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I responded,Yes, but not physically. I’m in Summersville running errands.
Kayley had sent me a reply.Brad keeping you busy tonight?
I took a picture of my loaded cart.No Brad here. Shopping keeping me busy.
Brad’s response arrived.You should have told me you were going out there. I could have saved you some money with my discounts.
I stared at the message and pursed my lips. It was kind for Brad to offer such a thing, but I didn’t want to be indebted to him. He had already done so much to help me. I finally wrote back.Oh, that would have been nice. Next time! Have a great night!
I sent the message and then tossed my phone back into the small purse I carried and started down another aisle. I was in the store for over two hours, and when I left, I’d spent over six hundred dollars. I loaded it all into my car, and my stomach rumbled.
With a glance at the clock on my phone, I realized that it was almost eight. I needed to get something to eat and then do a video chat with my girls. Then I could drive home, unload the car at the house, and get a good night’s rest at Kayley’s.
I ran through a drive-thru, picking up a greasy burger and fries, and then parked and video called Lauren’s phone.
“Hey, Mom!” Lauren said as she answered.
“Hey, sweetheart, how are you?”
“I’m good. How is the house?”
“It is coming right along. If all goes well, you guys will probably be able to come down as soon as school ends.”
“I thought we weren’t coming down until the middle of the summer?”
“Yeah, well, I have a bunch of people working on the house with me, and with this team, I think it is going to get done in record time.”
“That’s cool!”
“Hey, I need you to ask Grandma to do me a favor.”
Lauren pulled the phone away from her face. “Grandma! Mom needs to talk to you.”
A moment later, my mom’s face filled the screen. “How are you, honey? How is the house?”
“I’m tired but good, and the house is moving along. It’s going to go pretty fast, I think, but I need some help from you guys back home.”
“Alright, what can we do?”
“Can you take the girls to the hardware store to look at paint swatches? Have them pick out three different colors, and I’ll see which one works best for their room.”
“We can do that this weekend.”
“Great, then you can mail them down to me.”
“We get to pick out our paint?” I heard Emmy ask in the background. My mother handed the phone back to Lauren after a quick goodbye.
“You do.”
“Can we paint it too?” Emmy asked.
“Well, I think it might be best if I surprise you with one of the colors you choose. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic. I had tried to paint something with her before, but her OCD was a little intense as the paint went on the wall, and she had to keep rolling the same spot over and over again to make sure it was right.
I turned the conversation away from the house and asked how each of them was doing. “Are you guys taking your medicine?”
“Emmy didn’t want to take hers this morning, but I talked her into it,” Lauren said.
