“How’s Hayden doing?” Mimi asked, picking up a skein of yarn and examining it as if she’d never seen it before, which wasa good possibility.
“He’s fine.” A pause. “We’re going for a run tonight.”
“That’s nice, dear.” Mimi put the yarn back, then moved to a bin beside the counter. “I think I’ll go through the yarn inthis one first.”
Riley moved over to her, bewildered by her apathy. “You don’t sound surprised. Or even interested.”
Mimi set a skein of neon-pink-and-purple yarn on the counter and wrinkled her nose. “What was I thinking buying this stuff?”Then she turned to Riley. “I am interested, sugar. But I also want to respect your privacy. You have no idea how much I want to pepper you with questionsabout you and Hayden, but I won’t.”
“Even if I want to talk about it?”
The skein of horrendous yarn fell out of her hand. “You do?”
“Maybe. A little.” She picked up the yarn off the floor and handed it to Mimi, then leaned against the counter. “I’m so confused.”
“About Hayden?” When Riley nodded, Mimi said, “Men can be confusing creatures, that’s for sure.”
“You didn’t seem confused about Poppy.”
“No, but then again I knew him all my life. We had the same goals and dreams. He didn’t mind that I ran the yarn shop, andI was fine with him working at the soft drink factory. All we wanted was to raise a family . . .”
Riley heard the catch in her grandmother’s throat. “We don’t have to talk about this.”
“No, I’m fine.” Mimi smiled, but there was a sheen of tears in her eyes. “Things didn’t work out the way we hoped, and thathappens. It happens to everyone. But the years I had with your Poppy were the best ones of my life.”
“When did you know you were in love with him?”
Mimi touched the yarn in her lap. “Oh, probably fifth grade.”
“Fifth grade?” Riley was incredulous. “How can you be in love with someone when you’re that young? I mean, really in love.”
“I was always precocious for my age.”
Riley laughed. “I’m serious, though.”
“I know. Back then it was puppy love, obviously. But even when he was a boy, he had a kind soul. He tried to hide it, of course,especially when he became a man. Showing tenderness wasn’t a manly thing back then. Yet when we were together, he droppedthe tough guy act. He’d pick wildflowers for me from his parents’ backyard because he knew I liked them. If he had a candybar, he always gave me half without me even asking. One day he started carrying my books at school, and then he was doingit every day. Gestures like that showed me he cared, and as we grew older, he continued to do things that made me smile. Howcould I not love him?”
The bell above the shop door rang, but it was the postman. Mimi talked to him for a few minutes while Riley absorbed whather grandmother had said. It was a good story, but it didn’t clear up her feelings for Hayden. She shouldn’t have expectedit to, but she did like seeing the love in Mimi’s eyes when she talked about Poppy.
As soon as the mailman left, Mimi turned to Riley. “Now, tell me why you’re confused about Hayden. And don’t even think aboutputting me off, or I’ll never give you peace about this again.” Her tone was teasing, but the expression in her eyes was serious.
Riley sat on the stool behind the counter and touched one of the keys on the cash register. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, Mimi.”
“That’s okay—”
“At eighteen, maybe. Not at twenty-eight.” She sighed. “I don’t understand relationships or my feelings or how I’m supposedto act around other people.”
“Oh, Riley.” Mimi rolled her chair around to the back of the counter and held her hand. “I’m so sorry. I should have taughtyou all those things.”
“Tracey should have taught them to me.” She pulled her hand from her grandmother’s, her heart growing hard as it did whenshe thought about her mother.
“You’re right. She should have.” Mimi paused. “What are you feeling about Hayden?”
“I like him. A lot.”
Mimi smiled. “There’s a lot to like in that young man. He reminds me some of your Poppy. Not in the looks department, althoughyour grandfather was handsome. And sexy—”
“Mimi,” Riley warned. “I don’t need that level of detail.”
“Right. Ahem. Anyway, Hayden is a terrific kid. I don’t blame you for liking him. But one of the important things to knowabout relationships is that it takes time to get to know someone. Focus on getting to know Hayden better, if that’s what youwant to do. Which I imagine is the case, since you two are going running tonight, you insane people.”
Riley chuckled, feeling less pressure. Much like revealing a bit of her past to Hayden helped make her feel better, admittingthat she had feelings for him to Mimi was a relief. She was so used to keeping everything inside, she hadn’t known how goodit felt to share parts of herself with other people she trusted.
“Remember what I said before. I want you to relax and enjoy yourself while you’re here. That includes the time you spend withother people, like Hayden and Harper and the other girls. Don’t worry beyond that. Okay, sugar?”
“All right.” She smiled and took her grandmother’s hand. “Thank you, Mimi.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through yarn, and Mimi found more to donate. Most of the skeins and yarn hankswere pretty, and whoever was the recipient would be pleased. Riley also noticed that Mimi had kept the purple-and-pink yarn.
When they got home later, Mimi settled in her recliner for the evening news with a bowl of SpaghettiOs, which had always beenone of her favorite meals. Riley changed into her one pair of clean shorts and a fresh T-shirt. She ate a protein bar on
