Page 30 of Effortless

“You know.” She leans over the console and makes her eyes go all soft and bats her eyelashes. “Like that.”

“Well, that just looked creepy,” I joke, pushing her back into her seat.

“You know it’s true.”

“How about we talk about Grandma and Grandpa?”

“That’s a more fun topic? Geesh. What happened with you two?”

“Nothing happened.”

She turns down the radio and shifts in her seat, keeping the seat belt secured tight but faces me.

“I’ll tell you one day, but not today.”

She rolls her eyes and huffs, holding up her pinky. “Okay, fine. Pinky swear you’ll tell me after you explain the whole wicked witch of Chicago and her monkey?”

“That’s not nice to say about your grandparents.”

“Maybe not but it’s the truth. They’re not grandparent-y at all.”

“That’s true but they love you.”

“In their way, you mean?”

I sigh. “I suppose so. Short version or long version?”

“Short. I don’t want it to ruin my music time.”

I take a deep breath and launch in. “They wanted us to move back to Chicago. Grandma said some not nice things, unsurprisingly. Grandpa seemed a little surprised by things I said. Grandma stormed out. Aunt Dorothy stood up for us. Grandpa said he wants to work on himself and realizes that while their focus is money and status with love and family being down the long list of things that are important to them, love and family is at the top of mine.”

“They went back to Chicago, though? They’re not staying around here, are they?” She voices her main worry.

“I didn’t ask,” I admit. “But I can’t imagine they’re staying.”

“She doesn’t get it, does she?”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Why? Who hurt her so badly that she’s afraid to love people?”

“I don’t know. She’s never really opened up to me, as you can imagine.”

Brooklyn twists forward again before looking out her window. “Thank you,” she whispers.

“For what, honey?”

“For not being that way. For making sure Dad isn’t that way either.”

Tears spring to my eyes and I blink them away, reaching over and giving her hand a squeeze. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I know. And thank you for that.”

“Grandpa wants to work on himself.”

Her cute little nose scrunches up. “What does that mean?”

“Exactly how it sounds, I suppose. He must have heard what I said and recognized that life is about more than what they’ve made of it.”

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