I smirked. “Not even a little.”
Grace shot me a look. “I’m providing emotional support. Assisting, if you will.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, leaning against the counter. “Seems more like you’re just avoiding touching anything.”
Before she could respond, a cloud of flour exploded into the air.
Noelle froze, her hands coated in white powder, her eyes wide. Grace blinked in shock, glancing down at the new layer of flour dusting her sweater. I was about to scold Noelle—just a little—when Grace burst into hysterical laughter.
Noelle cracked up too, and suddenly, I found myself fighting back a grin. Instead, I groaned, swiping flour out of my hair. “That better not have been on purpose.”
“It wasn’t,” Noelle said between giggles. “But it was really funny.”
I sighed, shaking my head, but any frustration dissipated with their joint laughter.
Then all of a sudden, Noelle gasped and darted out of the kitchen.
Grace raised an eyebrow. “Should I be worried?”
“Probably,” I said, used to my daughter’s dramatic entrances and exits by now.
A few seconds later, Noelle came running back, a small gift box clutched in her hands. She thrust it toward Grace, practically bouncing up and down. “I got you something!”
Grace blinked, clearly caught off guard. She wiped her hands on a dish towel before taking the box. “You did?”
Noelle nodded eagerly. “Open it!”
Grace lifted the lid, and the second she saw what was inside, something in her face shifted.
Noelle had picked different charms for Grace’s charm bracelet: a high-heeled shoe, a heart, and a skyscraper.
“You got this for me?” Grace asked, her voice quieter now.
Noelle’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. “I wanted us to match! You got me mine, and it’s my favorite thing ever. Now, you have some charms from me and Dad. See? It has a heel because you love them even when they make your feet hurt. The heart says ‘friends forever’ and I got a matching one because you promised we’d always be friends. Then the skyscraper is so you always remember the city even if you’re not there. It’ll be like we’re always together even when we’re not.”
“That’s such a sweet idea. It’s perfect.” Grace shook her head, her voice filled with emotion.
Noelle’s eyes brightened, and she gave her a tight hug, her tiny arms wrapping around her. “I’m glad you like it,” she said softly. She practically melted with happiness as they embraced effortlessly, like she had been doing it her whole life.
I stood there, watching them, something settling deep in my chest.
Noelle adored Grace. And Grace, she loved Noelle. And I knew, this meant something.
To all of us.
“Turn left,” Caleb instructed. “No, your other left,” he said, panic clear in his voice.
“Caleb, I knew this was going to be a bad idea. Switch with me.”
He shook his head and muttered, “I will do no such thing. So you bumped a curb, big whoop.”
Caleb was teaching me how to drive. Well, trying at least. We had been doing these lessons since I passed the written test two weeks ago.
“I turned the wheel too much on that turn and ended up on the sidewalk. Hardly ‘bumping a curb.’” I rolled my eyes but then remembered I was supposed to focus and tightened my hands around the steering wheel.
Driving was no joke. It terrified me after what happened to my sister, but I couldn’t keep letting fear control my life, so I was trying. Doing the written test was easy. It didn’t entail any action besides memorizing on my part. Meanwhile, the actual driving part required my full attention, which wasn’t great to begin with. My attention span was like a squirrel at times, and I lived in myhead. Not a great combination for a new driver. Especially one with anxiety.
Caleb had been so patient and had remained mostly unfazed despite some of my blunders. I never scared him off, even when I had a full-on panic attack when I accidentally turned onto the highway. Caleb stayed calm in the passenger seat and instructed me where to pull over so he could get us back to beginner territory.
