The oft-delayed reunion of a grandfather (me) with a daughter (Emma) and a granddaughter (Robin) was interrupted when the motel Emma was planning to rent was shut down by a homicide investigation.

When I first heard this,  I had no doubt it was a joke. But it wasn’t.

Emma, who has heroically persisted in efforts to arrange a visit with Robin, me, and Maria for a few years now, wasn’t even mildly flustered. “I don’t care if somebody was shot there,” she said (she’s been living in New York City for more than 20 years now),”their website is shut down,  and I can’t reach anyone on the phone to make a reservation. I have no problem staying there.”

We have a tiny town, and I’ve never heard of anyone being fatally shot here, even by accident. Because we were sick, Maria and I hadn’t been to town, and we didn’t hear anything about it. A 45-year-old man from Albany was shot dead in a local motel.

Police say it was an accident, and the man who shot him is being charged with manslaughter.

Isn’t this story supposed to go the other way? Someone shot in Brooklyn causes a family to flee to the country, where it is safe and idyllic.

(Robin began the first grade today and said she’d love to celebrate with her favorite food, Korean Fried Chicken. As it happens, the restaurant is just around the corner. This is why Emma loves Brooklyn. It is different here. Stewart’s convenience store with their popular butter and peanut butter rolls are just around the corner.)

I have to say I was pretty stunned by the news of the motel shooting.

The idea that somebody from Brooklyn would be having trouble g getting a motel room because someone at the motel had been shot dead just floored me.

This reunion (Emma reminded me we did see them a year and a half ago at the Bronx Zoo) has had numerous bumps, interruptions and illnesses, and cancellations.  Emma never quit trying; bless her. Still, this one made it feel like an epic, almost Biblical tale.

I can picture the movie THE REUNION!

Can sickness, pandemics, and death stop it? It might work as a Netflix special.

I have to be honest and say all of these interruptions, twists, turns, and hand-wringing have made me all the more eager to see my daughter and granddaughter again, make them as comfortable as possible, shower them with love, and bring them some fun.

It’s about time. Wanting something you can’t have makes it precious.

I was interested to note that my daughter didn’t blink at the idea of staying in a motel where someone had just been shot to death. It didn’t faze her at all, as she was eager to point out. She’s come a long way from that quiet, shy little girl who holed up in her bedroom for days reading Tolkien.

She is having some fun at my expense: “I’m excited to come and visit Murderville, USA,” she e-mailed me tonight.

Maria and I sprang into action, went on Airbnb, and were happily surprised to see some lovely postings there offering Cambridge apartments, campsites, and houses.

We sent Emma some photos, and she found one she liked. She’s all signed up. I wish we had a bigger house, but we don’t really have much space for two more people. They will be happier and more comfortable in their apartment, it looks very nice.

To make things easier, I’m going to pick her up at the train station, and she can avoid driving all the way up here, and she use Maria’s car over the weekend she’ll be here so she won’t have to rent anything.

A giant robot kit is arriving tomorrow, I have a bag of neat and carefully chosen books, and I think she might get a kick out of the donkeys this time. She and Maria are planning to make a scarf together.

This reunion will happen, I feel it; the fates are on our side, but that doesn’t mean they won’t mess around with us a bit. We have about a month to go, Columbus Day is October 10, and anything can happen, as we have already learned.

I’m feeling optimistic. Fun is just over the horizon.

I know nothing about the man shot dead in the motel or the man who shot them. The feeling is that it was an accident, although that doesn’t make it any less tragic.

I’ll make it a point to be horrified soon, once my head clears.