“Great.” She studies the menu. “I think I’m going to have the classic with fries.”
“That sounds good.” Devin stops by the table with my coffee and glares at me.
Grace smiles at her. “Hey, Devin. How ya doing today?”
“Oh you know. My feet are killing me. My back hurts and I have to work a double.”
Grace shakes her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I wish I could do something for you. When are they gonna hire someone else to help you?”
She snorts. “They already did. But they keep calling off.”
“Sounds like they didn’t then. Just found a new problem.”
“Can I get you two something?” She smiles at Grace but then glares at me.
“Yeah, we’ll take two classics with fries,” I say, wondering what burr she’s got up her saddle.
“Fine.” She glares at me, smiles at Grace and trots off.
I lean over and whisper to Grace. “Did I do something to offend her?”
“She’s friends with Harvey.”
I nod my head. “Ah. Got it.”
“As am I. If this wasn’t for Harvey, I’d probably have told you to solve your own damn problems.” She sips her ice water and smiles gently.
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You should. Harvey has a lot of friends. Probably even more than she thinks she has. Now what is this project that you have.”
I hand her the shredded photo and she sighs. “What happened to this? I know it was in her living room on the wall.”
I can’t stop the flush on my face. I study my fingers like they’re the most amazing things on the planet. “Umm. It fell off the wall.”
Her tinkling laugh and sparkling eyes make me wince. “I’m not gonna ask for specifics, Jeremiah.”
She studies the picture, sighing and shaking her head. “I can salvage a few pieces but it’s not gonna be a lot.”
“I don’t want the picture. I want you to make something special for her. A gift. To let her know how much she means to me.”
“Hmmm. I think I can find some old newspaper articles from the car accident and redo the photo. Maybe decoupage it on an ornament or a little table. The table would be something that she could have near her all the time. Just a little side table to put near a place for her to sit.”
“She likes to read. I think I’ll make her a reading nook in the living room and put the table in it. That sounds perfect. A peaceful place for her to feel connected to her past and our future.”
Her eyes soften. “That’s beautiful, Jeremiah. It’s obvious that you care a great deal for her.”
“I love her. I made a mistake and I’m trying to fix it.”
“I think this is fantastic. A truly romantic gesture.”
“It’s not that much.”
She waves her hand at me. “This is gonna mean a lot to her. It hurt her when her parents died. She had you to pull her out of her misery though. I think that’s part of what stung so much when you left. She couldn’t talk to you.”
“I know. Believe me. I regretted it pretty quickly. But I needed to see her face to face.”
Devin sets our plates down in front of us and Grace digs in like she hasn’t eaten in years. “I missed breakfast,” she says. “I had a meeting with a client.”