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She starts coughing, and it's one of those relentless coughs that sounds like it's deep in her lungs. My brows furrow together. Someone shoulder bumps me and I keep walking. "Are you sick?"
"No," she says without hesitation. She's in denial. She always is when she's sick and refuses to go to the doctor. "I just have this cough I can't shake. Nothing else. And, Aubrey, I told you, if you keep talking about God's children like that, you're going to give birth to Satan's child."
I bust out laughing because she's far from religious, yet she rarely ever says anything negative. Grammy’s sarcastic, but with a coating of honey.
"I'm not having kids. Problem solved."
"You bite your tongue. You better make me a Great-Grammy before I die."
Laughing, I round the corner and am hit with a gust of wind that slithers around my neck. I pull my jacket tighter and shiver, feeling the crisp fall air slowly make its decent upon the city. Fall and winter are the absolute best in New York. There's no place better than here during the holidays.
"We'll see. Maybe Prince Charming will roll up in a broken-down white creeper van and whisk me away to his dungeon. He'll impregnate me and I'll bear six sons for him before he's off with my head. But hey, you'll get your grandkids, even if they're never allowed to leave his mansion tucked away in the woods that even GPS can't pick up."
"Aubrey." She pauses, and I pull the phone away to hide my snicker. I can see her puzzled face in my head. "But where do you come up with this stuff?"
I chuckle. "I have no clue. How about I finish school first and then we talk kids?"
She makes a sound under her breath and coughs again. I can't help but worry like a stressed parent. She raised me, now it’s my turn to take care of her.
"How's your oil? Do you have enough for the start of the season?" I ask.
The last thing I want is for her to freeze during the winter, so I need to make sure she has enough oil to turn her heat on. I saw on the news last night that this winter is estimated to be one of the coldest yet, with record-breaking temperatures.
"Will you stop it. Save your money, I don't need a thing."
She never asks for a dime, but that doesn't stop me from giving it to her. Just like she’s done for me my whole life.
"You know I'm going to do it anyway," I say, walking up to the lecture hall.
"You're just like your mother, you know," she says softly, as if she's reminiscing. "When she made her mind up about something, that was it."
I run my fingers over the rose gold chain I've yet to remove since it was placed around my neck. "Do your cats need anything?"
"No, sweetie. They're plenty stocked and you know I would feed them before I would feed myself."
Just to be safe I’ll make an extra deposit today after class. Thank God today’s payday and after this weekend, I'll have almost a thousand from watching the spawns, on top of folding clothes. It'll be a tight month, but I can survive on ramen until next payday.
You wouldn't have to if you'd take Natalie up on her offer.
I shake it off and tell myself that I'll worry about it later.
"I'm about to run into class now, but listen, if your coughing persists, please make an appointment to see the doctor."
"Focus on your studies. Education is everything," she says, her voice raised, completely ignoring me. I just smile.
"Love you, bye."
"Love you too, sweetie."
* * *
"I won't be here this weekend," I say to Natalie.
We haven’t seen each other much this week, but that was normal for us once school started back up. We both work and live the college life, just trying to get by. Or at least I am.
She looks up. The room is dim and she's sitting with her legs crossed on the couch. Her hair is tied into a messy knot at the top of her head and she has a pencil dangling between her teeth. She looks so innocent under the white Christmas lights.
"The devils?"
