Page 54 of Shortcake
“Have you ever considered that even though it was comforting for you, maybe it was painful forhimto live in the house he’d shared with his mom? Was that the same house he grew up in? That he’s lived in his whole life?”
“Not his whole life,” Harper said. “He grew up there, but I think he lived on his own for a few years before he had me. But… but that wasourhome. It wasmychildhood home, too.”
I pulled Harper in for a hug, and surprisingly, she let me and even hugged me back. “It’s got to be so hard on both of you. You, losing your grandmother. And him, losing his mother.” I released her from the hug, and she swiped her arm across her cheeks, wiping away a stray tear. “Maybe your dad needed this change of scenery to move on from his own heartache.”
She seemed to consider this for a moment, dragging her fingers across the spines of the books. Then, after a breath, she shook her head. “No. No way. HelovedNew York.”
“Sometimes we have to let go of the things we love in order to grow, though.”
She didn’t look convinced, as she asked, “What have you let go of?”
Conrad’s face popped into my mind immediately. Damn. I stepped right into that one.
I cleared my throat and answered her honestly. “Fear. For one thing.”
Her dark brow arched. “Youlovedfear?”
“Well… sort of. I loved the adrenaline rush that fear caused.”
Harper stared at me, confused.
Hm. How could I explain this?“Okay, do you like roller coasters?”
“Some are okay, I guess.”
“Well, Ilovethem. I love the thrill of a fast ride. And by that same token, I love the adrenaline rush of possibly getting caught when I’m doing something bad. Like, smoking in the bathrooms when I was your age.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “You smoked in the bathroom?”
“Yeah…” Well, crap. This lesson had maybe gone off the rails a little. I pointed at her. “Don’t be like me, though. Because my point is, I had to let go of that love of the rush in order to be a better, healthier version of myself.”
I wasn’t about to tell her I hadn’t quite let go of itentirely. I was still an adrenaline junkie, but I just channeled it differently now. I watched scary movies. I went white water rafting and skydiving. I found healthy outlets to appease that part of myself.
She bit her bottom lip, tapping the copy of The Great Gatsby in her hand against her outer thigh. “So, you’re saying that maybe even though Dad loves New York, he needed to move on from it?”
“Exactly. And in a few years after you graduate, you can always move back there. Or you may find you want to explore what else is out there.”
“Is that what you did?”
My throat tightened at the memory of my road trip with Dante. He picked me up here in Maple Grove and together, we drove all the way to Savannah, Georgia, stopping all along the way at various towns and sights. “I did,” I answered her with the shortest, but also most honest answer I had. “Sort of.”
“I could move to Europe!” she exclaimed.
“You could…”Oh no. This could backfire if she left the country for good. Conrad may never speak to me again. “But you might want to start smaller and visit for a week before a huge move like that.”
I skimmed the titles on the center island of the bookstore with the sign: Summer Reading, desperate for a change in subject. Unfortunately, I didn’t know which books Harper would need specifically. I picked up a copy ofPride and Prejudice. “I never actually read this one.”
“You didn’t?”
I shook my head. “I was supposed to when I was about your age, but I took the easy way out and watched the movie instead.”
“It was my Grandma’s favorite,” Harper said. “She kept a copy on her nightstand, and I swear that book was so worn down, it didn’t even have a back cover.”
“Have you ever read it?” I asked.
Harper shook her head as she stared wistfully at the copy in my hands. “No. I don’t know why I didn’t. I kind of wish I had. I wish I had been able to talk to Grandma about it before she passed.”
“I bet she would stilllovefor you to read it. Even if she isn’t here to discuss it with you. Do you still have her copy somewhere?”
