Pops looked unconvinced but nodded.
“For the record,” Delly said, leaning toward us. “This could’ve already been settled. Addy is the dummy who went against medical advice.”
His lips twitched at that, and my heart felt lighter for it.
“Oh, speaking of dummies.” I reached into my pocket for the Dum Dums. “Here.”
“Huh,” Delly said, squinting at me as she plucked the sucker out of my hand. “So that’s why your teeth are blue.”
She pulled the wrapper off and got to work on the strawberry sucker while I short-circuited.
Blue teeth.
Blue teeth.
Had I smiled big enough for Ireland to see them?
I couldn’t remember, but surely, I had. I couldn’t help it around her.
A huff of frustration cut through the beginning of my meltdown, and I saw that Pops was having trouble with his wrapper, his hands shaking too hard to open it.
That brought me out of my social spiral. I reached out and wordlessly removed the wrapper, then stuffed the plastic into my pocket.
His voice was barely a whisper. “Thanks, Bud.”
“Sure thing, Pops.”
I reached over and pulled him into a tight hug before he got started on the sucker. “I love you.”
He grasped me back with his free arm, the faint tremble of his body easing as he gave me his weight and leaned his head on my shoulder. “I love you, too, Adair. So much.”
31
IRELAND
After Dad’s care-team meeting and a few hours of admin work for Jillie at the Locc, I slipped into the locker room for my board. A sticky note was attached to one of its wheels, and I yanked it off with enough enthusiasm to make the wheel spin as I read.
How had Adair managed to sneak in here without me seeing him?
Old age is like underwear… It creeps up on you!
May I have your number? If yes, kindly text (678) 555-9779. (That’s me)
P.S. Yes, I almost ripped up this note and used the next one after I read the top, but that wouldn’t have been environmentally friendly.
P. P. S. I lied. I just couldn’t work up the nerve to write the question again.
P. P. P. S. Did you see my blue teeththis morning?
:(
There were two boxes underneath his sideways frown face with a “yes” and a “no” written beside them.
I was endlessly, hopelessly charmed by it. The noteandhis blue teeth I’d thought about since this morning.
I slipped the note into my pocket, and was about halfway back to Camellia Lane on my board when the implication of him leaving me a note at the Locc clicked into place.
He kept a stack of sticky notes with him.
