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Esther
Esther woke up on Monday with her stomach in knots. At first she couldn’t remember why she was in such a tizzy. Then it came flooding back to her: the date. Oh no. She had a date. Was it a date? Maybe, if she could convince herself that it wasn’t a date, she wouldn’t be so terrified.
She puttered around the apartment, trying to make enough noise to wake Zoe, but Zoe didn’t wake up. She knew she’d stayed out late the night before, but she didn’t know how late. She hadn’t heard her come in. She was a little worried that Zoe had made some bad decisions again.
When it was so late that Zoe would be hard-pressed to get to school on time, Esther gently shook her foot. “Zoe, honey? It’s time to get up.”
Zoe moaned and rolled over. “Nooo.”
Oh no. Maybe she was hungover. She shook her foot again. “Zoe? You okay? Are you not feeling well?”
Zoe’s eyes cracked open, and she gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry. I didn’t drink last night. I was too busy catching criminals.”
Esther laughed. “Really? You caught her?”
“Yep. And we’ve got it all on tape.” Zoe sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked exhausted, but did she also look happy? How terrific was that?
Esther knew she was beaming and tried to control it. She didn’t want to frighten the child. She was so enjoying having her around. Maybe she should get her a real bed. Even if they had to put it in the living room, Zoe should have a bed. She added that to her mental to-do list.
Zoe leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes.
“Unless you’re planning on being late, you really need to get moving.”
Zoe opened her eyes again, reached for her phone, and checked the time. “Oh no.” She stood up, and the covers fell away. She headed toward the bathroom.
“So was it the kid you guys thought it was?”
“Yep,” she said without turning around. “Isabelle Martin. A real piece of work.” She stopped in the bathroom doorway and turned to face her. “Also, she admitted to breaking the basement window.”
Esther gasped. Some stranger had broken the church window? And she’d blamed her granddaughter? This wasn’t good. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” She wished she had more to say, but she couldn’t think of anything.
Zoe gave her a small smile. “It’s okay. If I were you, I would have suspected me too. But, officially, I didn’t do it. Do you believe me?”
Esther nodded quickly. Rachel had been right. It hadn’t been Zoe. “Yes, of course.”
Zoe’s smile widened a little. “Good.” She stepped back and shut the bathroom door.
She was so much prettier when she smiled. Esther wished she would do it more often.
Esther went into the kitchen to toast some bread for Zoe. She didn’t know if she could get her to eat it—Zoe wasn’t big on breakfast—but she hoped the gesture would make her feel loved.
“I don’t have time for breakfast,” she said when she saw the toast, all ready with butter and jam. But she looked happy to see it.
“You can take it with you. And let me give you a ride this time, so you’re not late.”
Zoe hesitated. “Are you going out anyway?”
“No, but it’s not like I have a lot to do today. I’m just going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs worrying about tonight.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah! That’s right! Gramma has a date!” She looked her up and down. “We’re going to have to find you something to wear.”
Esther faked a scowl. “Grab your toast and your bag and let’s go.”
Zoe reached toward the floor by the foot of the couch and then cried out.
Esther looked up, assuming she’d injured herself. “What’s wrong?”
“My bag.”
Esther waited for her to elaborate.
“Um ... I think I left my bag in Alita’s car.” There was panic in her eyes.
“Alita? Who’s Alita?”
“Uh ... you know what? It’s not a big deal.” It was obviously a bigger deal than she was making it. “I’m sure she’ll bring it to school.” She didn’t sound sure at all.
“Who’s Alita?” she repeated, genuinely worried now.
“No one.” She sounded disgusted. “I mean, she’s just a girl from school. She gave me a ride home Friday.”
Oh! Was Zoe making more friends? How lovely! “I can’t believe you didn’t notice your bag was missing till now.”
“Yeah.” She chuckled. “I don’t think much about schoolwork, even when I’m in school. I def don’t think about it on the weekends.”
Esther thought she should probably think about her schoolwork a bit more, but she also thought it was valuable to choose one’s battles. “All right, then. Let’s get you to school.” She left the apartment, not entirely sure Zoe would follow, but she did. “You know,” she said when they stepped into the elevator. “I’m going to try to get you a real bed.”
Zoe looked up, obviously surprised. “You don’t have to do that.”
“You’re planning on staying a while, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. You can stay forever. And I’m going to try to get you a real bed.” It felt good to make this promise. She wasn’t sure how she was going to pay for this bed, but how expensive could it be?
“Is my community service done?”
It took Esther a minute to figure out what she was talking about. Oh yeah, her Rachel time. “Yes. I think so.”
“Okay.” Zoe looked down, and if Esther didn’t know better, she’d think she was almost disappointed.
