She could walk into a room of donors and executives and know within minutes who was performing kindness and who practiced it when nobody was watching. Frank missed that about her almost as much as he missed the sound of her laugh.
Emily touched his sleeve.
“You disappeared again.”
“What?”
“The thinking thing.”
“Sorry.”
“Grandma?”
Frank looked at her.
She shrugged. “You get that face.”
He smiled. “Yes.”
Emily leaned her shoulder lightly against his for a second.
No more needed to be said.
Marcus returned from lunch wearing the same dealership polo but looking somehow even more uncertain than before. He approached them cautiously.
“Diane said I should pick things back up where we left off.”
Emily smiled. “Good.”
Marcus looked at Frank. “Sir, I want you to know I didn’t realize who you were.”
“That is one of the reasons we’re still talking.”
Marcus blinked.
Frank smiled. “You treated us well without knowing. Don’t ruin it by acting different now.”
A grin broke across Marcus’s face.
“Yes, sir.”
“And stop calling me sir every sentence.”
“I’ll try, Mr. Dalton.”
“Frank is fine.”
Marcus looked horrified by the idea. Emily laughed.
“Maybe work up to it,” she suggested.
They returned to the blue sedan.
This time Emily asked Marcus to let her inspect the trunk, spare-tire area, child-safety locks, and rear-seat folding mechanism. Frank stood back. He wanted Marcus and Emily to conduct the conversation without him shaping every question.
Marcus did something Trent had not done once.
He asked Emily what she needed the car for.
“School mostly,” she said. “I’ll be commuting to the community college for the first year. Then maybe transferring. I work at a bakery on weekends. My mom lives about twenty-five minutes away, so I’ll use it for family stuff too.”
“How much highway driving?”
“Probably half.”
“You carry people often?”
“Friends sometimes.”
“Sports equipment? Big cargo?”
“No.”
Marcus nodded. “Then this actually makes sense for you. I’d also show you two others before you decide. One is cheaper but has more mileage. One costs about the same but gets slightly worse fuel economy and has a stronger warranty. You should compare.”
Frank said nothing.
Emily looked at him.
He gave the smallest nod.
They spent nearly an hour comparing all three cars.
The cheaper one was perfectly acceptable, but Emily disliked the seating position and the steering felt vague to her. The third car was newer and carried a longer remaining warranty, but insurance would be higher and the rear visibility worse.
They returned to the blue sedan.
“I still like this one,” Emily said.
“Then now you know why,” Frank replied.
That distinction pleased him.
Liking a thing after comparison was different from falling in love before understanding it.
Diane emerged from the administrative hallway just as they were returning the key to Marcus. Trent followed several paces behind her.
He looked different.
Not defeated. Frank would have disliked that. More like someone whose certainty had been punctured and who was still adjusting to the pressure change.