AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laughing, I shuffle over to the chair and dig out my phone. I dial her up, Grandma still not fully understanding text messages.
“Hello, sweetie,” she says over the phone. “How’s the shopping going?”
“Oh, fine, Grandma. Just calling you to let you know I wasn’t eaten by wolves or anything. I might be a bit late. I... uh... stopped for coffee.” Hot coffee. Very, very hot coffee.
“I’m not worried about you, Red. You know how to take care of yourself. This is meant to be a bit of a vacation too right? Enjoy yourself. I can handle it for now.”
Guilt hit me. She’s doing her whole ‘not wanting to be a burden’ thing. She protested kicking and screaming about anyone coming up here to look after her, and I had to get through to her by suggesting I wouldn’t mind some time up in the mountains. “I’ll be home sooner than later, Grandma. Hope you’re looking forward to stew.”
“I always look forward to your cooking, Red. I love you.”
“Love you too, grandma.”
The call ended, the weight of guilt still on me. Hood looked on from the sofa, having slipped his pants back on. “Everything alright?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m lying to my grandmother now. And I don’t like doing that.”
“You told her you stopped for coffee. If I make you some coffee will that make you feel better?”
I laugh. “Maybe just a bit. Then I guess I’m technically not lying.”
Hood jumps up and heads into the kitchen, and gets to work. He has some fresh grinds, some fancy high quality stuff, not the instant stuff I’m used to.
The smell of good coffee fills the air. I get dressed, agreeing with Hood that maybe standing around drinking buck naked drinking coffee might be a bit weird.
I take a stroll around the cabin as the coffee brews. It’s small, it’a a bit spartan, but it does have a hint of home to it. “I’m really impressed you built this yourself,” I say, as I look up at the walls. It’s all very professional in quality.
“I’m not done with it. Not by a long shot. I have two bedrooms in this place now. That’s not enough for a family.,”
I laugh as I sit down in a chair. “How big is big enough for a family then?”
“Five? Six? I don’t want to force my kids to share if they don’t want to. And I tend to want a big family.”
I do the math and realize that he really means it. “Plus a guest room, so you even need more space.”
“Exactly. Far from done.”
I ponder what I want out of my family. I was an only child, but I always wondered what if I had more than that. Country families were always bigger than city families, so I’m not surprised that Hood wants so much. I do wonder if I’m the one that wants to give that family to him. That much pregnancy seems daunting, but who knows? Maybe after the first I’d realize it’s not so bad.
“So, what do you do when you’re not a lost traveler looking for grandma’s house, Red?”
“Hmm? You mean my job?”
“Yeah. I work at the Crumble Dairy Farm with construction on the side. What about you?”
“I’m a columnist for a wellness magazine. I do all my work online, except for an annual performance review. I can pretty much work anywhere I want as a bonus, so me coming to check on Grandma isn’t that hard for me.”
He pours me a cup of coffee. He then holds a bottle of whisky over it, and I giggle and nod. He adds a little spike to mine, and slides it over. He takes his black.
“None for you?”
“I gotta drive you home so you don’t get chased down by more rabid wolves.”
More chuckling. “Fair enough.”
“So you can work anywhere, then?”
“As long as there's an internet connection, I’m fine.”
