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Four months later…
After returning from Bali, I arrive at the SunBay Inn only to find out that Mandi’s gone on vacation. I blame my disappointment on the fact that it was mostly couples in Bali. I had been contracted to take pictures of a new resort for their brochures and online presence. Staying in one of the huts over the ocean was awesome, something I’m not used to since most of my work is in the middle of nowhere. Seeing all the couples talking over candlelight dinners and strolling the beach made me yearn for one of my conversations with Mandi.
Although we haven’t had a lot of deep ones, she’s easy to talk to, and she never pushes past my boundaries for information I’m not ready to share. Hell, she still doesn’t know I’m from Greywall.
I’m in my room, wondering if I should pack my bag and head to New York City and spend the week with friends, when my phone rings. I groan, seeing my grandma’s name on the screen. Sliding my thumb over, I put it on speaker.
“Hi, Grandma.”
“Oh good, I got you. Where are you? Home?”
“Sort of, yes.” I don’t directly answer because neither my grandma nor my parents know I rent out my place in Greywall full time. I used to stay there when I was in town but decided it was easier to rent it out all the time and just stay at the inn whenever I’m in town.
“Oh good. Be a dear and come get me and my friends and drive us to the airport.”
I sigh. “What would you do if I wasn’t around?”
She laughs. “I keep your itinerary in my head. Knew you’d be home and I just forgot to let you know we were counting on you. I’m old, give me a break. Now come on. My friends are paying for me to go, and I want to do something nice for them. Get over here before one of their grandsons do, okay? Make me look good.”
There’s no way she’d let me say no, and I’m really not doing much, so whatever.
“Sure. I’ll be there in twenty.”
“Make it fifteen and I’ll give you a nice tip.”
“I’m your grandson. I’m not going to charge you,” I say, swiping my keys off the table.
“I didn’t say the tip would be money. See you soon.”
Click.
“Okay then,” I murmur to myself.
I drive over to Northern Lights Retirement Center, and sure enough, the three grandmas are sitting outside with their luggage, staring me down as if I’m their late Uber driver.
“Ladies,” I say and help each of them climb into the truck. I pick up their luggage and put it in the back.
When I get back into the truck, the three women are talking about how they wonder if the retirement center will survive without them.
“To the airport, ladies?”
“Yes, thank you, Noah. This means a lot to us,” Ethel says from the back seat.
“You’re welcome.”
We ride the entire way with them gossiping about various family members. Dori is upset about something one of her grandsons did, and Ethel’s saying she’d take him over the knee for it. Then they’re talking about some Hank and Marla people, and I figure out that Hank must be Ethel’s son because she mentions how she feels guilty for being healthy when her son is sick.
I try to refrain from joining in, and thankfully Grandma doesn’t drag me into the mix.
Then I hear Ethel say, “I’m going to message Mandi. She’ll meet us at departures and get us where we need to go.”
My eyes instinctually shift to the rearview mirror. Ethel doesn’t have red hair, and I’m sure Mandi from SunBay Inn isn’t the only Mandi in the area.
“Yeah, you know her time is coming,” Dori chimes in, and I swear her eyes meet mine in the mirror.
I quickly return my focus to the road. After all, I don’t want to be the guy who gets three elderly women into a car accident. I’d never hear the end of it from any of these three.
“She’s going to be a stubborn one.” Ethel is concentrating on her phone. “Likes things a certain way.”
