bags of food. Are you feeding an army tonight?”

I laugh, looking down at the bags. I’d gone a little overboard with buying food, but it was one of those store visits when nothing sounded good, so actually, everything sounded like a good idea to put in the basket just in case. “No. No army tonight. Just me.” And I guess maybe Gram, depending on the reason for her surprise visit.

Before I can ask any more questions, we’re on my floor, and the elevator doors are opening.

“This way,” I tell Gram, stepping out and walking down the hallway to my studio apartment at the very end. It’s not the most luxurious space, but it’s mine, and I’m proud of it. Aunt V and I spent a weekend together touring apartments a few weeks ago.

I was sad to come back to New York and leave her, but it was time.

As I stop in front of the door, trying to line up my pocket with the card reader on the door so it’ll unlock, I can’t help but hope Gram sees the potential for the space the same way I did. I want her to like it, even though I know I’m sure she’s used to far nicer places here in the city.

I manage to get the door unlocked and open. Gram follows me into the space as I place both bags of food on the small island.

“Are you hungry at all?” I ask her, the both of us working on removing our coats.

She shakes her head, pulling her hat off and running her fingers through her short, gray hair. “No, dear. I would love to sit down and talk with you, though. You can put the groceries away first. I’ll take a look around.”

I smile, my eyes traveling over the space. There isn’t a ton of room to look around since it’s a studio apartment, but I don’t mention anything about that. I rush to get the groceries sorted, my stomach in knots from whatever Gram wants to discuss. Once all the food is put away, I basically leap toward the small leather chair opposite hers in my tiny living space, ready to hear whatever she has to say.

“Is everything okay?” I ask again, my heart racing. What if something happened to Preston or Peyton? I hope nothing’s wrong with the family.

Gram nods, spreading her arms wide and motioning for a hug. “Yes. I’ll explain, Emma, I promise. First, give me a hug. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you.”

I gladly lean forward and pull her small frame into my arms. She smells exactly the same as she did over the summer. I didn’t realize how much I missed it—how much I missed her.

“It’s so good to see you, dear,” Gram comments next to my ear. She pats my hair for a second before pulling away, a wide smile on her face. “It took me by surprise when Preston told the family the two of you went your separate ways. I thought I’d be seeing you at his games and over the holidays.”

I nod, feeling incredibly guilty. It’s not that I didn’t want to be at his games or even spend the holidays with his family. I know all of that would’ve been the best time, but I needed the time and space to figure myself out and complete what I set out to do when I left for the Hamptons in the first place—find and fall in love with myself.

“It’s good to see you too, Gram,” I manage to get out through a clogged throat. “I missed you terribly.”

Gram smiles before leaning back in the chair. Part of me wonders if I should’ve asked her if she wanted tea or something sophisticated. Unfortunately, my New Year’s resolution doesn’t include making my own coffee, so I have nothing besides water and energy drinks stocked in my apartment.

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