Page 84 of From This Moment (After We Fall 4)
At the music center, I asked for the salesperson I’d read was the most knowledgeable, and she helped us find the perfect piano for Abby. It was a used upright in great condition, the wood was polished and free of nicks and scars, and Abby loved its matching bench with a lid that opened and closed. When Hannah heard the fifteen hundred dollar price tag, she looked at me with panicked eyes, but I just squeezed her hand and told the woman we’d take it. Abby jumped up and down with excitement.
We arranged for delivery within a few days, and I took down several names of teachers in the area the woman recommended for a student Abby’s age.
“Thank you,” Hannah kept saying on the drive home. “This means so much to her, and to me.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure Abby wasn’t watching, I took her hand and kissed the back of it.
She pulled her hand away and glanced into the back seat. “You shouldn’t.”
“I know.”
We got back to town around dinnertime and went out for pizza. Abby chattered excitedly about school, an upcoming field trip to a cider mill, her friend Ella’s new puppy, and what she wanted to be for Halloween (a zombie cheerleader). Hannah talked about her cookbook project for the inn, and I joyfully volunteered to be taste tester for any and all recipes that needed sampling. We talked about my new house, what renovations were the top priorities, and what the possibilities were for the kitchen.
“I’d love to see the space again,” she said, taking another slice of pizza from the standing tray. It made me happy to see her with a good appetite. “When do you close?”
“The tenth. There was a little delay because the owners were out of the state. But things should move quickly now.”
“I bet Lenore will be sad to see you go.”
“Tough. I’m going.” My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it out. It was a text from my mother. “Speak of the devil. She wants to know if we’re back yet and if we’re coming to dinner at her house.”
“Oops,” Hannah said.
“I’ll tell her we already ate.”
“I feel bad. Maybe we should have invited your parents?” she asked.
“It’s fine.” I texted her back, and she replied with a sad emoji and a question. “Now she’s asking if Abby wants to sleep over.”
“Yes!” shouted Abby.
I looked at Hannah, who shrugged.
“It’s okay with me.”
Yes, she does, I told my mom. We will bring her over after we finish up here.
While Hannah took Abby to the bathroom, I paid the bill and was ready to go when they came back to the table.
“You weren’t supposed to pay for dinner, I wanted to!” She made a face at me.
“I invited you, remember?” I ushered them toward the door, one hand on Hannah’s lower back, one on Abby’s shoulder. It was a small, perhaps insignificant thing, leaving a restaurant with them that way, but for some reason, it filled me with indescribable joy.
“But you bought us a piano today,” she complained as we walked through the parking lot. Abby was between us, holding one of Hannah’s hands and one of mine.
“Exactly. So what’s one measly pizza?” I unlocked the car, and Abby hopped into the back seat, where I helped buckle her up.
“Uncle Wes, will you be my special person?”
Hannah, buckling herself into the front passenger seat, turned and looked at us over her shoulder. “I thought you wanted me to be your special person.”
“Well, I did,” Abby said, “but no one brings their moms. They’re all bringing dads or other people like grandmas or grandpas.”
“What’s a special person?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.
“It’s something at school,” Hannah explained, tucking her hair behind her ear. “When you’re the student of the week, you get to invite someone to school. The person comes in and reads a story to the class.”
“And I get to introduce you and say what you do and they can ask you questions.” Abby smiled at me. “So will you come?”
