“This whole living consciously is kind of nice. Doing stuff for myself. Being more present. I know having the money to make these choices is a fortunate thing. To be able to take a break from hustling and rushing all the time.”
“What’s going on in here?” asks Grandma, appearing in the laundry doorway. She didn’t catch us cuddling, however, so Nash is safe from the stick for now.
“Shit. That reminds me,” he says with a grin. “Great news. I’ve bought the place next door.”
Grandma stares blankly at him. “You did what?”
“Sent an email to my lawyer asking her to make them an offer, and they said yes. We’re going to be neighbors. And my house is taller than yours, so I’ll be able to wave down at you when you’re on your deck!”
“No,” says Grandma, aghast.
“You don’t sunbathe naked or anything, do you, Audrey?” he asks with a grin. “Can’t wait to start inviting friends out here. Think I might start with some band members. What do you think?”
But Grandma has already turned away. “I need a drink.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Ishould plant some gaura or butterfly bush or whatever it’s called,” says Grandma, nodding to the garden across the road. “Awilda’s looks lovely and healthy. It obviously likes the climate.”
“Pretty.”
Her head turns this way and that, inspecting the rest of the street. “And that’s Rose’s ex’s car parked outside their house. I wonder if they had a sleepover.”
“You mean a hookup?”
“I said what I said.” She drinks her coffee. “They made such a nice couple and seemed so happy. I wouldn’t object to them getting back together.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
She chuckles.
“I have a theory that the only people who know how or why a relationship works are the people in the relationship, and then not even them sometimes.”
“You probably have a point,” she says.
“Did you ever want that? To have a significant other?”
“I wanted it very much with your grandfather. It broke my heart when he died and your mother was so young. Life became all about working to keep a roof over our heads.” She falls silent for a time. “I don’t think I ever really trusted the universe enough to try again. And I’ve always been happy enough on my own.”
We’re sitting on the front porch again with our coffees the next morning. Grandma is hiding her eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. She went out shortly after Nash’s announcement yesterday afternoon and didn’t return home until the earlyhours. I’m not saying she went on a bender, however, the evidence suggests as much. It would seem she has more in common with the country music rock’n’roll lifestyle than she’d like to admit. She was, after all, a part of the fast-paced world that she’s been warning me about for a decade or so.
“What do you think made you and Grandpa such a good match?” I ask.
“We were both too stubborn to give up. That didn’t hurt. First we figured out how to fight. Then we worked out what was worth fighting for and when one of us needed to give.” She stares contemplatively out at the garden. “He used to make me laugh so hard, and he often had such fascinating insights into things. And even just holding his hand made the world seem somehow better.”
“I’m glad you had that. And I’m sorry he was taken from you.”
Grandma takes a deep breath. “Me too, dear.”
“It would be hard to replace.”
“There’s no replacing your grandfather,” she says. “So many years have passed. I do get lonely now and then.”
“You’ve never been tempted to try a dating app?”
“Can you imagine?” She laughs.
“Some people have more than one great love in their life. Or it might just be about companionship.”
