Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“You’re great now,” I murmured, hugging her again.
“Don’t worry until you have to,” Kola advised me.
“Easier said than done,” I told him.
After the kids left, I took my turn on the porch, sitting out there with Aja, handing out candy, talking to the children and their parents.
“I miss my kids being this age,” Aja said with a sigh, the two of us with our wineglasses and a charcuterie plate between us.
“Me too,” I replied and then turned to her. “Do you want grandchildren?”
“Of course,” she said, like I was nuts.
“So do I, but with Kola out saving the world and Hannah running Sutter, will I have them?”
Her smile was beautiful. “My darling, I suspect that you will be doing more babysitting than you’re bargaining for with Hannah, and I do believe that whatever Kola ends up doing will be great. But let us remember, Kola needs a net. That’s why he came home from California. My boys are the same way.”
“Yes, but they’re all young.”
“I don’t think it goes away,” she assured me. “I think some people fly-fly-fly, like I did, like you did, but others—like Sam, like Dane, who stayed in the city where he was raised even after losing his parents—stick. Our kids are the same. They’ll stay where their parents are. I think, even if Kola goes to the other side of the world, that he’ll be back. It’s just how he is. Same with that strong, independent woman you’ve raised.”
“And both your brilliant sons.”
“That’s right.”
I took a breath. “Okay. I’ll stop worrying.”
“Good,” she agreed, and then we both turned as Duncan joined us, carrying out a chair, putting it right behind us.
He was kind of smiling.
“What’s with the weird face?” she asked him.
“We need to talk about Thanksgiving.”
I was confused. “Why would we—wait. No. You two wanted to have it at your place.”
“Yes, but if we have it here, people can come in and out all day. That would be a nightmare at our place, with the up and down in the elevator.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Plus, you have such a lovely outdoor space.”
“Your patio is huge, plus you have heaters out there,” I reminded him.
“But the wind.”
“What wind? It’s the penthouse. There’s never wind out there,” Aja chimed in.
He was thinking.
“This is because Aaron doesn’t want Sam’s extended family traipsing in and out of your place,” Aja told him. “That’s naughty.”
“Just us, just the family, that’s fine,” he apprised us. “But it’s too much otherwise.”
I smiled at him. “Just the family. Are we family?”
He looked from me to a barely-holding-it-together Aja, and back to me. “Of course.”
“That means you’re claiming Dane and Sam.”
“And Dane can be annoying at times,” Aja made sure he knew.
“Ditto for Kage,” I added.
“Yeah, but we all know how we are, it’s everyone else that’s weird.”
“Oh, Duncan,” Aja cooed.
He blurred as my eyes filled.
“How much wine have you two had?” he blustered at us before he kissed her cheek and patted mine.
Needless to say, Thanksgiving is at our house this year. Pray for us.
That’s it, have the best rest of November you can, all, and I will report on Thanksgiving and Hannah’s birthday in December. And again, sending lots of love.
DECEMBER 2024
Hello, all. Welcome to He Said, he said for December 2024.
It’s crazy that the year is over, but more importantly, back in October when we realized that Hannah’s birthday would fall on Thanksgiving, I asked what she wanted to do. Being the person she is, she said that of course we would celebrate her birthday and Thanksgiving together, as that would be easiest for everyone.
“Your birthday isn’t about what’s best for others, it’s all about what you want on your special day.”
“I know.”
“Please don’t ever shortchange yourself for anyone.”
“I promise not to do that,” she assured me, and I got a blinding smile as well.
I wanted her to have all the friends she wanted as well as family, so we decided the best thing would be an open house Thanksgiving/birthday bash. Everyone was invited, from her grandparents to her friends that she did her new podcast, Redux, with. She and her friend Simone and her other friend Coretta—who she still roomed with—talked about all kinds of topics, from anime to current events to vacation spots to literature. Their listening audience had been steadily growing, which all three women enjoyed. It was fun to see strangers realize who she was.
For her birthday, Aja, Regina, and I all cooked her favorite dishes, and on top of that, Aaron’s gift was an additional catering budget to spend on more food and drinks, as well as a bartender, waitstaff, and a service to clean up afterward. They also brought in a dance floor and placed it under a big white tent. Very fancy. What was nice was that even though there were a lot of people moving in and out of my kitchen, it was still my food they were serving along with side dishes. There was no set time for everyone to be there, and that was nice too. People came and went all day long.