Page 71 of Meet Me at the Grand

She lowered herself to the blanket and sat cross-legged. Laughed. “More like you charmed your way into a favor.”

“I knew you thought I was charming.” He sat beside her, and they both laughed. “No, I wanted to surprise you and may have asked Mia for some ideas early this morning. And help.”

“Ah.” Dani watched Liam dig in the picnic basket, withdrawing a thermos, two mugs, and a few wrapped sandwiches. “That was really sweet of her. And you.”

“You told me when we first met that the gazebo was really special to you.” He offered her one of the sandwiches. “I hope I didn’t overstep or intrude on your special spot.”

“You didn’t.” She took the sandwich, the wax paper crinkling beneath her fingertips. “I come here a lot. To think. To get away. To remember why all of this matters in the first place. What I’m fighting so hard to save.” Dani sighed, setting the sandwich on her lap. “It’s where my parents got married. Where they first met, actually. This place is literally my origin story.”

“That’s really neat, Dani.” A pause. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought all of this stuff into your sanctuary.”

She looked around at the lantern, the heater, the blanket. “You know, it’s different. But I don’t mind. In fact, it’s actually really cozy. Usually I can’t stay out here all that long in the winter because it’s too dark and cold. Even some summer nights are too cool.”

“Hmm.” Liam unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite, chewing and looking thoughtful.

“What are you thinking about over there?”

“Nothing I’m ready to talk about. Yet.” He winked.

“So mysterious.” She smiled and reached for the thermos. Unscrewing the lid, she poured cocoa into each mug. “Do you have a place like this back home? Somewhere you can retreat to?”

His silence caught her attention. Ugh. Why had she asked that? She knew he felt like he didn’t have a real home. Maybe that meant he didn’t have a sanctuary either.

She quietly slipped a mug into his hands.

His face softened. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Dani sipped on the hot cocoa, which warmed her insides.

“Sometimes I drive out to Claremont. That’s the smaller suburb where I grew up.” His words punctuated the silence. Soft. Something aching in them. “I park near our old house. I stand across the street, lean against this old gnarled tree.”

Dani set her mug down on the wooden bench above her, turned, placing her hand on Liam’s knee. Squeezed in a show of support.

He glanced down. Setting his mug beside Dani’s, he covered her hand with his own. Then, “Some of the neighbors are the same. They say hello. Ask how I’m doing. How Dad is. It’s pleasant. They’re pleasant.” He swallowed hard. “It’s like I’m drawn there because it’s where we were happy. Just like this place for you.” Liam blinked. “But I know I don’t belong there anymore. And that’s never more apparent than when I see the new family who lives there. A mom, a dad, a sister, a brother. All together. All happy. Whole. And I can’t stay. But I can’t leave either. And then, the memories come.”

“What memories, Liam?”

He shuddered, but he didn’t shut off like she expected him to. “The night my mom…” Liam pursed his lips. “I was ten. My baby sister wasn’t due for another two months. Dad was out of town on business. I was begging Mom to hurry up and get me to my baseball practice. She was racing around, trying to finish up something around the house to make it on time.”

Oh, Liam. She longed to scoot closer to him, to lean her head on his shoulder. But they were just friends, and she didn’t want to confuse the situation. So she pulled her knees into her chest and fixed her attention fully on him. The lantern light flickered for a blip of a moment. “What happened?”

“Thinking back, she’d had a headache and been acting tired, really stressed for a few days, since Dad had been out of town. But I was too distracted to realize something was actually wrong.” His voice had turned mechanical, as if it was all he could do to get through this. “Then, she tripped as she was going down the stairs, hit her head, which bled really bad. I was terrified. Managed to call 911. They came for her, and as they wheeled her out of there, she grabbed my hand and told me she loved me, that it was all going to be okay.” He looked up at Dani. “It wasn’t okay.”

“I’m so sorry.” Dani wasn’t surprised to find her own eyes had begun burning with tears. “Pre-eclampsia?” Her older cousin Evie had had a mild form of the condition with her youngest child, so Dani knew the basics.

“Yeah. I just wish I’d known what to watch for. Wish I’d paid more attention to her needs than my desire to get to that stupid practice.”

“You couldn’t have known. You were just a kid. And pre-eclampsia can sneak up on you. It’s not like even your mom would have known.”

“Maybe. But I was old enough for Mom to say one last thing to me as she left and my neighbor came over to take care of me.”

“What was that?”

“‘No matter what happens, you and Dad have to be there for each other. He needs you, sweet boy.’”

Wow. And Liam carried the weight of her words with him even to this day. “It’s like she knew what was coming.”

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