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“Good morning to you, too,” she said cheerfully. Then she added simply, “I want to.”
Clara was one of the most upright people he knew. Sincere, and whatever she said, she truly meant. She didn’t just say things.
He loved that about her.
So she said that she wanted to go.
That was all he needed to hear.
“What’s the problem?” she asked as she came closer, concern etched over her face, and he felt like whatever he needed her to do, she was ready to pitch in.
He loved having someone like that in his corner. And not for the first time, but maybe for the first time consciously, he wondered what it would be like to be with her for the rest of his life. To have someone like that who would support him and help him whatever came along, just because that was the kind of person she was. What would it be like to be married to her?
He really didn’t have to ask himself the question. Whoever ended up marrying Clara was getting an amazing woman.
Was it selfish for him to hope that it would be him?
“It’s my gram,” he said as she met him and they walked toward his car. “The nursing home that she’s in—I put her in it a few years ago. You were here.” He said here, meaning that she was working for him at the time.
“I remember.”
Funny that she would remember. Of course, he didn’t remember talking about it much at work at all. He had always been a big believer in keeping his personal life personal and out of his work life, but Clara was so easy to talk to. He had let a few things slip to her that he never had with anyone before.
“Apparently the workers have gone on strike. The administrative staff called me and asked if it was at all possible, I should try to get my gram moved somewhere else. They’re not able to get enough temporary workers to keep up the quality of care.”
“If I recall correctly, your grandma was in her right mind, she just needed help with everyday living.”
“That’s correct.” He almost took her into his house. If he didn’t have to travel so much for his business, he would have. But he thought his gram would be better off in an assisted care facility where she would have people to interact with every day, rather than spending twelve or fourteen or more hours alone every day while he worked.
Maybe it wasn’t the best decision, but he’d done the best he could at the time.
“Is she still like that?” Clara asked as he opened her door. Maybe that was too gallant of a gesture for their relationship and the level they were at, but he... He wanted to open it for her. Not that she couldn’t, it was just something nice he could do, something to show that he respected and cared for her.
She smiled and murmured thank you, and it made him feel like maybe he’d done the right thing.
Walking around the car, he got in, strangely looking forward to the drive to Chicago now that Clara was beside him.
“She’s still completely in her right mind. Sharp as a tack. Her physical ability is slowly declining, but she works hard to stay in shape. It’s kind of impressive to me.”
“It doesn’t really surprise me. If she’s your grandmother.”
He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he thought it was a compliment. “Thank you, I think.”
He started pulling out as she smiled at him. “It was a compliment. You are one of the most determined people I know. Hardworking, but not so driven that you will ride over anyone in your way. I’ve always admired that about you. That you hold to your integrity. I guess I just kind of thought that those qualities, your determination to move forward, and your drive to succeed possibly were inherited from your grandmother.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but I suppose you could be right. We led very different lives, but she was successful in her own right, and she hasn’t gone into old age quietly or without fighting it. She’s definitely one of the people I admire most in the world.” He hadn’t thought about that in years, but it was true. He did admire his gram. She hadn’t had an easy life, but she made the best of everything she had, and even in her 90s, she worked to stay fit and mentally sharp. Unfortunately, she had been living in Nevada while he’d been growing up, and she hadn’t known about his situation. He was sure she would have helped if she could.
“In fact, I’m eager for you to meet her. Thank you for offering to come. This...isn’t exactly in your job description.”
“I kind of feel like maybe I’ll be getting a new job description. You’re shuffling things around, and...maybe my position will be eliminated?” she said with a little bit of humor in her voice, and he remembered that she really probably wasn’t worried about losing her job. She had something she wanted to do anyway.
“You would be the last person I would eliminate. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
“Okay?”
“Maybe I’m not doing the best thing for you by insisting that you stay with me. Maybe...” He didn’t say love, but he felt that sometimes love meant letting go. He would let her go to do the things that she felt was best. That she felt God had for her. If he held her back, if he kept her close to himself, that didn’t exactly show love. It showed that he was being selfish. Right?
“Maybe what?” she asked, looking at the horses grazing in the pasture as they drove by.
