“She’s a wise one, your mom.”

“Yeah.”

Slowly easing into the conversation, Emory decided to push further. “So things have been a little rough for you lately, huh?”

Grace shrugged and looked up at her. “Did my mom tell you about what happened today? About my heart condition?”

Emory nodded and turned out to the water, trying to seem as cavalier as possible. It was important she not say the wrong thing here.

“I’m upset that I can’t go back to camp, but the worst part is that this was my one chance to get these girls from my school to like me, and now that will never happen.”

“Explain. What girls?”

“Angela and Brianna are two girls from my class who were also at summer camp. Everyone wants to be their friend, but they don’t like talk to just anybody. All last year they ignored me or made mean comments, and I wasn’t invited to Brianna’s sleepover that all the girls went to. But at camp, they started paying attention to me and they didn’t say anything mean, at least lately. They asked me to eat lunch with them some days too. But that’ll never happen again now. They saw me faint, and when they hear I got kicked out of camp, they’ll probably laugh about it and ignore me again.”

Emory frowned and faced Grace who looked completely crestfallen. “What do you mean they would laugh about it?”

“They make fun of people a lot.”

“They sound like mean girls to me, Grace. Do you like them?” She knew she was pushing, but she didn’t like what she was hearing.

“Do I like them?” Grace repeated. She seemed to be asking herself the question for the first time. “Um, I don’t know. But I want them to like me.”

“Why?”

She thought for a moment. “Because everyone thinks they’re cool.”

“Everyone but you,” Emory pointed out gently.

“Yeah.”

“Who do you think is cool, if I may ask?”

Grace shifted her mouth to the side, considering her options. “Mindy. She’s my friend from school. She loves to watch movies and then write reviews about them. She’s a great writer, so funny.”

“She sounds creative.”

Grace regarded Emory through thoughtful eyes. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t care so much about people I don’t even like and remember who my real friends are.”

Emory shrugged casually. “I didn’t say anything. I just asked a few questions. C’mon, let’s head back.” They walked in silence again, Grace trailing behind Emory a couple of steps until finally she stopped walking entirely.

“Thanks.”

Emory turned back and faced Grace, who met her eyes squarely. “For what?”

“Listening and not trying to fix it. Mom always tells me exactly what I should do when something is bothering me. You didn’t do that. You just listened and let me figure it out myself.”

“No big deal. Plus, I think you probably already knew.”

“I guess. Why don’t you have any kids? You would be a cool mom.”

The comment resonated. “Uh, that’s a tricky one. I guess what it comes down to is that I’m really, really busy.”

“Too busy for a family?” Grace was clearly shocked.

“Well, I used to think so.”

“But not anymore?”

“I guess I have some figuring out to do myself.”

“Take your time.” Grace patted Emory on the shoulder. “You have to do what’s right for you. You may regret it though. You know, never having a family of your own. Lonely life.”

“Geez.” Emory ran her hand through her hair. “Way to give me a hard time. That’s kind of heavy talk from an eight-year-old.”

“Mom says I’m going on forty.”

“At least.”

Just then, Grace’s eyes flared at something just past Emory. Curious, Emory turned just in time for two very large paws to land squarely on her chest. “Whoa,” she gulped just as Grace managed to call, “Watch out!”

“Too late, I think.” Emory stared into the familiar chocolate brown eyes of the offender. “Oh, hell.”

Grace inhaled sharply. “That’s a bad word.”

Emory slid her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“We don’t have to tell Mom.”

“I appreciate that.”

“He seems to like you.” Grace giggled, enjoying the giant doggy kiss the retriever forced on Emory’s unwilling cheek.

“It seems so,” she agreed dryly. “We’ve met before.” She gently lowered the stray to the ground, and he responded by rolling onto his back and offering up his lonely, unscratched tummy. Grace fell to her knees and set to work, providing him with a good rub and earning a few kisses of her own.

“Aww. He’s so cute, Emory. Where are his owners?”

“That, my young friend, is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.” She surveyed the expanse of the beach, but there was no one but a couple of guys tossing a football who informed them they weren’t familiar with the dog. “I guess he’s just a stray that hangs out in this area. Maybe I should call animal control.”

“No!” Grace practically shouted. “They may put him to sleep like on 20/20. Can he come back to your house with us? Please?”

Emory shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, kiddo, I’m not a dog person. Plus, I’m not home enough to take care of him and he’d probably tear up the house.” Grace looked crestfallen, and Emory felt the pang of regret in her chest. “But, hey, why don’t we just let him hang out on the beach? He seems to like it out here. I won’t call anyone if you don’t want me to.”

“Promise?” Grace offered up her miniature pinky.

“I promise.” Emory intertwined the pinky with her own. “Let’s head back. Last time he was pretty good about obeying when I told him to stay.”

“Wait. He needs a name.”

“All right. A name is okay, I guess. What do you want to call him?”

Graced didn’t hesitate. “Looks like a Walter to me.” She nodded her head in affirmation of her work.

Emory arched an eyebrow. “Walter? Not Ace or Lucky or Bo? You know, something a little more dog friendly?”

“After Walter Cronkite,” Grace supplied, as if Emory might have missed something. “My papi and I think he was the greatest newsman in the history of the United States, and this dog looks smart. Like he wouldn’t fail you.”

Emory had to admit, the kid could back herself up. “All right then. Walter it is.”

When they arrived back at the house, the dishes were put away and the kitchen in tiptop shape, much to Emory’s delight and regret.

“You truly didn’t have to do that, you know,” she said to Sarah, who was waiting for them in the living room. While it was a nice gesture, she felt a little guilty about allowing her company to handle the clean up. However, Sarah had been so insistent, and she still wasn’t entirely clear on what would or would not upset her. They seemed to be so in tune, yet so different at the same time. It was puzzling.

“I know, I know. I think you’ve said that a hundred times tonight. You don’t want people to start calling you Broken Record do you? Because there are more favorable nicknames I can come up with for you.”

Emory frowned. “Well, that’s a shame because I happen to like Broken Record.”

“Lying is wrong.”

“It is,” Grace chimed in sincerely.

After much discussion, they decided a movie would be a fun way to cap off the evening, and Emory allowed Grace to select one from her extensive Blu-ray collection. They each took a spot on the spacious sectional, and Sarah watched Emory work her magic with the plethora of foreign looking remote controls until Grace’s favorite movie, Up, appeared on the large plasma screen on the wall. Thirty minutes later, just as the little boy was annoying the poor old man, Grace was fast asleep.

Sarah surveyed Grace who had managed to curl up on the side of the sectional closest to Emory, her head resting on her shoulder. “They look so peaceful when they’re asleep, don’t they?”

Emory threw an affectionate glance down at Grace’s angelic face. “They really do.”

“Don’t let it fool you,” Sarah whispered dramatically.

“Stop talking about me,” Grace mumbled, her eyes still closed. “I’m right here.”