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“One, he left,” Wren said.

“And he’s leaving again,” I added.

“Exactly,” Mollie replied. “And two, he has kids. There’s a lot that comes with that. If anything happens, it’s not just the two of you. That can be serious.”

“And if he’s leaving,” Piper continued, “there isn’t time for anything serious.”

“I know,” I admitted. “I’m telling myself this all the time. But I . . . I miss him. A lot. More than I should. Sometimes I give in. You all can judge me if you want.”

“We’re not judging you,” Grace said. “We’re worried about you.”

“I’ll be okay. I promise.” I gave them all a tight smile.

I had a feeling none of them believed me.

Silence continued for far too long and I knew I had to change the subject. I hated talking about myself this much.

“Hey, have any of you heard from the grant at all?” I asked. “Wren?”

“Did someone tell you I was waiting?”

“Yes. Did they approve your proposal yet?”

“No.” She blew out a breath. “No approval yet.”

“Mollie?”

“I don’t use it, but Jackie was worried. They did pay her for her monthly rent.”

“That’s what I heard from Kerry. It’s slower.”

“Maybe they’re running out of money,” Grace said. “They’re not taking anything new on.”

“They sent Marjorie and Henrietta on that cruise,” Piper said. “But things have been quieter for a while. They could be slowing it down.”

“That would be terrible,” I said. “But it makes sense. This is why I want to find out who’s behind it.”

“Wow, today is a bummer.” Wren sighed. “We need a pick-me-up.”

“There haven’t been any fun activities,” Mollie said with a sigh. “We could play Uno.”

“Did you bring the deck?” Grace asked.

“No.”

“Oh! Tammy has it! Can we go get food and hate each other?”

“I love you guys,” I said with a smile. “Until you plus-four me. Then we’ll have issues.”

10

GABRIEL

Dad Company (But Sometimes Good Advice)

Howard Young: This is the year my kids are starting kindergarten. What all should they be able to do? I’m worried about mine struggling with full sentences.

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