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Gracen takes off a sparkly black shawl she'd been wearing over her bare arms as I accept thewhen he says our waiter will be with us soon

I sit close enough to Gracen to feel her body heat, but with enough space I can turn to look at her during conversation I hand the menu to her and she smiles

Tonight is going perfectly Whilehard these last feeeks to spend so to ames, she doesn't have much time left to herself The fact that she would choose to spend that free tio unappreciated

So tonight is about Gracen I'd scored front-row seats to Avenue Q, which is one of Gracen's favorite ht has brought back soh school, and actually had drea an actress I' to be an actress to beco a nurse, because I wasn't a part of her life at that point

We're capping off the evening with a late dinner at one of the best don restaurants thatIa plum table

The waiter comes and we order drinks A bourbon and club soda for me, a dirtyat theether and talk There hasn't been a lot of that lately, and it's a reh my career can be on a relationship

I turn to Gracen, putting ers over the skin on her shoulder She's wearing a simple sleeveless black dress, and she shivers from the touch

"Did you enjoy the show?" I ask her

She s in the candlelight fro It's one of my favorites"

"I re the way she blinks in surprise at that adive her a wink "What? I paid attention to things, you know"

"You used to hate co to the plays andlook

"But I came," I remind her with an unabashed smile

Gracen laughs and reaches out to her water glass As she takes a sip, I ask her, "Why did you become a nurse? You were really focused on the arts your first two years in college"

Gracen's s the ti and perhaps unreachable She shrugs and lifts her eyes to mine "With a baby on the way, I knew I had to focus on a career that actually paid bills"

I force myself not to wince over that reed drastically after I left her Had I stayed, she could have afforded to pursue those dreams and be a mother

I refuse to apologize, though, because Gracen and I have s are in the past and we'reabout it Ever since Gracen told o, I realized that perhaps we are building soer than e had before

So I ask her, "What was it really like? Going through the pregnancy alone?"

Gracen's chin tucks in as she looks atthat old wounds could be torn open I just return her look with one of open curiosity and no judgment

She relaxes and even lifts her chin a bit "It wasn't so bad I was living with Mom and Dad, so I had a lot of support Mom ith me to all of my doctor visits"

This didn't surprise me Gracen is tremendously close to her parents, unlike her older sister, Beverly, as always sort of her own person Independent and not overly giving

"I don't kno you did it," I tell her, but I'm interrupted by the waiter

He sets our drinks down and asks, "Are you ready to order?"

"Not yet," I tell hiht"

"Of course, sir," he says with a slight bow "I'll check back"

I nod and turn back to Gracen to continue our conversation Instead, I find her hand over her le

"What?" I ask her as she just looks ateyes

"You're likeall grown up and mature," she says with a snort as her hand drops from her mouth to reach for her martini

Chuckling, I take a sip of my own drink, feel the ue When I set the glass down, I turn back and tell her, "I don't kno you did it Stayed in school full time Drove a hellacious commute each day Raised a baby"

Gracen shrugs "I' back on it now, I can't really remember It's like the reward of Lilly has sort of obliterated how hard it was to bring her into the world"

My sto about just how hard it was for her I'd read up on placental abruption I know I'm a lucky man that Gracen and Lilly are alive When I think of Gracen sitting in class, probably scared to death when she started bleeding and suffering uniinable pain