Page 157 of Just One More Thing

I stare down at the papers in my hands.

I thought I’d be ready for this.

I thought if I stood on the edge of leaving long enough, eventually it would stop feeling like a cliff. Pack a bag. Say goodbye. Get in the truck and put miles between me and Blue Crab Bay.

I thought the whole point of having a reason to stay was that leaving would make sense once the reason was gone.

Granny plants both hands on the chair and stands.

“Slowly,” the doctor reminds her.

Miss Hattie rises too, ready to catch her.

“I’ve got it.”

“That’s exactly what you said before you broke it,” Miss Hattie says.

The first step is wobbly. The second is better. By the third, Granny has that stubborn look she gets when she’s decided pride will be doing at least half the work. The sting behind my eyes arrives so fast it feels rude.

Miss Hattie starts clapping. “That’s my girl.”

Granny lifts her chin. “Well. The bitch still works.”

The doctor coughs into his arm. I laugh because if I don’t, I’m afraid I might cry in a room beside a saw and a skeleton.

She’s okay. She’s walking. Complaining. Bossing people around.

I feel relieved. I also feel like the ground just moved underneath me.

At the front desk, Granny tells the receptionist to “let the town know I was brave.”

“I don’t live in your town.”

Granny pats the counter. “You’re missing out.”

By the time we get back to Blue Crab Bay, word has spread.

Of course it has.

I pull into The Point’s shell parking lot and see Jake crossing the footbridge with Hank trotting beside him.

Hank spots the truck and starts arfing before we’re even parked.

“There’s your welcoming committee, honey,” Miss Hattie says.

My mouth starts to smile.

Because he’s—he’s just here.

He knew Granny had the appointment today, so he showed up.

It’s the kind of thing he does.

Jake reaches us as I climb out of the truck. He opens Miss Hattie’s door, then circles around to Granny. “How’d it go?”

Granny puts her hand in his and steps down carefully. “They didn’t validate parking.”

His eyes drop to the brace before lifting back to her face. “You okay?”