Chapter 2 — Grandchildren Week

Mia had counted down for twelve straight days. Every morning she marked off one square on the paper calendar taped beside our refrigerator in Austin. She had drawn a purple star around Friday, when we planned to drive to my parents’ home outside San Antonio.

Six nights with Grandma and Grandpa. Six breakfasts beside her cousins, Owen and Natalie. Six evenings when Grandma supposedly let everyone stay awake past bedtime.

Mia packed her own backpack. She tucked inside two stuffed animals, a rechargeable moon-shaped night-light, three picture books, and exactly eleven crayons secured with a rubber band.

“Why eleven?” I asked.

“The red one is broken.”

“That still counts as one crayon.”

“It counts as two crayons.”

I accepted her explanation. She carefully placed both pieces beside the others. “Grandma says we can color after bedtime.”

“Grandma says lots of things when she wants everyone to like her.”

Mia looked at me with complete seriousness. “She is popular.”

“With you, apparently.”

She smiled before zipping the backpack shut. I watched how excited she was and tried to ignore the quiet uneasiness inside me.