“What is chicken casserole?” Jessica asked as she and Emily walked down the hallway toward the kitchen. “It sounds delicious!”
“Just think Heaven in a Pyrex dish,” Emily replied, and the two girls giggled.
“Hey, Grant, you coming?” Jessica asked.
“Yeah,” Grant smiled, “I’ll be there in a second.”
“Grant loves when Mama makes her chicken casserole,” Emily nodded, sticking her tongue out at Grant. “That way, if he fails his weekly drug test, he can blame it on the poppy seed!”
Grant plastered on his biggest fake smile as he facetiously patted the top of Emily’s head. “While I would love to stay and play this game, which, as you know, I thoroughly enjoy, I have to go call and check in with my probation officer.”
The girls cackled as they skipped into the kitchen.
“Hurry, or I can’t promise we’ll save you any,” Jessica called behind her.
Grant walked down the hall to his room and emerged quickly, holding a Nike shoe box.
“Hailey?” he said softly, trying not to startle her as he approached the barn.
Hailey turned her head slowly, and that’s when Grant noticed she was crying. He looked down at the headstone in the ground in front of her, and he wasn’t sure what to say.
Hailey patted the ground beside her. “Sit,” she nodded.
Grant sat down, sitting the box to the side.
Hailey wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “When Mama got sick, she asked Daddy to bury her here when she died,” she said, without looking at Grant. “She loved her animals; they used to have an entire farm; she loved this place…it was her haven, her retreat. She was simple and warm just like this little town.” Hailey turned to Grant. “At least that’s what Daddy tells me.”
“You don’t remember her?” Grant asked.
“No,” Hailey sighed. “I don’t remember her at all…not the way she looked at me, not the way she smelled, not the way she sounded when she cooed my name. She didn’t live long at all after Jessica was born, so all I have of her are pictures. I don’t even really miss her because I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to miss.”
Grant reached for Hailey’s hand, and she let him take it. They sat in silence for a moment, Grant rubbing her hand with his thumb.
“I don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent,” Grant gulped, “so I won’t say that I know how you feel, but I do know what it’s like to not remember someone who is supposed to be really special to you. I was only two when my brother died; they say he was crazy about me, but sometimes I think they just make that up because they know I don’t know any different. I try so hard to remember…one look, one touch, one smile…but I can’t, and it hurts.”
“Yeah, it does,” Hailey agreed.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to know your mom,” Grant said softly.
Hailey put her arms around Grant and, closing his eyes, he hugged her tight. He held her in his arms for a long moment, their silence speaking more than anything they could say in that moment.
“Why are you carrying a shoe box around?” Hailey blurted all of a sudden, and both of them laughed.
“I brought a peace offering,” Grant said, reaching for the box and placing it in Hailey’s hands.
“You brought me shoes?” Hailey asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Just open it,” Grant smiled.
Hailey opened the lid and pulled out a green basketball jersey. She smiled, touched as she traced the white number three with her finger.
“I want you to have it,” Grant nodded.
“But, I lost the game fair and square,” Hailey shook her head.
“I know,” Grant smiled, “but I got to thinking. You’re right. I probably won’t even be around for the majority of the season, so the least I can do is let you keep this, which, you’re right, probably means more to you than it does to me. Besides…green and white, thirty-three, Boston, Larry Bird…come-on…”
Hailey smiled broadly, and it wasn’t lost on Grant how beautiful her eyes looked under the moonlight. “You do have a heart, Grant Cohen, and, all this time, I was under the impression that you were devoid of such a thing,” she quipped.
Grant nodded. “Well, I have been…since the summer when you stole it.”
Hailey laughed, and Grant responded by putting his arm around her.
Hailey smiled, but her smile quickly faded. “Isn’t it about time that we tackle the subject of the summer that was?”
“We will,” Grant promised. “Right now let’s just go inside and try to have a civilized dinner.”
“I see. Baby steps,” Hailey nodded.
Grant nodded back, a grin stretching across his face.
They stood and headed toward the house.
“Thank you for this,” Hailey said gripping her jersey in her hand. “It was a really sweet gesture. It means a lot.”
“Don’t get all sentimental about it,” Grant grinned. “I assure you I’m still a jerk at heart.”
