Page 30 of Beyond the Bright Lights

“Sometimes too much.”

Gram lets out a hearty laugh and releases my hand.

“You two look hungrier than a hog. Have you eaten today?”

“I’m starving,” Lana groans with excitement. “What are you cooking?”

Gram walks back to the stove with Lana following.

“We have biscuits, gravy, bacon, and sausage. But it might be a little cold. I was expecting you over an hour ago.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had to stop by and pick this one up.” She points her thumb at me over her shoulder. “He was still asleep when I arrived, so I had to wait for him to get ready.”

I’m standing in the corner of the kitchen, hands behind my back, listening as the two women talk about me as if I'm not here. Gram grabs two plates and hands one to Lana and one to me, which garners a funny look on her face when she notices me hiding.

“Oh, honey. What is the matter? Come on over here and grab you some grub. Don’t be shy. This is the South. We like to eat around here. I know calories and fatty foods are a foreign concept to you Hollywood type.”

Gram cackles at her joke and my shoulders relax. I crack a smile at the hospitality and welcoming air surrounding this woman. She also radiates that same ‘I don’t give a shit attitude’ that Lana must have adopted from her.

“I like to eat.” I take the offered plate and walk over to the counter next to the antique stove where a buffet of breakfast food is piled high on plates. I take two biscuits, top them with gravy, and complete the meal with a couple pieces of bacon and sausage.

Lana prepares her plate, then pours me coffee, remembering I like it black, and we sit at a small table against the wall, Gram in between Lana and me.

Gram rubs Lana’s arm. “How you doing, honey?”

“Stressed. Anxious. Frustrated,” she answers between bites. “I can't believe they're finally making a movie out of Rebecca's book.”

“So much good has come out of the book. It helped boost fundraising for Tyler's foundation. I bet a movie will do the same.”

“Of course, and donations have already started pouring in from the announcement of the movie. It's just, I'm being thrown into all the attention again and it’s exhausting.”

I take my time eating, too engrossed with Lana and Gram speaking—a granddaughter seeking advice and comfort from a grandparent. I never got to experience this. Once again, my heart clenches and my stomach flips, as I yearn for this type of relationship.

“It will be worth it in the end,” Gram offers.

“Yeah,” Lana says quietly. She swallows a bite of biscuit then points her chin at me. “Now this guy has me consulting him to become Tyler.

Gram pats me on the forearm.

“Ain’t that a great idea,” she says in a voice as sweet as honey, then to Lana, “you were right. He is handsome. You two would make a mighty fine couple.”

Lana freezes, and I choke on my food. You were right. He is handsome. She talked to her grandmother about me?

“He’s twenty-five.”

“And?”

“I’m forty.”

“Honey, what does that matter? Your father was older than my daughter.”

“Yeah, by like, seven years. Look, do you want your garage cleaned, or not? Because I’ll leave now if you keep on.”

A man wearing baggy tattered blue jean suspenders over a dirty white tank top enters the kitchen at that moment. He smiles at Lana, flashing a near toothless grin, stretching his leathery tanned skin.

“What are y'all carrying on about, now?” he grumbles in a rough southern accent.

Lana gets up and hugs, who I assume must be her grandfather, and kisses him on the cheek. When she moves away, his wrinkled dark brown eyes land on me.

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