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“I just had some with him.”
She leaned away from me with a satisfied smile. “That’s my girl. You have a better chance than anyone to get through his thick head.”
“I doubt it. But I said my piece.”
She tapped my nose. “You’re disappointed.”
I nodded. “That’s life.”
“It can be, darlin’, but don’t give up hope yet. How was your date?”
“Good.”
She gave me a sad smile. “You make sure that Julian Bronson treats you well, or he’ll have to come talk to me.”
“We’re not serious about each other.”
She seemed relieved.
“I better head to Tom’s room.”
She lifted my chin with her finger. “Chin up, honey. You’ll figure it all out.”
I hoped so.
“I’m going to run to the store. Thanks a million.”
“See you later.” I shuffled off to the den, where Tom was staying since his bedroom was on the second floor and he couldn’t go up the stairs without major assistance. The stubborn fool had fallen twice trying to walk without help from either his walker or one of us.
I knocked on the french doors before walking in to find Tom propped up in the full-size bed we had moved in, watching The Nanny. “Good episode,” I commented.
Tom flashed me a disgruntled look. “I don’t need you to b . . . babysit me.”
“Darn it. And here Miss June promised me five dollars an hour. Now I won’t have enough money to buy that new CD I’ve been saving up for.”
Tom chuckled. “It’s good to . . . see . . . you, Gracie girl.” He stumbled on some of his words.
I walked over and kissed his head. “It’s good to see you. It looks like you got a haircut today and shaved.” He smelled good, too, like Old Spice. It mixed nicely with the smell of all the old books that filled the built-in shelves lining two of the walls.
His ears pinked. “June c . . . cut my hair and . . . she helped . . . me shave.”
“Ooh. That sounds romantic. Spill the beans.” I sat in the chair next to the bed and took his hand, which was still riddled with colorful bruises from all the IV lines.
Tom squeezed my hand the best he could. He didn’t have a lot of strength yet. “I’m w . . . working on her,” he stuttered.
“Oh really. What’s your master plan?”
He thought carefully. I wasn’t sure if it was because he couldn’t think of the words or if he wasn’t sure what his plan was. “I’m g . . . going to marry her,” he finally got out with some force.
“Wow. That’s quite the plan. Are we thinking summer or fall wedding? I look really good in peach and coral, so summertime would work well for me. Though I can rock some gold and even some warmer reds, so fall could work too,” I teased him.
He patted my hand. “G . . . Gracie girl, you m . . . make this old man smile.”
“I’m glad. But you didn’t answer my question. I need to start shopping.”
“We’re t . . . taking it slow,” he admitted.
“So she’s on board with your plan?”
He gave me an impish grin. “She let me k . . . k . . . kiss her last night.”
“That’s a start.”
“She told me, though, that I need to get my fat b . . . butt in shape.”
I laughed. “That sounds like Miss June. I guess you better work extra hard during physical therapy so we can start doing Zumba together.”
“I’m not g . . . going to shake my b . . . butt like you girls do.”
“That’s probably a good call. How about we’ll start with walking around the neighborhood?”
He nodded, but tears pooled in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
With some effort, he pulled my hand up and kissed it. “You’ve been like a d . . . daughter to me,” he stammered. “You never g . . . gave up on me.”
“Of course not.” He had me choking up. “I love you.”
“I l . . . l . . . love you,” his voice cracked. Once he’d composed himself, he asked, “D . . . do you think Br . . . Brooks will ever forgive me?”
I tossed my head from side to side. “Honestly, Tom, I don’t know. I think Brooks lives in his own world right now.”
“I just want my family b . . . back,” he cried.
“I know. I want that for you too.”
“What d . . . do I do?”
I thought for a moment. “You know, Miss June gave me some good advice about men. She said I needed to let them come to me. I think that’s what you have to let Brooks do. You’ve done all you could over the years to keep the door open and beg him to walk through it. Now it’s his turn to knock and turn the knob.”
