Page 36 of The Grump I Loathe
“Hi, Mom!” Grace said breathlessly, walking off. “Guess what? You know thatBubble Blastergame I told you about?”
My eyes drifted across the room and past the kitchen island to the invitation pinned on the fridge—a save-the-date for Ali and Sawyer’swedding in September. Ali was supposed to be picking Grace up this afternoon to go dress shopping in some high-end boutique. She’d missed their end-of-April phone call, claiming she’d gotten her dates mixed up, but as long as she managed to show up today, May would be off to a good start for Grace.
“What time are you coming?” Grace asked as she returned to the living room. “I still have to get dressed and do my—” She trailed off. “Oh.”
I didn’t like the sound of thatoh.
“No, I get it,” Grace said. “That’s okay.” She hummed, looking at her feet. “Sure, next weekend.”
Jesus fucking Christ, Ali!How hard was it to keep a shopping date thatshehad scheduled? My hand clenched around the newspaper as Grace’s face fell even further.
“’Kay,” she said. “Love you, too. Bye.”
Grace hung up and slumped over to me with the phone.
“Did Mom need to reschedule?” I asked, knowing the answer and doing my best not to scowl.
Grace nodded silently, falling into my arms. I tossed the paper aside and hugged her, my chest aching. I wished I could hold her tight enough to block out every painful thing for the rest of her life.
“She has to see some cake guy,” Grace muttered. “We’re going next weekend instead.”
“That works,” I said, trying not to be annoyed that I yet again had to adjust our plans to accommodate Ali’sinabilityto stick to a plan. “Gives you more time to research what kind of dress you want.”
Grace sighed. “Yeah, Mom said I should look at some dresses inadvance ’cause next week will have to be a quick outing. She’s gonna text you the website for the store.”
I ground my teeth together until my molars ached.
“Don’t be mad at Mom,” Grace said, pulling back to look at my face. “Please.”
I tried to shift my scowl. “I’m not.”
“You are.” Grace poked my cheek. “You’re full of lines.”
I snorted. “That’s because I’m old.”
“Just don’t be old and mad, okay?” She tilted her head until I smiled. “I’m still gonna see her before the summer visit. She said next weekend we can make plans for all the things we’ll do together.”
I really didn’t want Grace getting her hopes up about this summer visit, but I couldn’t say that to her right now, when she was trying so hard to put on a brave face, so I shifted the topic. “Sounds like you’ve got a free afternoon today. Guess that means you can hang out with some friends.”
Grace wrinkled her nose.
“Or…”
“Or what?”
“You can hitch a ride with Grandma to LA. She’s flying down to see Uncle Liam and Auntie Mia. They might even have ultrasound pictures of the baby to show you.”
Grace perked up. “You think so? Maybe I’ll be able to tell if it’s a girl or a boy!”
“I think it’s a little early for that.”
“Dad,” Grace said, looking at me with all the seriousness a nine-year-old could muster. “I have a sense about these things.”
“Okay, then have at it,” I said, laughing.
“Uncle Liam and I can continue building our sheep farm!”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Between Liam building what he referred to as “a sheep army” with her and Finn threatening to buy Grace her own live sheep farm, my daughter’s fascination with sheep persisted.
