Page 26 of Eleanor & Grey
I frowned. “Yeah, I guess.”
“What is it?”
“It’s just that she recently stopped nannying for her last family. And she hasn’t been painting as much as normal,” I told him, shifting around on my seat. “I think she’s getting too drained from chemotherapy to do it.”
Greyson’s smile slowly faded. “I’m sorry, Ellie.”
“Yeah, me too.” The less she painted, the more her illness became real in my mind. But I tried my best to shake off those thoughts. If I slipped down that rabbit hole of sadness, I wouldn’t come back from it. “What about your parents? What do they do?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shrugged. “My dad’s the CEO of a whiskey company, and my mom’s always traveling for fun. They aren’t around a lot. I haven’t seen my mom in a few weeks, and Dad just comes home sometimes and sleeps. Most of the time he staysat the apartment he has in Chicago, though, instead of driving home.”
“So you’re just alone most of the time?”
“Yup. I mean, before I had Grandpa, but since he passed away... it’s just me.”
“Do you miss them?” I asked. “Do you miss your parents being around?”
“Doesn’t matter. Missing them isn’t going to make them stay. I just always promise myself I’ll be different, you know? I want to be different when I have kids someday. I would never abandon them. I’m supposed to take over the whiskey company when I’m older, but I’d do it different than Dad. I’d make time for my family. I’d show up. My grandpa was able to do both, be a parent and run a business. He showed up all the time.”
“I think people underestimate how important just showing up is.”
“It’s everything,” he agreed.
“So you’re taking over your dad’s company?”
“Yeah. My grandpa started it. It’s a family tradition, I guess.”
“Is that what you want to do? What do you want to be when you grow up?” I asked Greyson.
He effortlessly replied, “Happy.”
“Happy?”
“Yeah. That’s all. It’s what my grandpa always told me. He’d say, ‘Greyson, listen close. You can be anything in the world, and it would be good enough. Job title doesn’t matter as long as you have food on your table and heat on your stove. What matters the most is being happy. So when you do grow up, make sure you’re happy. Everything else will fall into place.’ So yeah, I just want to be happy. I don’t care what I’m doing as long as I’m happy while I’m doing it.”
I liked his answer more than I could say.
“What about you, Ellie? What do you want to be?”
“Happy,” I said, stealing his answer. “I think I just want to be happy too.”
He smiled at me and gently nudged my shoulder with his. Then his head tilted up, and he looked at the sky. “I like this place a lot.”
“Yeah. It’s a good escape from the clod world,” I commented.
He smirked. “You’re really into thisWesley Petersstuff, huh?”
“It’s only the air I breathe,” I said matter-of-factly.
I couldn’t really imagine what would’ve happened to me if I hadn’t hadWesley Petersto get me through the past years. If I hadn’t, I might’ve believed the lies people told about me.
I would’ve thought I wasn’t magical, and that would’ve been a shame.
It was sad that so many people went through life without knowing they were filled with magic.
“I think it’s cool that you’re so into it,” he said. “And I really am excited for the next one to come out.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “I can’t wait.”
