Dear Grandma,

I'm glad you're safe. I told my mom. She said to tell you hello from her. I think she wanted to say more. It's strange, how she is the one of us who is better at our emotions, and yet lately, I think that person has been me.

The painting with geometric shapes you told me about on your hotel wall confuses me. Is it the geometry that makes it fun?

I know it's not diamonds or other jewels, but there is a museum in Oregon that you might like. It's called the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals. It's near Portland. A guy in one of my college classes was talking about it. I guess when his sister was a student, one of her classes took a trip up there.

Today was interesting. My mom came to get me from Daniel's house and told me that the job that she thought Scorpion was going to do today got cancelled. Instead, they went treasure hunting. She said Toby wore a pirate hat and was talking in that pirate accent that everyone thinks they sounded like. Her clothes and hair were lined with salt and she took a shower and changed before going back to the garage. I think something happened that she's not telling me about.

I know she will, eventually. She glosses over the seriousness of it all because she doesn't want to worry me. But I read her case paperwork. And Walter will usually tell me what happened. He didn't, before. After this thing that happened with me a few years ago, he doesn't want to go against my mom's wishes for me. But he and I work in the same ways. We rely on knowledge. If we know there's something important that's happened, that's related to us, that we don't know about, it scares us worse than knowing. So he tells me what happens on cases. I'm sure sometimes he leaves out details. But I know he will eventually tell me why my mom was in the water.

She was supposed to come home and Skype with Tim tonight. But she called me a few minutes ago to tell me that she was staying at the garage with Walter. I asked her why, and she gave me some brief lecture – I'm sure you know the type, where they make it sound like the two of you are just having a conversation but really it's a lesson – about how it's important to fulfill the duties of any position of responsibility that you've taken on. She said she owed it to Walter to stay and help him with something. And then she made a point of telling me that he didn't owe her anything. That seemed odd to me. If she is doing something because she owes him, wouldn't that automatically mean that he doesn't owe her? It's so confusing. It was just about a year ago the last time the three of us all stayed late at the garage. That was a really fun night. And one of the last nights where I felt that everything was okay. I wish I hadn't taken that feeling for granted.

I miss you. I miss us talking about my mom and Walter. I want to be happy they're together tonight. But lately, whenever they have any time alone together, she's been coming home annoyed. And then she's short with me. I don't know if it's just because she's in a bad mood, or if it's because I start annoying her in the same way Walter does. Because of who I am.

Please don't contact her and ask. I can handle it. It's just nice to have someone to talk to about it. I'm trying not to let it bother me. I know she has a lot on her plate.

Love,

Ralph