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He nodded in the direction of the kitchen, a white caterpillar eyebrow raised. “She could help me.”

I saw Alexis stifle a smile through the doorway.

I slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Okay, old man, let’s go.”

He had a hard time stepping over the rim of the tub. I had to brace him, and he almost had another fall. “I’ll come get you when I hear the water turn off. Don’t try getting out without me,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah. Get the hell out.”

I went over to talk to Alexis while the shower was running, leaning on the counter by the sink.

“Does he have any bruising?” she asked.

“Not that I saw.”

“Does he have any family? Who takes care of him?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, looking around the dim house. “Nobody? All of us? It’s sort of a group effort.”

“Daniel,” she said, her voice low. “He’s going to need more help than he’s getting. He needs food in the house and someone to make sure he’s showering.”

I dragged a hand down my beard. “He told me he fell getting in the tub last week. I think it scared him.”

“You can put a call in to Adult Protection Services. Try to get him a personal care assistant, Meals on Wheels.”

I shook my head. “It’s hard to get help out here. I’ll work out a schedule. I’ll get someone in here once a day to clean, check on him. And I’ll install a railing in the bathtub. Maybe some treads on the floor of the shower.”

She nodded. “And he needs to take those pills with food. He probably fell because he got dizzy.”

“Okay. I’ll give them to Doreen. She’ll give them to him with his breakfast when he comes into the diner.”

She smiled.

“What?”

She shook her head. “It’s just…I don’t know. I like that you guys take care of each other.”

“That’s how it is here. It’s what we do.” I tilted my head, noticing something. “Did you put makeup on?”

We’d ended up in the shower last night. She didn’t have any on when she went to bed, and she got up when I did. At least I thought she did.

“Yeah,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Why?”

I looked at her, confused. “When?”

She paused. “Before you woke up.”

I blinked at her. “You got up just to put makeup on? Weren’t you tired? You didn’t want to sleep?”

She didn’t answer me.

“I hope you didn’t do that for me,” I said. “I don’t care what you wake up looking like.”

I meant it. I didn’t.

Her face called bullshit.

“I don’t care about that stuff,” I said. “I’d rather you sleep. If we’re gonna be pulling all-nighters, I need you to keep your strength up.”