Harmony’s family burst into the house with suitcases, backpacks, AirPods in the girls’ ears, and a whole bunch of chatter. Mr. Tuttles barked at them, ran in circles, and then bared his belly to Harper for immediate belly rubs. The pre-teen took the hint, leaning over and administering belly rubs, ear rubs, and even under the chin scritches. Stormy sat up straight and gazed at them with her large eyes.
I forgot how much I missed having them all live close by.
“Aunty Katy!” Ashlyn rushed over to give me a big hug. She and her sister were the only two in the whole world I would ever allow to call me Katy.
“I can’t believe how tall you’ve both gotten,” I said as I gave Harper a side hug. As an almost-teen, she preferred the dignity of more minimal affection. Little did she know that when you got to be old, like me, showing affection to loved ones is not only essential, but greatly welcomed.
Stormy commenced with several loud, demanding meows, and Ashlyn dropped her bag to give Stormy the proper amount of attention. Stormy’s purrs were loud enough for all of us to hear.
“Jeremy. You’re looking good.” Harmony’s husband wrapped me in a tight and comforting hug. Jeremy was a tall, dark, and quiet man. He didn’t speak much, but when he did, what he had to say was always important. He took a step back and looked me in the eyes.
“Thank you,” he said. “For everything you’ve done for Harmony. And everything you’re doing for her mom.”
“I wish I could have done more.”
He nodded once, acknowledging what we weren’t saying.
“I figured you’d all be hungry after that long flight, so I’ve got an early dinner ready to go in the kitchen!”
Harmony dropped her suitcase. “Wait! Did you cook again?”
“Gosh no! You know me better than that! I got takeout from Parma. There’s spaghetti and meatballs, chicken scallopini, and lots and lots of garlic bread!”
“Garlic bread is my favorite!” Ashlyn announced.
I laughed and rumpled her hair. “Really? I had no idea!”
After they took everything upstairs and unpacked, we pulled stools up to the island. No sense in dirtying up the formal dining room table when it was so easy to clean up the island.
“Gramma would never let us eat on paper plates! She says that’s bad for the economy.” Ashlyn said, scooping more spaghetti onto her plate.
“Environment,” Harper corrected.
Ashlyn glared at Harper. “Elbows!” she said. Harper glared back and leaned into her elbows more.
I put my elbows on the counter as well. “Sometimes,” I said, “it’s okay to break the rules. I think this is one of those times. Now, catch me up. How have you two been?”
“Harper wants to be a model. I told her that’s stupid. People should judge you based on your intelligence, not on your looks.” I tried not to laugh. Those were Angie’s words coming out of that little one’s mouth.
“Intelligent people make even better models,” Harper said. “Look at Tyra Banks. She was a model and now she’s a rich businesswoman.”
“We’ve been watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model,” Harmony told me.
“We actually binged them while you were gone,” Jeremy admitted. “I was trying to get keep their minds off other things,” he whispered to me.
“Well, I’m going to be an astronaut,” Ashlyn announced. “But I want to be a cool astronaut, like the ones who used to go up in the space shuttle, except I want to go to Mars.”
“What did you think of the Artemis mission?”
Ashlyn made a sour face. “They went around the moon! Big deal. They did that like years and years ago. And they made a big deal out of the fact that there were women in the control room, like they forgot women have been part of Space Shuttle missions for years!”
I turned my face down to my food to not let her see me laughing. That little girl was a spitfire, and she was right. I didn’t envy anybody who would try to argue with her. Maybe she’d be a lawyer like her grandma.
Harper swiveled to me. “Mom says you’ve been investigating Gramma’s murder.”
“I very much hope it is solved quickly.”
“She’ll solve it,” Ashlyn announced. “Aunt Katy is the smartest person in this town. Probably in the world.” That might be going a little far.
“Ash! We forgot! Aunt Katy’s gift!” Harper gave her little sister a playful shove.
“I’ll go get it!” Ashlyn jumped off her stool and shot upstairs.
Harper looked at me seriously with her doe eyes and long lashes. “Ash was pretty upset about Gramma. We’ve been working to distract her.”
I nodded. “That’s very kind of you.”
Ashlyn proudly entered the room with a large cylindrical black fabric case that looked like it might hold a sword or something similar.
“You brought it?” Harmony asked Jeremy.
He laughed. “I had to get the biggest suitcase, and even in two pieces, it just fit inside.”
Ashlyn somberly pulled out an exquisitely ornate handle attached to a long, clear cylinder. I glanced at her parents, puzzled. Harmony just grinned at me. The young girl made a show of holding it very carefully, horizontal in her hands. She handed it off to Harper, who received it just as reverently. Harper turned to me and offered it up, as though she was presenting a very valuable relic.
I took it just as somberly, finally recognizing what it was. “Push the button!” Ashlyn commanded.
“Stand back!” I said. My new light saber came to life with a satisfying Pwissssht sound. I peered at it, entranced by its likeness to the ones in the Star Wars movies. A yellow light filled the glass blade. I swung it around. Vrummmummmmm FVISH! It made the appropriate light saber sounds when I moved it in a graceful arc. “This is amazing! Thank you so much.” I held it like Rey did from the movies, in a fighting stance, both hands on the handle, elbows down, ready to strike. Mr. Tuttles barked at the light saber, his tail wagging furiously, while Stormy retreated up the stairs.
“We got you Rey’s color. It stands for balance, wisdom, and a new path forward,” Harper told me in a serious voice.
“I’m so touched!” And I meant it. When the girls were younger and Angie babysat them, I had found out they hadn’t seen the Star Wars movies. We started with a New Hope, as everybody should, taking the movies in chronological order by release date. Ashlyn had been a bit too young for the movies then, but Harper and I watched them together, big bowls of popcorn in our laps, Mr. Tuttles curled on the couch next to us.
“We all made one last summer at Disney World,” Harmony said. “The girls insisted we make one for you.”
“Yoda was there!” Ashlyn said, winking at me to let me know she knew Yoda really wasn’t there. She giggled. “He said we were the best group ever to make the light sabers.”
“And then he said it again when we went back in to make yours.” Harper said.
“Clearly, Yoda is very wise,” I ceremoniously handed the light saber back to Ashlyn, who immediately ran into the family room with it, fighting imaginary Sith Lords.
Jeremy began to put the food away, and I was about to tell him not to worry about it when my cell phone rang.
“You’ll never guess who we just arrested for domestic violence,” Javier said.
“Who?”
“Cynthia Barron’s husband, Tony. We’ve booked him and are releasing him, and he’s asked for you to drive him home.”
“I’ll be right there.”