The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(32)

Hannah’s mother put her hand on her heart fondly. “Seems like yesterday.”

“I’m so glad I didn’t follow my childhood musings,” Liam said. “I wanted to be a circus clown.”

Hannah laughed out loud, his comment totally taking her off guard. “Now that I think about it, you might be able to pull off one of those giant curly wigs,” she said with another laugh.

“You think?”

“Yes, but only with a squeaky nose.” She liked the way he looked at her whenever they shared an amusing moment.

“I wanted to be the first clown magician famous enough to have his own show. I spent hours learning magic tricks from books, and at my best, I could make a quarter disappear from the palm of my hand.”

“Can you still do that trick?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t thought of those days in a long time.”

Hannah wondered why he wouldn’t have tried to show the trick to Noah.

“I’d love to see you attempt it, Liam,” Maura said, getting up from her chair and digging around in her purse. She returned with a quarter and handed it to Liam.

He took the quarter between the pointer finger and thumb of his left hand, holding it up. “Okay, I might be a bit rusty,” he said, wriggling it back and forth. “You see,” he continued dramatically, while holding up his right palm as if he were about to high-five someone, “I only have this one quarter.” He moved with a fluid motion, transferring the quarter into the palm of his right hand. “Then I close my hand around it like so.” He held up his right fist. “But wait.” He opened it up and his hand was empty.

Both Hannah and her mama gasped in surprise.

“How in the world…?” Hannah’s father said.

“Where is it?” Hannah asked.

He opened his other hand. “Right here,” he said with a grin.

“That’s fantastic,” Maura said. “Perhaps you really should’ve been a magician.”

It occurred to Hannah, as she soaked in his smile, that there was definitely a glimmer of magic floating around Liam.



“Gran was insistent that I make the cake this way,” Mama said after dinner, as she set the glass dome to the side, her knife sinking into the waves of buttercream while they all sat around the table with their dessert plates. “So I did everything exactly as she told me to. I baked the entire thing on video chat, hoping the project would cheer her up.” Maura eased out a slice of the cake and set it down on Hannah’s plate, then motioned for Liam’s.

“Peanut butter fudge swirl,” Hannah said, nostalgia filling her up. “I thought it was going to be red velvet.”

“Gran has been meticulously involved in what’s going on here ever since she found out you were coming home. And she’s had a hand in all of this. She chose the roses. She picked the cake—Liam, here you go.” Maura handed Liam his slice.

“Thank you,” he said. He was relaxed, setting down the plate and draping his elbow on the back of his chair, his mug of cider in the other hand.

Mama cut a piece for Chuck. “And the smaller present on top there—Gran was unrelenting about me finding it and wrapping it up for you.” Mama cut herself a slice of cake and sat down.

Her father held up his mug of mulled cider. “To thirty-five, a golden age where we step onto the path of life and begin the journey to who we really are. Happy birthday, my dear.”

“Cheers,” Maura said, holding up her mug and clinking it with Chuck’s. Liam and Hannah raised their mugs too.

As they all nibbled their cake, Mama handed Hannah the bigger of the two gifts. “This one’s from your dad and me,” she said, wrinkling her nose with fondness for her daughter.

Hannah untied the bow and then pulled the tape loose at the end of the gift, ripping off the red heart-printed paper. “Oh, that’s so wonderful,” she said, turning the new sweater around for Liam to see. “It’s gorgeous.” She got up and hugged her parents. “Thank you.”

“I saw it in the store window and it just screamed your name,” her father said.

“You’ll look absolutely beautiful in it. I just know it,” Mama chimed in. “Now, unwrap Gran’s gift.” She reached over and got it, passing it to Hannah.

“Should we get Gran on a video call first?” Hannah suggested.

“That’s a great idea.” Mama got up and retrieved her phone, tapping on the screen.

The phone pulsed as Hannah held the book-shaped gift in her hands. Then she heard Gran’s voice.

“Hello, Faye,” Maura said. “I’ve got Hannah here, and she’s about to unwrap your gift.” She turned the phone around. Gran was on the screen in a hospital gown, her gray hair in disarray, which was a far cry from the fashionable crop she usually styled every day.

“I wanted you to be here when I unwrapped it,” Hannah said, trying not to panic at the transparent hue of Gran’s skin or the way her eyes looked as though half the life had been sucked out of them. Gran raised a weak hand and touched her lips to hide her smile, revealing the IV in her bruised skin. Hannah chewed on her lip, the shock of seeing Gran spiking her emotions despite her attempt to stay calm. She looked so much older…