State of Grace: The Sequel Chapter 3 It was Friday afternoon

State of Grace: The Sequel
Chapter 3

It was Friday afternoon and Nick and Sarah were contently eating their ice cream and swinging their feet off the high bench at the Dairy Queen. Teddy and Grace were watching them and talking.
            “So you don’t like it here?” she asked him. He looked surprised.
            “I love Alabama and I love this town but I just don’t belong, you know?”
            “Have you told your parents this?” she asked. She skipped any formalities with him.
            “Yeah,” Teddy started, “Because they would understand.” He scoffed and kicked the ground.
            “You never know…” Grace began but Teddy cut her off.
            “They live on a farm! Always have, and we always will. We’re farmers not city people. The city…it’s never beckoned to them.” Grace sighed. It wasn’t her job to tell him the truth about his parents. They had gotten married and ran off to New York City and came back pregnant with Teddy. It was in all their blood but Teddy didn’t know that story.
            “You should try talking to them. Maybe it’ll get better,” she said as she attempted to clean up her kid’s faces.
            “What will get better?” He asked. He was clearly in another world, “High school?”
            “Teddy, I went through high school too,” said Grace, gently. She was growing more and more concerned for her nephew.
            “You had May and Uncle Luke with you though!” Grace could feel his jealousy. Grace laughed.
            “Uncle Luke and I despised each other in high school.” Grace was imagining all that Luke had put her through back then. There was always an attraction between them; it just wasn’t always love. He was their farm boy; her daddy hired him when Ryan and Annie ran off. He had irritated Grace so much she couldn’t stand him meanwhile her parents adored him. Perhaps they had always seen the chemistry between Grace and Luke but up until the end of their junior year of high school, Grace despised him and he, her. Grace thought about all the times she had gotten right under the brim of his hat to yell at him and how he’d push her right back. Then her thoughts changed to him calling her ‘darlin’ even before they were together and how he kissed her in the pouring rain once…
            “Um…Aunt Grace? You still there?” Teddy asked, his face showing his embarrassment. He also looked skeptical.
            “Yes, sweetie, I’m sorry. I know you don’t believe me but you’d be surprised at how much you don’t know about us adults in the Parker family.”
            “I highly doubt my parents have done anything rebellious, or cool…or remarkably interesting in their entire lives,” scoffed Teddy.
            “Like I said, you’d be surprised. Now, are you coming to my bonfire tomorrow? You best be bringing some of your friends,” she said. Teddy nodded his assent and she smiled. “Let’s get these two monsters home.”
            Both Nick and Sarah were still covered in ice cream.