Page 8 of The Lie

I find myself reaching out and placing my hand over hers. “She’ll have me, Nanna,” I state. “I promise … I’ll make sure she’s looked after.”

“Oh, Riley.” Her voice cracks as her fingers tighten around mine. “You have no idea how much that means to me. When my time comes, I can go in peace knowing my Poppy girl will have you.”

It’s a promise I should never have made, but there’s truth in my words. I’ll be there for Poppy if she lets me. Maybe not in the way her grandmother believes, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she’s okay.

“Speaking of your granddaughter, she’s not visiting today?”

My question has her frowning as she turns her face towards me. “She’s in school today.”

“School?” I knew she was fresh-faced and young, but I’d been thinking early twenties, not barely pubescent.

“Yes, she has classes this morning. She should be here around midday. I worry about all the hours she spends juggling two jobs and a law degree.”

The second the words law degree leave her mouth, I release a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding. Jesus. When she said school, she meant law school, not high school.

“Yes, I agree, she doesn’t have much spare time.”

“You’re not put off by that?” Nanna asks.

“No. I admire her.”

“She’s up at four every morning for her cleaning job. From there, it’s a mad dash to classes before she comes to visit me. I know she has assignments piling up all the time. Sometimes I pretend I’m asleep so she can study without worrying. Then there’s her job at the pizza place in the evenings.”

Fuck, I thought I worked long hours. “It’s a lot,” I admit.

“How do you two even find time to see each other?”

“We squeeze it in wherever we can. Even if it’s only for a few minutes here and there.”

“It won’t always be like that,” she says reassuringly. “Once the debt is paid off, she’ll be able to slow down.”

I frown. “Debt?”

“She didn’t tell you how I used the equity in my home to take out a mortgage so she could finish her final three years of university?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“You have no idea how much that weighs on me. I wish I could do more. Hopefully, when she graduates at the end of this year, she’ll be able to get a better-paying job.”

“I have every confidence she will,” I reply.

My firm wouldn’t hesitate to hire someone like her. Anyone willing to drag themselves out of bed at four in the morning, hold down multiple jobs, and still maintain the grades needed to complete a law degree clearly has the work ethic to succeed.

Maybe that’s how I can help her.

“Can I ask where Poppy’s parents are?”

“Oh, my goodness. Does my granddaughter confide in you about anything?”

I wince. “In all fairness, she’s a busy woman, and we’ve only been dating for a few months.”

Poppy’s grandmother sighs as her gaze drifts from me to the ceiling. “My daughter cut us out of her life when Poppy was a baby.”

“Oh,” I say, my mind already searching for reasons why.

“It still breaks my heart. My husband never got over it. We tried for many years to have children. We’d just about given up hope, but when I was in my mid-thirties, I found out I was pregnant with our little miracle.”

Her eyes return to me, and I see tears glistening in them.