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“Maybe that means you shouldn’t say no.”
Maddie ran over, jumping up and down. “Daddy, can I have Skittles?”
“I’ll get them, but you can only eat some now. You save the rest for after lunch.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I turned to Nora. “You want something?”
Her eyes dropped to my lips for a millisecond. “No, I’m good.”
I shelled out two fifty for a seventy-five-cent bag of candy, and then my cell phone rang. I handed it to my daughter. “Mom’s calling.”
Maddie answered her daily call from my ex, while Nora and I stepped outside the waiting room. “My grandmother mentioned that you came every day this week and cheered her up. She puts on a brave face, but I could see she’s been down. So thank you for visiting often and lifting her mood.”
Nora shrugged. “I didn’t have to do any lifting. We just talked about our adventures and wound up laughing for an hour or two every day.”
“Well, thank you anyway.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Our eyes caught. I could lose myself in that beautiful shade of green. I used to want her when we argued, but now I wanted her when she was sweet and vulnerable too. If I was being honest, I wanted her pretty much all the time these days. Luckily, Maddie popped out of the waiting room and stopped me from saying something I’d probably regret. The three of us went back to Gram’s room. She finished signing all the discharge paperwork, and Nora and I went over her new medication list, even though Gram said we didn’t need to.
I picked up Maddie’s backpack. “Alright, you ready to get out of here and take Gram to our house?”
Nora’s brow furrowed. “Your house? I thought Louise was going home. She asked me to keep her company so she wouldn’t be alone.”
I looked to my grandmother, who was sporting a sly smile. “Oh. I must’ve forgotten to mention that I decided to stay at Beck’s house for a few days. Would you come keep me company there, dear?”
I smelled bullshit. “You forgot, huh?”
Gram didn’t even try to cover her indulgent smile. “Must be all the meds.” She waved her hand around her head. “Brain fog.”
Brain fog, my ass.
Nora smiled politely. “I’ll come visit you one day this week. Maybe when Beck is at work?”
“That would be lovely. But could you also come today? I could use some company.”
Now I was offended. “What am I, chopped liver?”
Gram shook her head. What was I getting mad about anyway? I couldn’t get Nora to answer my calls. Gram was getting her inside my apartment.
But Nora looked hesitant. “I don’t know…”
“You should come. I picked up stuff to grill for lunch, but I was hungry when I went to the store this morning, so I have enough to feed twelve, not three.”
The nurse helped Gram into a wheelchair. “I insist,” Gram said. “Plus, I want to talk about some new ideas I have for our trip. What do you think about the German Autobahn?”
Oh Jesus. We weren’t even out of the hospital yet, and she was already thinking of more daredevil shit she could do.
Nora’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve always wanted to go to Oktoberfest in Bavaria.”
My grandmother clapped her hands. “We’ll do both.”
“I hope the Autobahn comes before the beer-drinking marathon,” I grumbled.
“What do you say?” Gram said. “Spend the afternoon with me?”
