Joanna was quiet, urging Grant with her eyes to fess up.
“So that’s how you do it?” Grant smiled. “Those eyes right there are how you coerce witness stand confessions, right?”
“Spill it,” Joanna insisted.
“I don’t know.” Grant grinned. “I’ve said I love you to a handful of women for various reasons, but I can’t seem to bring myself to say it to her. It has been on the tip of my tongue; I’ve thought about it, but I can’t actually seem to make myself say the words…and maybe it’s because…well…because this time I actually mean it.”
Hailey poked her head into the living room. “Anybody want any pie before we put it up?” she smiled.
“Oh, I am so stuffed I can hardly move,” Joanna laughed.
“I think I might have to have one more slice of something,” Grant said, standing. “And, is there any of that fruit salad left?”
Hailey laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Indeed,” Grant replied shortly.
“Yeah, come-on, and I’ll show you where we put it,” Hailey nodded with an amused grin.
Grant kissed the top of Hailey’s head. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll take this opportunity to play nice with Granny while you relax for awhile and hang out with Joey.”
“Yeah,” Joanna urged. “Come-on, Hailey, sit!”
Hailey seemed distracted as she stared at Grant’s chest. “What’s wrong?” Grant asked softly.
“Nothing,” Hailey shook her head with a pleasant smile that was not totally reassuring. “I was just looking at your sweatshirt…and you know…”
Grant lifted her chin with his hands. “I’m not going anywhere today, Hails…”
“You’re right,” Hailey agreed. She offered Grant a quick hug before moving over toward the sofa to join Joanna.
“You know, Hailey, I have been hoping to get a moment alone with you all day,” Joanna smiled. “Grant is my baby brother, so, naturally, I’m protective of him. We were apart for the large majority of his childhood, so we became phone buddies. We talked about everything! When he was little, he would tell me about the places he had been and the things he had learned. He asked me questions about everything you could imagine. In more recent years, the conversations became more difficult; he never had too much to say about himself. We talked about books and politics and even the weather…but I felt very closed off from Grant’s world…and it was hard. Lately, however, I have not been able to have a conversation with him during which he did not bring up your name. When he talks about you, his voices changes…like I can hear him smile. So the thing I most looked forward to about this trip was having a chance to meet you…the girl who has essentially given me a piece of my brother back. And now that I’ve met you…I just want to say thank you.”
“For what?” Hailey seemed surprised. “I didn’t do anything.”
“It couldn’t have been easy for you today to have the whole lot of us drop in, especially given the circumstances,” Joanna acknowledged. “The whole Cohen brood can be a little much to take at one time, but you handled every situation with a tremendous amount of grace and charm.”
“Oh, well, thank you,” Hailey said, not knowing what to say. “To be honest, I was really excited to get to meet all of you. Grant talks about all of you, so it was great to be able to put faces with names.”
“I was impressed by how you didn’t shy away from my dad,” Joanna added. “Some people find him a little intimidating at first. And, we all appreciate how loving you were toward Leah. Some people give up pretty quickly, but you were a trooper. You really had a way with her. She was feeling your hair, which, from her, is the ultimate compliment and a sure sign of her approval.”
“I know how much she means to Grant,” Hailey smiled.
“Isn’t he great with her?” Joanna sighed, admirably.
“It was so sweet to witness the special bond the two of them share. It really is a beautiful thing,” Hailey said, recalling the way Grant held his niece, so tenderly in arms so full of love.
Joanna took Hailey’s hands in hers. “The real reason I wanted to thank you, Hailey, is that my brother was going full-speed-ahead down a dark and lonely road, and he wasn’t stopping for anything or anyone…then you happened.”
Hailey brushed off the compliment. “Grant’s a special guy. Whatever changes you see in him…well, I certainly can’t take any credit for it.”
Nora spoke quietly as she lay, hiding out in her mother’s bedroom, stretched across the homemade quilt, the phone to her ear. She twisted the curly phone cord around her finger as she listened to Randy speak.
“Grant and I do need to sit down for a heart-to-heart,” Randy admitted. “There is a lot I need to make him understand.”
“You should do that, Randy,” Nora encouraged. “Don’t put it off.”
“It just seems that Grant and I can’t have a conversation that isn’t an argument,” Randy frowned, “and I hate that.”
“You pressure him,” Nora sighed. “You have to stop treating him that way. You have to build the sort of relationship you want to have with Grant, or there will come a time when he turns away completely. Your son needs you in his life, Randy.”
“And I need his mother in mine,” Randy retorted.
“Don’t turn this conversation to make it about us,” Nora sighed, and a tear ran down her cheek.
“It is about us, Nora,” Randy argued. “It’s about our family…our son…our future.”
“He’s a good boy, Randy,” Nora said defensively.
Randy took a deep breath. “Nora, I know you think I’m hard on him, and I admit that there are times when I push him, but it is only because I see something great in him.”
“So maybe you won’t have the privilege of seeing another one of your boys graduate from West Point,” Nora spoke sweetly, “but I have a strong feeling that one day you’ll be revered not only as a valiant and accomplished general, but as a man who raised a U.S. president.”
On the other end of the line, driving down a dark highway, Randy Cohen smiled.
