He looked at me.
“She said no,” he said.
The table was quiet.
“It was the best thing that ever happened to this family,” he said.
He looked at Poppy and Jonah.
“Kids,” he said. “Listen to Grandpa. Okay?”
They nodded.
“When you want something from somebody,” he said, “you ask. Even if it’s family. Especially if it’s family.”
He looked at me.
“And when somebody says no,” he said, “you say okay. And you love them anyway.”
He sat down.
He looked at his coffee.
“That’s all,” he said.
Poppy raised her hand.
Like in school.
“Grandpa,” she said. “Can I ask something?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“Can I have another pancake?”
Everybody laughed.
My father looked at me.
“Aunt Morgan made them,” he said. “You have to ask her.”
Poppy turned to me.
“Aunt Morgan,” she said. Very politely. “May I please have another pancake?”
I looked at my niece.
