Page 1 of It's About Time
Prologue
Elliot
The Role Model
Age Eleven
“What else do we need, Elliot?”
I glance back at the list in my grandmother’s handwriting, crossing off the last item and looking at the next. “Eggs.”
“Then over to the eggs we go,” my grandfather says, and I follow his lead as he pushes the cart through the grocery store, watching him smile and wave to people as we pass by.
“Are you friends with everyone, Grandpa?”
He chuckles. “No, Elliot. But kindness is the best way to brighten someone’s day. Remember, you never know what’s going on in someone else’s life, but offering them a simple smile or wave could turn their entire day around.”
“Is that why Grandma smiles at everyone too?”
He glances down at me once we arrive at the eggs. “No, son.Sheis the reasonIsmile at everyone.” My grandfather inspects a carton of eggs, checking for cracked shells.
“She taught you to smile at people?”
He laughs. “Not directly, but yes. Your grandmother has changed my life in many ways, and how I view the world is just one of them. That’s why I love her so much and will defend her to the ends of the earth.”
“Like a knight in shining armor?”
He winks at me. “Something like that.”
“I hope I find a girl like Grandma one day,” I say, naivety prompting the thought. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed a stark difference between the way my grandparents treat one another and the way my parents coexist.
Mom and Dad don’t laugh together. Sometimes they barely speak. All Dad does is work, and Mom lets him do whatever he wants. She’s always at home alone or going to lunch with friends. But my parents never spend time together.
And sometimes, I hear them argue. But my father always wins.
He doesn’t like to lose.
He doesn’t like when I lose either.
“I know you will, Elliot. You have the ability to see people for who they truly are,” Grandpa says before leaning down, closer to my ear. “And I’d like to think that you got that from me.”
I smile up at him. “I just want to make you proud, Grandpa. You and Dad.”
My grandfather’s smile falters slightly. “You’ll always make me proud as long as you stay true to who you are, Elliot. Don’t let money or prestige change you, okay?”
“What’sprestige?”
My grandfather rests his hand on the handle of the shopping cart. “How others view you, what your name or reputation can get you. Money changes people too, Elliot. It would serve you well to remember that money can’t buy happiness, though.”
“But you have lots of money,” I counter. “And you’re happy.”
“My happiness comes from things money can’t buy, son. My wife, my family, the quiet mornings when I drink my coffee and look out my window at the world around me—if all of my money disappeared tomorrow, I would still be able to smile because I’ve built a legacy in people.”
“But you love being a lawyer. And Dad does too. I want to be a lawyer just like you.”
“If that is what you truly want, then I would be honored for you to follow in our footsteps. But know that you could change your mind too, and I would still be proud of you.”
I glance back down at the list, confused but processing what he’s telling me. “There’s nothing left on the list,” I say, peering back up at him.
