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Me: Oh how I wish that were true.
Luke: You might be surprised.
Me: Your lips are moving, but all I’m hearing is you can’t touch this. I’m not good at playing this game.
Luke: Let me introduce you to a new game, baby. Be here.
“Callie, have you finished that article yet? I need it within the next hour if it’s going to make the weekend edition.”
“Yes, give me about forty minutes,” I say with a quick glance up at my boss.
He nods. “Thank Christ, because I didn’t have anything else. Promise me what you’ve got is good because we’re running low on time to fix it if it isn’t.”
Fridays seem to be a stressful time for this office. Today has been one mad rush of “get me this” and “do that”. I give him a tight smile. “It’s good. Promise.”
He leaves me once he’s satisfied I’ve got the goods, and I go back to thinking about what Luke meant by his text. The next six hours can’t go by fast enough.
* * *
“Thank you, Callie,” Mrs Harper says as I hand her the groceries I picked up for her after work.
I smile. “No worries. I’m always here to help when you need it.” Even when I’m desperate to get to Luke because I promised I’d come over straight after work.
Mrs Harper called me half an hour before I was due to finish work, asking if I’d collect some groceries for her. As much as I wanted to tell her I had new games to go and start playing, I couldn’t say no. I would never do that to her. She relies on me because she has no family who live close.
“If you’ve got a moment to spare, would you mind coming in and changing some light bulbs, dear?”
I stare at her, wondering if there are any polite ways to say no, but nothing is forthcoming. Instead, I nod. “Sure.”
She leads me inside and shows me which lights need new bulbs—the bathroom one and the light in her bedroom. God, I would have been a bitch if I’d said no. Those two lights are necessary. I bet she’s been waiting to ask me, too. She’s probably already gone some time without them.
I fix the bathroom light easily, but the new light I install in her bedroom doesn’t work. When she informs me she doesn’t have any more spare bulbs, I mentally curse. I don’t have any at my place either.
“I’ll head down to the shop and buy some more bulbs,” I say, ignoring the text message that just arrived.
She gives me a grateful look. “Thank you, dear.”
I head downstairs to my car and check my text message as soon as I slide into my front seat.
Luke: Where are you?
Me: I just have a quick errand to do on the way.
Luke: You’re killing me here, Callie.
Me: Buddy, you killed me a long time ago.
I shove the car into reverse and scream out of the car park. The journey to the corner store is the quickest trip I’ve ever made there. Fifteen minutes later, I’m back at Mrs Harpers.
After I finally get her lights all working, I’m almost out her front door when she says, “How did your roast go last week, dear? I’ve meant to ask you if your friend liked it.”
I grimace. I just wanna go play games with Luke. But I turn to face her. “I burnt it, but he fixed it. Thank goodness I found a man who can cook.”
“I hope this man is nicer than your last boyfriend.”
Something I love about Mrs Harper is her no-bullshit approach to life. She doesn’t fuss with details or bother with niceties for the sake of sparing feelings. It makes communicating with her much easier because one always knows where they stand. I nod. “Yes ma’am, he is.” My voice grows softer when I add, “I think this one’s a keeper.”
“How long have you been dating?”
