Page 141 of Rumi: The Hawthornes

A few minutes later, my tiny grandmother walked out of the prison, a plastic bag in her hands, wearing the same clothes she’d been in when she left us.

“Nana!” Bird yelled, running toward her.

“Birdman,” she called back, the smile on her face the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

Then they were colliding, Bird lifting Nana in his arms as he swung her in a circle.

“He’s gonna break her,” Rumi said nervously beside me.

I hurried forward.

“Bossanova,” Nana whispered, lifting her hand to cup my cheek. “Good job, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

I cried as I hugged her. Before I was ready, we were pulling apart so we could get back in the car.

“Ash,” Rumi said, grinning as we walked toward him.

Jesus, he was handsome. Sometimes I took it for granted, but he really was gorgeous.

“Rumi Hawthorne,” Nana said happily. “Those for me?”

“Oh, yeah,” Rumi said sheepishly, handing the flowers over. “You ready to go home?”

“Beyond ready,” she said, moving in to hug him.

Nana had always been small, but looking at her in Rumi’s arms made her seem even tinier.

“Wait until you see the house,” Bird said as we climbed back in the car.

I turned to glare at him.

“I can’t wait to cook,” Nana said, shooting him a goofy smile. “Isn’t that funny? It was what I missed doing the most.”

“We won’t complain,” Rumi said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “If you want to take over cooking duties…permanently.”

Bird cackled.

“I burned dinner once,” I said defensively, turning to look at Nana. “One freaking time.”

“I’m happy to make dinner,” Nana said, glancing between the two of us. She hadn’t stopped smiling. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to get my job back at the thrift store, and then I can find a place of my own and get out of your hair.”

I glanced at Rumi worriedly and he reached out to grip my thigh in reassurance. Me and Nana had discussed at length what would happen with Bird once she was free again and we’d decided that he would stay with Rumi and me indefinitely. It just didn’t make sense to keep shuffling him around. We hadn’t discussed where Nana would live, though.

“Can I tell her now?” Bird whispered in my ear as we pulled into the driveway, the large addition to our house in full view.

“Go ahead,” I said as Rumi parked and we piled out of the car.

“We built you an apartment!” Bird announced excitedly, throwing his hands in the air. “It’s called a mother-in-law apartment.”

“What?” Nana looked at me in confusion.

“Come on,” Bird said, pulling Nana toward the new exterior door. “I’ll show you.”

Rumi and I followed behind, holding hands as we watched Bird show off the addition.

“It’s got its own door,” he said, practically throwing open the door. His voice grew fainter as he pulled our bewildered grandmother inside. “There’s a door into the house, too! You have a bedroom and a bathroom and this tiny kitchen, we thought of making it bigger, but we figured you’d want to eat with us most of the time.”

Nana was silent.

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