Make a Wish (Spark House #3)(86)
“Is Dad mad at Granny?” Peyton asks once we’re in her room.
“I think there was just a miscommunication.” It’s a small lie, but she’s nine and dragging her into this family stuff isn’t necessary. “Did you sleep okay last night?”
“It was okay. Granny kept checking in on me, and it made it hard for me to fall asleep because she kept opening the door and it was creaking a lot.” She pushes her door open, revealing the mint-green room decorated in a fairy theme. Based on the room alone, it’s very clear that Peyton’s grandparents adore her and dote on her when they have the chance. I feel bad that there’s so much animosity between her and Gavin. And that I seem to be the catalyst for much of it. “After you sang me the lullaby, she stayed in my room for a little while and rubbed my back and then I went to sleep.”
“That’s good.” I give her a reassuring smile. “Tell me about these pictures.” I motion to the wall of photos.
“That’s my mom when she was pregnant with me. Granny says I look like her when she was my age, except my hair is darker, like Dad’s.”
I stand beside Peyton, staring at the same picture she is. I can see Marcie and pieces of her dad in her. She has her father’s smile, but her mother’s delicate mouth and her dark eyes and the same wavy hair.
“You do look a lot alike, but I can see your dad in you too.”
“Granny says we’re alike, me and my mom. My mom liked arts and crafts like me. And she loved books and dressing up like a princess.” She points to a picture of her mom and Gavin on their wedding day. “Granny says she looked like a real princess on her wedding day, and that she wanted to start a family right away. Granny says she wanted a big family and to give me at least one brother and a sister, but she didn’t get the chance.”
“That would have been nice, wouldn’t it? If you’d had a brother or a sister or both?”
Peyton nods. “Sometimes it’s lonely being an only child, but Granny tells me I’m good at keeping myself entertained.”
“You are definitely good at that.” I point to a picture of Marcie with a group of women. I recognize one of them as Lynn. “Were these your mom’s friends?”
“Yup. They were her best friends.” She goes on to name the rest of them. “When I come to visit sometimes, Granny sets up playdates with their kids.”
“Does your dad still keep in touch with them?”
Peyton shakes her head. “Only Ian and Lynn. He doesn’t really ever talk about Mom, and when he does, he gets real sad for a couple of days, so I try not to bring her up, but Granny loves to talk about her, so we do that a lot.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you and your granny can have those talks. It’s important that you learn about your mom, especially since you never got to meet her yourself.”
Peyton nods. “I wish I could have met her. Just one time. And Granny says one day when I go to heaven, I’ll get to meet her. But I don’t want to go to heaven anytime soon, because I’d have to leave Dad, and I don’t want him to be alone. And I have a lot of things I still want to do. Like become an architect like my dad, and get the lead role in a play and ride a horse and go to Disney World.”
I swallow down the lump in my throat. “Those are all good reasons to be here.”
“I think so.” She twists her hands. “Sometimes I think Granny gets worried about Dad finding someone new to love because she thinks she won’t get to see me as much. And I guess maybe it’s true because I used to see her almost every day when I lived here, and now I only see them sometimes because the drive is a lot longer.”
My heart clenches, and as I stand here, in a guest room that’s been converted into their granddaughter’s special bedroom, I can see how difficult this must be for Karen. Especially since it seems a lot like Gavin has put Marcie in a box that he doesn’t like to open.
Of course it makes sense that she’s worried about me coming in and taking away Gavin and her granddaughter. Replacing a woman who has only been a photograph for the daughter she never got to meet.
It’s a tricky situation, and Gavin is clearly struggling with keeping Karen appeased and moving on with his life.
I hear raised voices coming from downstairs, mostly Gavin’s. And a minute later, Peyton’s door swings open. His gaze moves around the room in a quick sweep, not stopping at the pictures on the walls.
“Is everything okay?”
“We’re going to head back to Colorado Springs.”
“I’m not staying another night with Granny?” Peyton wrings her hands.
“No, honey, we’re going to head back now.”
“But we were supposed to go to the park. Granny said we might meet up with Patty and her mom there.” Peyton looks like she’s about to burst into tears.
“I’m sorry, kiddo. We’ll have to do this another time. It looks like there’s a storm rolling in, and we don’t want to get stuck here. I have meetings on Monday, and I can’t afford to miss them. Let’s pack your stuff so we can head home.”
It sounds like a hollow excuse, even to me. And Gavin won’t meet my gaze as he crosses the room and starts helping Peyton gather her things.
The goodbye is stiff and awkward, and the ride back to Colorado Springs is quiet and tense. Something clearly happened with Karen, I just don’t know what. And poor Peyton sits in the back seat, sniffling occasionally because she’s disappointed they had to leave and she couldn’t see any of her friends.