Chapter 8 #3
When Caleb’s head shot around, his eyes widened. She gave him a wink, then crossed the living room and planted a kiss on the old man’s cheek.
He straightened up—both his spine and his attitude.
“Ariel. Come sit beside me.” When she did, he smiled and gave her hand a little pat, then frowned as he pointed at his grandson. “What are you doing, hanging around riffraff like that?”
She grinned in Caleb’s direction. “He’s not so bad.”
“If your real grandfather were still here, he wouldn’t like hearing you calling me your granddad.”
The longing in Mr. Kennedy’s eyes belied his words.
In fact, it seemed almost as if he secretly wished for a closer relationship with Caleb.
She couldn’t do anything about that. But she could show love and respect.
She glanced at Caleb. His expression had softened, as if he enjoyed the interaction.
“Another island grandfather? I think my Grandpa Sam would approve.”
“Sam Sullivan was a fine man.” He turned to Caleb. “You getting hungry?”
Caleb’s eyes widened at his grandfather’s kind tone. “I could eat. I can get us some sandwiches, and we could all have dinner together at your table.”
Granddad nodded. “I’m hungry too. Do you like chicken salad, Miss Sullivan?”
Apparently, no one had leaked intel about opening the parlor wing. Or about Caleb’s tree-climbing adventure. Good. “It’s my favorite sandwich.”
Fifteen minutes later, after Ariel had pushed a card table up to Granddad Jacob’s recliner section of the sofa, along with a straight-backed chair for herself, Caleb returned with chicken salad sandwiches, pita chips, and red-pepper hummus and interrupted a rousing game of rummy.
Caleb pulled up another chair from the dining table for himself, then set the food on the table.
“I’ve met your father,” Granddad said to Ariel as she walked with him to the table.
“He came here to pick you up once. We used to invite the kids to warm up in our parlor at the first-snowfall party every year. Do you remember? After the children finished playing in the snow, they came to our parlor for games and hot chocolate and hot soup.”
Ariel dropped ice into their glasses and poured sweet tea from the decanter Caleb brought.
“I came once. That night was one of the best times of my life. Sometimes, when I get lonely on the road, I go back to that parlor in my mind and relive the feeling of being included and wanted by someone other than my family.”
Mr. Kennedy fell silent, and she couldn’t discern his thoughts.
“All the kids loved your parlor. None of us had anything like that at home. It’s amazing how such a huge room can feel so warm and inviting.” She handed him a glass and a paper napkin. “I felt so loved that night.”
“I feel a little like that now,” he said.
The sunshine filling her heart took Ariel by surprise.
Maybe Granddad wasn’t the only one who needed more contact with people outside their inner circle. “It’s a shame that beautiful room sits empty when it could bless hundreds of people the way it blessed me.”
Granddad stopped with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. “Do you think it would?”
“I’m sure of it. In all my travels, I’ve never seen a room that could compare.”
The older man turned his attention to Caleb. “If we open the parlor again, what would you do with it?”
Caleb gaped for a moment then recovered. “To start, Ariel’s band needs a place to rehearse, beginning tomorrow night, and the parlor has great acoustics.”
“It would bring extra income too, since we’d pay rent,” Ariel said. “And you could act as host.”
Granddad’s eyes shone with a hint of hope. “What would I do?”
Ariel took a bite of her sandwich. Almost as good as Chicken Salad Chick. “Welcome everyone at the entrance, monitor the refreshment table, and call the restaurant kitchen for refills. Keep an eye on everything so the rest of us can focus on our work.”
“And play some slap bass whenever you think a song needs it,” Caleb said after a long drink of tea. “Think you can still make your old upright sing?”
“I can pop with the best of them.” The set of his jaw said he meant it. “Let me play a song or two with you at rehearsal, and you can use the parlor.”
Ariel hadn’t realized how badly she’d wanted him to agree until her eyes began to sting. She lowered her gaze for a moment and blinked away her surprising tears. “Maybe you could teach me to slap,” she finally said. “I can pluck and bow a bass, but I never did get the hang of popping.”
Later, after Granddad beat them soundly at rummy, they said goodnight.
“I’ll get to the parlor early enough to greet everyone at tomorrow night’s rehearsal. Michelle has the keys.”
Caleb closed the door, leaving it unlocked as his grandfather wished, and turned to Ariel. “I have no idea how, but you accomplished more with my grandfather than I have since I got here.”
“He doesn’t like helplessness. He wants you to need him.” She gave him a little smile. “Everybody needs someone to serve.”
She sneaked a glance at Caleb and held back a grin. Even if the person you’re serving doesn’t yet know how to accept the help.