Page 137 of Eleanor & Grey
“Thanks, Dad,” she whispered.
“Always, Karla,” he replied. He turned around to face her, put a hand on her knee, and gently squeezed. “Always.”
“Why does it smell like farts in here?!” Lorelai shouted, making us all laugh a little.
“Let’s get home to shower,” Greyson said. “But first, Lorelai, I’m very proud of you for standing up for your sister, but in thefuture, let’s not kick people. And we can’t call people those names, OK?”
“But Daddy, he was a little bitch,” she insisted.
“Where did you even learn that word?” he asked, baffled.
Don’t say me, don’t say me.
“Eleanor said it to Caroline’s mom, but she said don’t tell you because you might fire her,” she said.
What a traitor.
I had to turn my head to keep her from seeing me laughing. Greyson glanced my way with a smirk before putting his grown-up voice back on.
“Yes, but it’s not kind or appropriate. Especially for a girl your age.”
“Which part isn’t kind? Little or bitch?” she asked, seeming truly confused.
“The second part,” he told her.
“So bitch?” she asked.
Karla started snickering. “Yeah, Lorelai. Don’t say that. But thank you for having my back.”
“I’ll always have your back, Karla. You’re my best friend.”
I noticed Karla smiling from Lorelai’s comment, and she whispered, “You’re my best friend, too, kiddo.”
We drove home in silence, other than Lorelai mentioning the smell, and when we pulled up to the house, we all climbed out of the car. I was planning on putting Lorelai back to bed while Greyson and Karla took their showers. As we were walking, all of our footsteps stopped as Greyson spoke from behind us.
“I owe you an apology,” he said, making us all turn to look his way.
His shoulders were rounded forward as he rubbed his hand over his mouth, and his eyes were locked on Karla.
“What?” Karla asked.
“I let you down, and for that, I owe you an apology.”
“Dad... I’m the one who sneaked out without telling you.” Karla rubbed her shoulder, nervously swaying. “If anyone’s sorry, it should be me.”
Greyson shook his head. “No, I haven’t been here for you this past year. I checked out and fell into work just to keep from facing the fact of what I took away from you. What I took away from us all. And I am sorry, Karla. If I would’ve been around, maybe tonight wouldn’t have happened. Maybe you wouldn’t have felt abandoned or lonely... I, um, I know you won’t forgive me right away. Truth is, I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I want you to know that I’m here now. OK? I screwed up, and I abandoned you, I abandoned this family, and I am sorry, but I’m here. So even when you feel lonely, I just want you to know that you aren’t alone. I’m here, Karla. I’m back, and I won’t leave you again.”
Karla appeared as if she didn’t know how to react. She bit her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around her body. “I hated you, you know. For leaving.” She sniffled and wiped the back of her hand against her eyes. “I needed you, and you weren’t here.”
He walked toward her, nodding. “I know. I can’t change the mistakes I made, but I promise you from this point on, I will spend each day trying to make it up to you.”
She still seemed unsure as she looked down at the ground, her figure slightly shaking. “You promise, promise?” she asked, glancing back toward her father. “You won’t keep working all the time?”
He held his pinky finger out toward her. “Pinky promise,” he whispered.
My heart about exploded when Karla walked over to her father and linked her pinky with his.
Greyson nodded over to Lorelai and held his other pinky out toward her. “You, too, Lorelai.”
