Page 14 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
“I’m just saying. If I were single and forty years younger…” She held her hands up to her sides like a perp caught red-handed, but the action was paired with her mischievous, guilt-free smile.
“You’d what?” Grandpa asked absently. He scanned the table for another piece to fit into the jigsaw puzzle.
“I’d kiss him. At the very least.” Grandma shimmied her shoulders. “He has a very kissable face.”
“Who does?”
I hadn’t heard Bennett walk into the house, but I felt him come up behind me and lean over to peer at the puzzle, his hand on the back of my chair. He picked up a piece and studied it.
“You,” Grandma said, with zero embarrassment. It took everything in me not to groan and cover my face, but oh, I wanted to.
“Aw, thanks.” Bennett dropped a friendly kiss to the top of Grandma’s head as he locked the puzzle piece into place.
“I think his face is punchable,” Grandpa groused, staring right at where Bennett had placed the puzzle piece. “I’ve been looking for that piece for fifteen minutes.”
Bennett barked out a laugh. “Fresh eyes.”
Mom approached the table with a tall glass of iced lemonade for Bennett. It was Mom’s specialty, and Bennett closed his eyes with the first sip. “Summer in a glass,” he said reverently.
Mom patted his arm and then sat next to me, looking defeated. “Bennett says we need a whole new roof.”
He grimaced. “It’s pretty torn up,” he confirmed. “I’ll patch the worst of it, which will buy you maybe six months. Depends on how rough winter gets this year.”
Mom rested her chin in her hands, and I could see the weight of yet another expense settling in her eyes. This was why I’d applied me and Greg forMarried in the Wild.We’d get paid for every episode that aired with us on it. Just one episode would pay for an entirely new roof. A few more to finally finish paying off Dad’s medical debts—and Mom’s new ones after the accident. And if we actually won? Maybe Mom could finally relax and have fun for the first time in her life.
“We can help,” Grandpa said. “How much do you need?”
“No.” Mom shook her head, firmly. “You have a fixed retirement, and I’m not drawing from that. I’ll pick up a few extra hours per week at work to cover it.”
I knew better than to offer to cash out my 401(k) again. That offer had not gone over well last time. Mom insisted that she had not sacrificed so much for me to give up my dreams in a blink. To be fair, having a robust retirement account had never been my dream, but Mom could not be reasoned with when it came to finances.
“Can you get the materials you need, Bennett? Then just save the receipts for me.”
“Sure thing,” he said. “I can do it this weekend.” His hand gently squeezed my shoulder in assurance—there was no world in which Mom was going to see a single receipt from Bennett—before he placed yet another puzzle piece.
“Dagnabbit.” Grandpa pushed back from the table. “I’m done. Ready, Momma?”
“I’ve been ready for twenty minutes,” she told him saucily. “Since you told me you had to get one more piece before you could leave. I’m still waiting.”
Grandpa grumbled something under his breath, which made Grandma laugh as she slid her arms into her pink cardigan. Grandpa took his puzzling very seriously, and Grandma took it as unseriously as she possibly could. I swore I’d seen her put pieces in the wrong place just to get under his skin, or palm the last piece so she’d have the honors of placing it at the end. But despite their quirks and teasing, they so clearly loved each other.
“Now, don’t forget what I said about wearing orange,” Grandma said pointedly. “Your life is hard enough.”
“This is my jersey,” I told her. Bennett wore his matching one for our softball game tonight against our rivals, the Bookish Ballers. “And my life is great. I’m getting married in two weeks!”
Grandma’s frown softened. “You’re still living in the same town you grew up in, doing the same job your dad did, marrying someone you’ve dated on and off since you were a teenager. You need some adventure.”
Her worry settled heavily on me. I wanted to tell her aboutMarried in the Wild. Promise her I’d find adventure. But I couldn’t tell everyone else before I told Greg. What if he said no? What if it didn’t happen? I’d disappoint everyone again. “I don’t want to live anywhere else but Winterhaven. And I love my job.” Teaching marine botany was my actual dream come true. Mostly. Eventually one of my research topics would be approved, and I’d be able to lead my own team exploring the ocean.
“Chuck has one of the coolest jobs on the planet. Only second to mine.” Bennett ruffled my hair, something he’d been doing since I was a teenager.
“Bennett!” I tried to smooth the strands back into place.
He gave me an unrepentant smile, and Grandma turned her narrowed eyes from me to him.
“And you. Perpetually brokenhearted, endlessly carrying a lantern for those you’ve lost. Tethered to nothing but the sea, which gives the very coldest of hugs, my dear.”
“Mom,” my mom said at the same time I exclaimed, “Grandma!” All we needed was for Bennett to get upset and refuse to come back until Grandma apologized. Greg still wouldn’t say more than a few terse words to her, because she refused to apologize to him for being blunt, sometimes to the point of rudeness. I was used to it, and I knew underneath it all was worry and love, but other people had a harder time with her.
