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crackers for me. No, I’m not on a diet. Hardy har har.
    Grandpa shows up around three and my stomach flip flops seeing him go directly from the back to the front door. He opens it out and then stands outside, lets it fall closed and then pushes it in.
    He raises his eyebrows at me. “Don’t know what your mom got so up in arms about this for. Seems to work great and now it’ll be easier for folks in wheelchairs to get through.”
    I shrug. “That was the whole idea. You know Mom.”
    Grandpa kind of chuckles in a way that says, I do, but it’s not really funny . “How much did you pay for it? She said you didn’t use Landon, which is perfectly fine by me, that man’s a menace to society, but I suspect that’s partly why she’s got a bee in her bonnet.”
    “My friend.” I cringe a little inside thinking about how badly I wanted Gabe to kiss me and how friend doesn’t even begin to describe the way things are between us, “The one who actually brought the problem to my attention. His dad is used to figuring out how to modify things for him, so he came over before his shift at Chandler’s and did it for free.”
    “Really? I hope you offered him a discount at least?” Grandpa was the King of Discounts – not that he gave the store away, but he for sure knew when and how much to give each customer.
    “I started out giving them twenty percent for the hassle of the door and for getting their Thanksgiving linens in three weeks early.” I examine my fingernails. “But then Mom pissed me off by being Mom, so I told Mr. Riley they could have free dry cleaning for life.”
    This time Grandpa really does laugh. “I’ll let you tell her about that.”
    I roll my eyes. “I won’t have to tell her. She’s still going over my receipts and questioning my every move.”
    Grandpa comes away from the door and starts futzing with things on the counter – taking the pens out of their container and dropping them back in, arranging all the finished tickets on the spindle we stab them onto so that they all go the same way. Finally, he takes in a deep breath.
    “I’m going to let you have this store and I’m going to keep Kathleen out of it. Your mom is a great businesswoman and Lord knows she’s done wonders with the measly empire I tried to build, but she’s not a very nice person and I don’t want you to become like her. You have lots of potential, Brynnie. I want you to take it all over and I’m going to let you start now, if you want.”
    I lean over the counter and drag Grandpa into a hug. “Of course I want! I have so many ideas and I promise I won’t disappoint you.”
    “I know you won’t, sweetheart.” Grandpa backs away from me a bit and then comes around the counter. After a minute of rummaging, he comes up with a Help Wanted sign. “I’ll stick this in the window, if you want to put an ad on Craiglist and with the paper.”
    “What position am I hiring for?” I think Junnuen and I are kicking ass.
    “You’re going to want someone part-time for Christmas, aren’t you?” He props the sign up against the glass right next to the door.
    “Sure, I guess. I just assumed you and Mom were going to make me suffer through a holiday season in a, like, trial by fire kind of thing.”
    “Well, if your mother was in charge, I’m sure that’s the way things would go. But, since she’s only got forty-nine percent interest in my business, I do have two percent more say. And I say you’re gonna do fine and you’re gonna need some help.” Grandpa winks. “Plus, I did say for Christmas. I’ll let Thanksgiving week be your final test.”
    After Grandpa leaves, I find myself wanting to text Gabe to tell him the good news … except I don’t have his number and I really shouldn’t be texting Gabe.
    I text Andy instead.
     
    Hey, baby. Guess what? Grandpa is officially giving me this store to run as I please!!
     
    When he doesn’t text back immediately, I go through what I think his schedule is in my