"I think things like that can happen," Lucy admitted. "But I think it takes a long, long time for a person to get to that point. A long time, and a lot of years without hope. But that doesn't mean someone will never have hope again."

"He's a lost cause. If he . . .he. ..cared about me even a little bit. . ."
Kris trailed off, for she found it difficult to talk about things like love.

Lucy sighed and ran a hand over Kris's cheekbone with her thumb. "Let's try to reframe this. You said your grandfather is having financial problems, right? And that he doesn't want to be a burden? Feeling like you're a burden can really put a damper on someone's spirits. But we can support him so he doesn't have to feel like that anymore. Don't you think that just might make him feel a little better in general?"

Kris wiped her eyes. A dim light, born of hope, was growing within them, but she was afraid to become too optimistic.
"But what if he feels like he's a burden because someone's paying for his health, Lucy? Is it really. . .that easy?"

"Well..." Kris did have a point. Money was often a touchy subject for people, and she knew some people were a lot less keen on accepting financial help from someone than others. "Maybe we can try to get him to think about it as family helping family. If you're part of my family, that makes him part of our family too, doesn't it?"

"I hope so." Kris's eyes overflowed. "I really hope so. Can you . . ." She swallowed hard. "Can you be the one to call him?"
Daisy passed a hand over her head. "I'll call him. We won't let your grandpa give up, sweet. We promise."

"Do you want to go visit him?" Lucy asked. "We'll make the arrangements."

Kris nodded. She was flushed now and looked exhausted, almost dreamy-eyed and childlike. She didn't dive for the phone, though, but slumped forward snd rested her cheek against Lucy.

"Or, he can come here instead, as long as he's feeling well enough. Maybe he'd like to spend the holidays here?"

"Maybe," Kris murmured. She then drifted off into a distant silence. Before anyone realized it, she was asleep.
"Okay, sweets," Daisy said softly. "We're not going to slouch around being solemn and depressed. Kris's grandpa is coming over. Just go on being cheerful snd acting normal - minus the misbehavior."