Page 53 of Broken Grump

“Well? What do you say? Are you free Saturday?”

Before she answers, she uses the slim pieces of paper like a fan.

“Come on, Addie. It’ll just be some simple fun. Luna can see the penguins.” I would’ve just gotten tickets for the Los Angeles Zoo, but they don’t have her favorite animal.

“How did you know those are her favorite?”

Honestly, it was a happy accident. After mentioning how much she loved the zoo when her mom apparently wasn’t listening, I took a stab in the dark after she looked scared around all the strangers at the barbecue.

I bend down and whisper, “Hey, Luna. Do you know how a penguin builds its house?”

She takes a minute to think but ended up nodding.

“Igloos it together!”

Her palms raise to her mouth, and she laughs into them. “That’s really funny. Can I steal that? I want to tell my friends.”

“It’s all yours.”

When I tell the same joke to her adult mom, her reaction is milder, but she still grins at the punchline.

“Anyway,” I eventually say, standing up and buttoning my jacket again. “I’ll be waiting by the front gate around ten, I hope to see both of you there.”

Chapter sixteen

Addie

I went back andforth on whether or not we were going to show up today.

But here we are, after a two-hour drive. Thankfully, Luna slept most of the way, and I was able to listen to my favorite motivational speaker’s podcast.

“Come here, baby,” I insist after putting on her pink bucket hat. “Close your eyes.” I spray her with sunscreen from head to toe.

“What about you, Mom?”

I’m still crouched down by her, and Iboopher little button nose. “Don’t worry about me. I put my sunscreen on before my makeup.” And I’m not lying.

“Okay, good.”

From there, I make sure I have everything—snacks, band-aids, tissues, wet wipes, you name it—in my tote bag, and then we head inside.

Just in case Hayden decided not to show up, I didn’t tell her he was going to be here. But as soon as we round the corner, I see him, in a hoodie and basketball shorts.

Luna gasps and looks at me in excitement. “Mom! Is that who I think it is?”

Despite the fact that he hardly looks like his stuffy self, there’s still no denying that it’s him.

I sigh to myself and wave. “Hello, Hayden.”

He was leaning against a fence at first, but he steps away from it and says, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite Flores girls!”

“Mom?” Like the good kid she is, she seems to ask my permission before she takes off towards him.

“Go ahead.”

“Yay!”

She sprints off, and he catches her in his arms and then lightly tickles at her sides.

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