Tobias
Which would be rare. We could renovate it and make it a private space.
Simon
Do we want that added expense?
I rub my chin. It would make sense for me to call him, but he has a point, and it’s still early. I click on the property he likes and look at the pictures again. It’s a beautiful apartment—red brick in all the right spots and very industrial-looking. Honestly, it’s just my style if I were to have a downtown property. It would probably be easy to rent out once we didn’t need it. Who could say no to potential passive income?
I’m about to text Simon back when my phone rings, and Grandma Betty’s face appears on the screen. I showed her FaceTime once the day before I started college, and she's never called me the original way since.
I press the green button, and before I have a chance to get the first word off my lips, she beats me to it.
“Where is your shirt?” she asks.
Even though it’s clear that she can see me, I can see only her feet as she walks through her house.
“Grandma, you have to switch the camera around so I can see your face.”
“I’m still in my pajamas.”
“So?”
“So, that’s about the same thing as looking at you right now. Now, I know you’re probably wearing shorts, but dear, it could appear as if I were talking to my grandson naked.”
I roll my eyes, heading for my room to grab a shirt. “I’m not naked, Grandma.”
Even in my thirties, I feel like I’m in trouble and need to explain myself.
“Good. You might live alone, but there is no need for that. Please wear some underwear at the very least.”
I chuckle and then set the phone down to pull on a navy blue shirt with my latest series logo.
“Better?” I ask as I make my way back to the kitchen.
“Much. Thank you. You’ve always been a good listener.”
I shake my head. She’s not wrong. I’ve always respected my grandparents and parents. Even when I was a young kid, my parents would comment on how lucky they were. My well-behaved manner is probably why, when my parents decided to move to North Carolina the summer before my senior year of high school, my grandma didn’t even hesitate to let me move in with her so I could graduate with my friends and start college here in Wind Valley, hence why she’s a big part of why I act the way I do.
We’ve always had a good relationship, but that year, as silly as it might sound, Grandma Betty became more than my grandma—she became the most important person in my life.
“Well, you taught me well,” I say, grabbing an overnight oats meal I prepared last night and sitting at the table.
“Is that so? Then why is Natalie’s engagement party next weekend with another man?”
I blow a raspberry and prop my phone up. Grandma finally flips the phone around and does the same as she eats her breakfast. A small yogurt is all she picked for today.
“Grandma, we’ve been over this.”
“I know. Foryears. Now, I’m not a fan of homewreckers, Tobias Sebastian Banks, but we both know you and Natalie belong together.”
“We don’t know that. She’s happy. And we’re just friends, Grandma.”
Typically, our conversations are about my books and her newest sewing adventure, but ever since Natalie got engaged, she has brought her up in every conversation we have.
Even before I answer her calls, I know that’s the topic, but this is Grandma Betty. I'd never ignore her.
“Mm, maybe so, but she’d be happier with you.”
