He’d texted me once during the day, but I still hadn’t replied. I was putting it off. The therapist who I’d been required to see after my mother’s disappearance and my father’s death told me I had an avoidant personality. I thought she was a quack at the time, but maybe she’d been onto something. I’d happily put off this confrontation, oh,forever.
Which is why I was at least looking forward to work. A lot of people looked down on elder care, but it soothed me. It reminded me of my dad’s last days in hospice, of Grandma Dorothy and the good men and women who cared for them. I liked being that person for someone else’s family. Eventually I’d like to go into critical care, but for now this paid the bills and gave me purpose.
“Good morning, Mr. Williams,” I said as I pushed through the door to my favorite patient’s room, but it was empty. I knocked on the attached bathroom door. “Mr. Williams?”
My heart began to thud dully in my chest. Had he left? Had he…passed away?
I couldn’t bear the thought of it. I began to speed out the door when it pushed open and Mr. Williams, a thinly-built man with a shock of white hair and watery green eyes, lit up when he saw me.
“Charlotte!” he exclaimed and I smiled. He was the only person, after my dad, who I let call me by my real name.
“Mr. Williams. You scared me. I thought you’d left.” I stepped into his embrace and inhaled the scent of Old Spice and antiseptic. My insides unclenched.
“You couldn’t run me away, sweetheart. Who else would play chess with me and let me win?”
“No one,” I said fondly as I got out the board and began setting up the pieces. “Did you take your medicine?”
He scowled, but we both knew it was only for show. “You should know better than to torture an old man.”
I tutted at him and retrieved his medicine from the pharmacy station. “Bottom’s up!” I said and his scowl deepened at my cheerfulness, but he complied. “Now let’s see if I can beat you again.”
“Not a chance, missy.”
“Did you have a good weekend?” I asked as I carefully considered my opening move. It wouldn’t matter what I did. Despite his age and my teasing, Mr. Williams was a shark at chess and I’d only ever beat him once and that was only because he’d just had surgery to repair his hip and had been on some serious pain killers. I chose a pawn at random and immediately regretted my decision when his beard twitched.
He mimicked my move, but I had no clue what he was planning. A chess genius I was not. “It was boring here without you to keep me company,” he said. “What did you do?”
“I went to visit Liam’s family near Jacksonville for the weekend.” I moved another pawn, but he struck and captured it with a masculine laugh.
I felt the tension leech from my shoulders the longer we played. I told him about Grandma Dorothy and her new fluorescent orange blanket. He had a similar one, this one an unearthly yellow, draped over the foot of his own bed. I even told him about the trouble with my apartment and how Liam had a hand in me losing it.
Mr. William’s had three-quarters of my pieces by the end of my update. “Don’t be too hard on him. He sounds like a good friend from what you’ve told me. He’s probably madder at himself than you are at him.”
I thought of the note he left me, the coffee he’d made. “I know that, but it just sucks all around.”
“I know it does, but you can find another place to rent. You won’t be able to replace a friend so easily.” With that sage advice, Mr. Williams moved his bishop and crowed, “Checkmate!”
I frowned at the board. “You’re diabolical,” I said, then began cleaning up the set.
“You’re getting better. One day you may even beat me.”
“Thank you, Mr. Williams, it’s nice of you to say, but we both know I’m hopeless.” I smiled at him and lifted the chess box in greeting. “Rematch next week.”
“You got it,” he said as he settled into his hospital bed and turned on the TV to the news. “You’ll have to update me about you and your young man.”
“We’ll see,” I said over my shoulder.
I finished my rounds with Mr. William’s words fresh on my mind. I knew it wasn’t Liam’s fault for what happened, not really. Andrew had used the spare key a couple times before to get a spare set of scrubs for me when I was tied up in class or get something of his he left. It wasn’t completely unreasonable for Liam to give him the key. After Andrew blew up at us…after the kiss…suffice it to say we were both distracted.
The girls weren’t much help when I texted to let them know what was going on. They both lived in the same complex and had noticed all of the commotion that morning. I didn’t get a chance to reply until I finished my shift.
Ember: OMG!!! That rat bastard! Do you need me to come over and help you clean up? I’ll see what I can sneak in and salvage since they won’t let you in. If you don’t have a place to stay, you can crash here.
Layla: Tequila Tuesday at my apartment next week. Not optional! I’ll even provide the tequila this time. Let us know what the super says or if we need to put a hit out on him.
I sent them both thank yous and promised to keep them updated. I didn’t have a good feeling aboutmy meeting with the super, but I headed there after work to get it over with. I’d feel better once I knew my options…I hoped.
* * *
