Tessa.

“Did you check the price on that thing we talked about?”

Grant sent it in the family group chat at 9:14 p.m. while Mom was still in the living room scrolling through the same thread. I watched the three dots appear under his name from my bed with the door half closed and my phone face down on my stomach.

Helen Brennan. My mother. She hearted the message in less than ten seconds.

So glad you two are finally bonding. This is going to be such a nice surprise.

The “thing” was not a gift.

The “price” was which door I would leave unlocked.

Grant Hale Brennan. Forty seven....