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She waves him away though, getting up easily enough and holding on to the chair as she moves toward the small kitchen.
“I’ve got it,” she says. “What do you think I do while you’re off conquering the world? Sit in that chair and lounge around all day? I can manage dinner, Gage.”
There’s no bitterness in her tone, just fond teasing, and Gage smiles as he shakes his head and watches her make her way to the kitchen.
He’s ready to help her if she needs it, but she manages fine, moving around confidently, opening the fridge and the cabinets as she puts dinner together.
Soon the little apartment is filled with the scent of chicken and vegetables, simple and reheated from a grocery store container.
But it doesn’t really matter that the meal is simple. We sit down at the table with our plates and big plastic cups of diet coke, and it feels like a family meal.
“These used to be Gage’s favorite,” Meredith says, lifting her cup. It’s bright green, and whatever design used to be on it is now faded and chipping away after years of washing. “He’d sit on the floor in front of the TV with a big cup in his hands and drink sodas all day. Ended up bouncing off the walls half the time from the sugar, but it always made him happy.”
“That sounds adorable,” I say, shooting Gage a teasing smile. He rolls his eyes and takes a bite of chicken, but he doesn’t look embarrassed at all.
“Meredith always had soda,” he says. “I didn’t get that a lot as a kid.”
I remember what he told me about his childhood, and how he would come here when things were really bad at home. It’s a nice image, the thought of a young Gage, sitting in front of the TV having a treat to get away from how shitty his family life was. At least he had that.
“He was always nice to have around,” Meredith continues. “He’d go to the store for me and come back with bags and bags of stuff. I had to remind him a few times that people couldn’t live off cheese puffs and coke, but he was a big help, you know? I was already too old to go up and down the stairs with those big bags by then.”
“Too old or too lazy?” Gage teases, giving her that fond smile all over again. He doesn’t seem embarrassed that she’s telling these stories about him at all, and it’s nice that he doesn’t mind me knowing.
It’s proof that we’ve come a long way since the whole “no talking about our pasts” pact that we made way back at the beginning.
“What’s the difference?” Meredith shoots back, cackling a little. “Either way, better to make the one with the young legs and strong arms do the lifting and climbing. It was nice to have the help and the company.”
“The company was good,” Gage agrees, nodding and finishing off his food.
Meredith smiles at him, and there’s so much familiar sweetness in it. So much love.
The rest of the meal is the same, pretty much. She tells more stories about the things Gage liked as a kid, and how he would offer to spend the night at her place to make sure no one broke in or anything.
“I half thought maybe he just didn’t want to go home, but someone bashed in the windows in one of the first floor apartments, so he just really did want to keep me safe.”
“He’s like that,” I reply with a little smile, glancing over at Gage.
We finish up eating, and even though Meredith tells him more than once that he doesn’t have to, Gage insists on clearing the table and doing the dishes. He moves around her kitchen with the same ease that he has when he’s clearing up at home.
“There,” he says, when he’s finished, wiping his hands on a towel. “Now we can go.”
“You’re a stubborn thing,” Meredith replies, shaking her head.
“I wonder where I got that from,” he fires back.
She shakes her head again, but a smile pulls at her mouth when he leans in to hug her.
“Don’t be a stranger,” she murmurs.
“I’ll try not to be. There’s just a lot going on right now. Happy birthday again.”
He steps back, and Meredith looks toward me, opening her arms. I only hesitate for a second or two before moving in closer to her, to give her a loose hug. She leans in, patting me on the back.
“I can tell he cares about you,” Meredith almost whispers, saying it for my ears only. “And that you care about him too. That’s good. He needs someone strong to look after him when I can’t.”
She lets me go and steps back, and a feeling of warmth washes over me. Clearly, Meredith approves, and that means something to me. Aside from the rest of the guys, this woman is all Gage has in terms of family, so I want her to know he’s being cared for.
I nod, then follow Gage out of the apartment and down the stairs.
