Page 115 of The Holy Grail
JULES: It’s your choice.
To her amusement, the three dots appeared and disappeared several times before she finally got a response.
EVAN: FINE.
EVAN: Wednesday night it is.
JULES: Good. We’ll see you at 7:00 p.m.?
JULES: We can have dinner and talk.
EVAN: FINE.
JULES: I’ll text you Mal’s address.
EVAN: FINE.
Jules actually chuckled at his attitude as she sent him the address, adding a few smiling emojis, just to annoy him some more.
“What’s so funny?” Malcom asked.
“He’s being a brat,” she replied, handing him the phone so he could read the texts.
When he was done, Malcom said, “Heisthe youngest one of us, so ...”
“He is?”
“Well, I believe he’s seven years younger than me, and you’re five years younger than me, which makes him two years younger than you ...”
“Which makes him the youngest.”
Malcom gave her a somewhat amused look. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know he was younger than me,” she murmured, although truth be told, she had never given it much thought. “Being older than him feels kind of strange.”
“How do you thinkIfeel, for Christ’s sake?”
Jules pressed her lips together to stifle her amusement. “You must feelreallystrange?”
Chapter 35
May 15th
On what would have been the 8th birthday of the child Paige had lost, Jules texted Paige.
JULES: How are you doing today?
PAIGE: I’m good. David is going to go shopping for birthday stuff with me, and Jacob wants to go, too.
Paige had finally told Jules about the tradition of buying gifts each year, to acknowledge the birthdays with something age-appropriate, and while it had made her sad Paige hadn’t confided in Jules about it years ago, she could understand the need to keep it a secret. For a moment, she pictured her friend buying gifts for her lost baby while rubbing her ever-expanding belly, feeling sad and happy at the same time, because sometimes those emotions went hand in hand.
JULES: I’m glad they’ll be going with you.
JULES: A new spin on an old tradition.
PAIGE: Yes, it will be nice.
PAIGE: We’re going to make a day of it, and have a nice lunch somewhere. I’m thinking Indian food … I have a craving for Tandoori chicken. Or maybe Tikka Masala.
