Becca.
After the barbecue, James told me what had been on his mind.
Alison was out of prison.
Like he had said, there wasn’t much we could do about it right now, so I took in the news and tried to think of something else.
At night, we both collapsed into bed. It had been a long day.
I woke up happy the next day, despite the news James had given me, and made a point to spend the day with Alessandro again.
We were playing on the floor blanket, and he grinning as he shook a toy box that made a jingle sound. He squealed as though this were the best thing ever, when James came over to me.
“James?” I asked at his mysterious smile.
“I’m going out,” James said. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, then the top of Alessandro’s head. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where are you going?” I called at his back.
James just waved a hand, and I frowned as the bedroom door closed.
“Well,” I mumbled to Alessandro. “Grandpa is being a bit of a poop.”
