"So, what's her name," her grandmother questioned with a knowing smile.

Nicole ducked her head down bashfully and stared into her iced tea. She hadn't a clue how her Gran knew, they couldn't have been further from the subject, but it didn't surprise her either. Her Gran could read her without even looking at her face.

"Common' out with it, Sunrise, we haven't got all day."

She could hear undeniable love in the greying voice, the adoration and starlight that her Gran spoke her nickname. She still had yet to tire of hearing it, even after twenty three years of it's use she felt special upon it's utterance.

"Waverly," she beamed. "Waverly Earp."

Her Gran nodded thoughtfully. "Beautiful name," she confirmed in earnest. She brought her spiked ice tea to her lips and took a mouthful. "Tell me all about this Waverly that has my Sunrise all starry-eyed."

She knew there was no hiding, no change of subject, no sidestepping this one. Gran knew there was a girl and she wouldn't quit until she heard all about the new twinkle in Nicole's eye. Nicole but her lip to try and at least downsize her sappy grin and glanced up to meet soft blue eyes.

"Waverly is the light of Purgatory, no one has anything bad to say about her. She's insanely smart. Always in and out of the library with stacks of books and old papers, and from what I've heard she knows at least four languages -including Latin. And," she paused. Took a second to gather herself, to breathe. Just speaking of the brunette was a bit overwhelming. "And she has this smile..."

She rambled on about Waverly for who knew how long, her Gran nodding along, holding onto her every word with a glow of endearment. And by the time she faded out with a shy smile and pink ears her whole body was tingling with giddiness that wasn't just caused by the strong drink she'd finished.

"She sounds like quite the woman, Sunrise," Gran stated, her approval apparent in the small nod of her head.

"She is," Nicole said with such conviction that there was no wiggle room in her beliefs.

"I look forward to meeting her."

Her heart sank just the slightest and the woman who practically raised noticed instantly. Gran noticed but didn't say anything, only comforted her with a hand over her own.

"Waverly has a boy-man," she explained plainly, turning away from warm eyes and out into the fields she grew up in. The gentle breeze in the tall grass was familiar and brought a calmness over her. She sighed.

"A boy-man is just that, a boy who is not ready to be a man, and that will not do in a lasting relationship. And while someone like you is also an option the duration will meet its end that much quicker." Gran pat her hand reassuringly.

Nicole laid her head on her should and let her eyes roam over her Gran's face. She squinted, "you're drunk."

Gran barked out a laugh, making her let out a giggle of her own. "I am but that doesn't mean I'm wrong," she pointed out with a confidence that Nicole tried to contain and emanate every day.

She let herself believe. Her Gran had lived a long life, had seen a lives worth of people, and was far wiser than her so why doubt. She let the words seep into her skin, let them sooth the dull ache in her chest and untangle the knot in her gut. Maybe she too was drunk but for the moment she was happy to have hope.