Marie blew her nose and reached for her mug. “I saw the map you had on the coffee table in the living room. Was that your grandfather’s?”
Emma nodded. “I found it. He has a whole room full of his belongings at the library.”
A flicker of surprise moved across Marie’s face. “I’d heard rumors of that, but I wasn’t sure…”
Emma reached across the table for her mother’s hand. “I think we should figure out what the eclipse is going to reveal. If not for ourselves, then for Dad.”
Marie gave her a small smile. “I’m sure he’d love that.”
Emma knew she was right, especially after the conversation she’d had with her father at the hospital.
For his sake, she needed to see this through.
Jules came racing down the stairs a heartbeat later, hair a tangled mess around her face and a thick fleece robe thrown over her pajamas. “There you are. I was wondering where you went when I couldn’t find you in the room.”
Emma rose to her feet. “What’s wrong?”
“Kyle is here.” Jules gathered her hair into a bun on top of her head. “He took a flight out to surprise me. He’s actually a few minutes away.”
“Sweetheart, that’s great.” Emma gave Jules a quick hug and then peered at her. “You don’t look too happy about it though.”
Jules shook her head. “No, I am. I just wasn’t expecting him. I don’t know where he can stay…”
Marie draped an arm over Jules’s shoulders and squeezed. “He’ll stay here, of course. The couch in the living room is a pullout, and we’ll be happy to have him.”
Jules breathed a sigh of relief. “Grandma, are you sure? I know it’s incredibly short notice…”
Marie waved her comment away. “Why don’t you go wash your face, and we’ll be here to welcome Kyle when he comes, okay?”
Jules threw her arms around Marie for a hug and squeezed.
Moments later, she raced up the stairs, and the door to Emma’s old room slammed shut. Smiling, Emma ducked into the bathroom downstairs to splash water on her face and fix her hair. A short while later, when Emma was smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothing, Kyle arrived at the door. He was flushed, the tip of his nose bright red, and his parka was covered in flecks of snow. Marie wasted no time pulling him inside and into the kitchen.
Marley staggered into the kitchen at the same time Emma did, and the two of them exchanged a brief look.
“Ms. Sullivan, it’s so good to see you again.” Kyle towered over her, green eyes bright and focused as he offered a quick hug. “I hope it’s okay that I’m just dropping by like this.”
“Of course, it’s okay. We’re happy to have you, and I know Jules is thrilled. She’s just upstairs, changing out of her pajamas. I’m sure she’ll be down in no time.”
“In the meantime”—Marie linked her arm with his and led him into the living room—“tell me about the archaeological digs in Egypt. You were in Greece before that, right?”
Kyle smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s right, Mrs. Sullivan. I’ve been traveling a lot, and we’re trying to catalog as much as we can. We’re learning a lot about how people used to live, and it’s just amazing…”
The rest of his sentence trailed off as the door slipped shut behind him.
As soon as it did, Marley wheeled on her, her smile stretching from ear to ear. “Jules has good taste. Where did she dig him up?”
Emma chuckled and took a sip of her coffee. “He was a guest lecturer at her college for a semester. He’s a good kid.”
And he made Jules happy, which was all that mattered.
Marley took a long sip of her coffee and checked her watch. “Okay, I’ve got to go. I volunteered to help set up for the play at the high school tonight. You’re coming, right?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Tell Jules to bring her boyfriend. The town is going to eat him up.”
Marley gave her cheek a quick peck on the way past.
