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“The very minute your grandma was born, the rain stopped and the sun came out, bright and beautiful.”
“Really?”
Patrick nodded, embellishing the story for her entertainment. “Yes. Her da said it was like magic, like she’d summoned the sun. She’d made it a Sunday, even though it was only Thursday.”
Sunnie giggled. “Tha
t’s silly.”
“So when you think about it, your name means you bring sunshine and warmth. You make people happy.”
Sunnie smiled, and he could see his words had truly sunk in. She glanced at the picture again. “She’s pretty.”
Patrick swallowed the lump in his throat her words provoked. “She is indeed.”
“When I grow up, I’m going to marry you, Pop Pop, so you won’t be alone anymore.”
Now he blinked back tears. “That’s a lovely gesture, my sweet girl. Would you like to see some more pictures of your grandma?”
Sunnie nodded eagerly, and Patrick was pleased to have found something they could enjoy together. Looking at family photos was one of his favorite things to do.
He flipped the book to the beginning and pointed to the black-and-white photo. “This is my first photo of your grandma Sunday. It’s how she looked the year I first met her.”
They’d only flipped a few more pages when Landon appeared at the door. “I hurt my elbow.”
Patrick spotted the rug burn on the boy’s arm. “Wrestling again?”
Landon shrugged, clearly not willing to confess.
“I can fix it.” Sunnie darted into the bathroom, emerging with the box of Toy Story Band-Aids he kept there. His grandchildren, Sunnie especially, were enamored of Band-Aids, always needing one for some tiny paper cut, scratch or imagined wound.
She peeled off the wrapper, placed the brightly colored bandage on his elbow, and then, adorably, kissed the boo-boo.
Landon smiled in appreciation, then looked at the album in Patrick’s hands. “What are you doing?”
“Looking at pictures of my grandma Sunday,” Sunnie said. “I’m named after her.”
“Can I see?”
Patrick patted the empty spot on the other side of him, and Landon climbed onto the bed as well. They flipped through several pages, as Patrick pointed out who everyone was.
“I’m going to be a Collins one day too,” Landon decided, clearly unaware of how families worked.
“You’d make a fine Collins, Landon.”
Patrick was even more pleased when Finn found them a few minutes later, hopping on the bed to look at the album as well.
He’d found a way to allow Sunnie to play with the boys with no one complaining.
Patrick wasn’t sure how long he and the children sat there, flipping through the pages as he told them story after story, delighted by their curiosity about his past and their laughter when he told an amusing tale. He was lost in the memories when Riley’s voice at the doorway startled him.
“Pop?”
They all looked up together. “Oh, Riley. I didn’t hear you come in.”
Patrick was amused by Riley’s expression—one of confusion and shock.
“What are you doing in here?”
