Grant’s visits started again in March. Supervised. At a family center on Kingston Pike. One hour every other Saturday.
The first time, Nolan didn’t want to go. The second time, he went but didn’t talk. The third time, Grant brought a book about the solar system and asked Nolan to show him which planet was his favorite.
They read it together for the whole hour.
Afterward, in the car, Nolan was quiet for a long time.
“Dad didn’t know Saturn has rings made of ice,” he said finally. “I had to tell him.”
“How did that feel?” I asked.
He thought about it.
“Kind of good,” he said.
Part Eleven: Second Chances
In April, Nolan asked me if we could go back to the pawn shop.
“Which pawn shop?” I asked, though I knew.
“Second Chances,” he said. “Where Great-Grandma’s necklace is.”
I knelt down to look at him.
“Honey, it’s been seven months,” I said. “Mr. Harmon probably sold it a long time ago.”
“He said he’d hold it,” Nolan said. “I heard you tell Grandma.”
I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want him to be disappointed. I didn’t want to stand in that shop and remember sliding my grandmother’s locket across the counter.
But my mother looked at me over Nolan’s head and said, “Let’s go.”
Walt Harmon recognized me the second I walked in.
“Well, look who it is,” he said. He came out from behind the counter. “I’ve been wondering about you.”
He looked down at Nolan, who was wearing the navy shirt with the silver moon. He’d insisted.
“And this must be the young man from the newspaper,” Walt said.
I blinked. “The newspaper?”
