Page 35 of A Very Miller-Cooper Life

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” I asked as I pulled her into my arms, breathing in her familiar scent that I had missed so much over the past week.How was there ever a time I lived without this woman? Was I really even alive before I met her?

“I missed you,” Charlie whispered, echoing my thoughts. She held me tightly for a moment before pulling away. Even when she was no longer holding me, she still kept a tight grip on my arms as if she thought I might drift away if she let go. “How did it go this week? How were the kids? Did they behave?”

“It depends who we’re talking about.”

“Well, since I have no doubt that our little angel behaved, I obviously mean the other two.”

“In that case, no,butthey at least weren’t any worse than usual.”

“Speaking of which, where are they? I expected them to run to the door to greet me.”

“They are down in the basement. Finn is showing them how to play his video games, so it’s very serious business.”

“And where are Jamie and Ethan?”

“They are at the cafe. I told them I’d stay with the kids so Jamie could help him with a few things there.”

Charlie moved her hands onto my hips. “That was nice of you.”

I closed my eyes and basked in the feelings of her hands on me.God, I missed this. It was less than a week apart and I could hardly stand it.“It’s no big deal. After dealing withourchildren, adding Finn to the mix is nothing.”

“Is this your way of telling me you decided that you want a fourth?” Charlie joked.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

Charlie threw her head back in laughter, and it was one of the most beautiful sights in the whole world. My heart tugged to remind me how much I loved this woman (not that I needed a reminder).

Once she stopped laughing, Charlie pointed down the hallway. “Can we go see them? I’ve missed those little assholes so much.”

“Of course.” I opened my arms to direct her to go in front of me since I knew she was itching to get to them.

“Where are my babies?” she shouted as she walked down the basement stairs.

Almost immediately, all three kids were at the bottom of the stairs, bouncing up and down and holding their arms out for hugs. Charlie greeted each of them with hugs and kisses before crossing the room to squeeze Finn’s arm and tell him that she had missed him, too.

“Mommy, guess what?” Olivia said as she sprinted back across the room to where Charlie was now standing. “Me, Ronan, and Carter get to help with Nana’s surprise.”

When Charlie looked up at me with questioning eyes, I nodded. “We told Nana that we are coming to visit for the weekend and want to take her out to lunch. You four can go pick her up, then make up some excuse about why you need to go to the rec hall to pick me up. I was thinking we could tell her Ethan is hosting an event there. Once you get there, you can tell her he really wants to see her, or something like that.”

Charlie poked herself in the chest with her pointer finger. “Me? I thought you would want to be the one to get her over there.”

The truth was, I really did, but since she was Charlie’s blood relative, I figured I should let her do it. “Nah. You should. She’s your nana. Plus, I’ll have to make sure all the last minute details come together.”

Charlie shook her head. “I can tell by the sound of your voice that you want to do that part. You’ve worked so hard. You deserve to be the one standing beside her when we all shoutsurprise.Seriously. I can take care of the last minute details. Don’t worry about that. I got this.”

I had no question that she did, so I readily agreed. By eleven a.m. the next day, Nana had already called three times to ask why we hadn’t picked her up yet, even though I told her multiple times that we weren’t coming until 11:30. When we arrived at the Millers’ house a little bitafterthat time, she was already waiting on the front porch.

“It’s about time,” she grumbled as I got out of the car and took her by the arm to help her walk.

She was moving even slower this time than the last time I had seen her, which made my heart hurt since it reminded me of just how old she was now. She had the mind of a twenty-year-old, but her body was definitely starting to shut down.

I quickly shook these thoughts from my head. Today wasn’t about what was to come. It was to celebrate all of the amazing years she had lived so far. “Sorry, Nana. I was struggling to get three kids into the car by myself. Charlie, Jamie, and Finn are all at the rec hall in town with Ethan, helping him prepare for an event he’s doing today. Speaking of which, we need to stop by there and grab Charlie so she can come to lunch with us. I was worried if I picked her up first and got here even later that you might murder me.”

Nana laughed and patted my hand. “You know me so well. The thought definitely crossed my mind.” Nana opened her door and struggled to step into the car, but when I tried to help,she pushed me away. “I’m not dead yet. I’m still ninety-nine. Maybe tomorrow once I’m one hundred I’ll let you help me, but probably not, so don’t get any ideas.”

I got in the car and started to drive while the kids all talked over each other at Nana. Instead of responding, Nana shut her eyes and let them continue to shout with no response. After a few migraine-inducing minutes, we arrived at the rec hall. I got out my phone and texted Charlie that we had arrived while I prepared myself for the fight I was inevitably going to have with Nana when I tried to get her to go inside.

“Charlie just texted and told me that Ethan really wants to see you. Do you mind going inside really fast?”

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