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My gut twists, all humor fading away. “There’s no other life, Grandma. Just this one.” I rest my hands on my apron pockets and feel the food that Alexi had slid back into my pocket.
Shit! I thought she’d taken it for some reason!
“Oh, I almost forgot.” I pull the food out of my pockets. “I have food!”
The look of relief that flashes across her wrinkled face makes my heart swell, and then she’s smiling mischievously. “And how exactly did you get this?”
I guess Grandmother’s as smart as I thought. Likely, she’s put two-and-two together about how expenses the potions are verses how much I make. She also must have realized that I wouldn’t have been paid for a few more days, which would mean there would be no food for us tonight, and now she’s wondering where exactly I came up with this. My only question is what she’ll think about what I’ve done.
“From the palace…” I trail off, not sure what else to say.
She tilts her head, her expression curious. “I know the palace didn’t give you food. The staff can eat there, but nothing gets to leave the palace grounds. It’s to discourage thievery.” Her hands move to rest on her hips like she used to do when I was a kid, and she was trying to get me to confess to something.
I should have known, she’d ask. She’s not the kind of person who can ever take things as they are. She wants an explanation for everything. One that makes sense.
The truth tastes bitter on my tongue. There’s also no good way to erase the morally questionable choice to steal. What’s more, my grandmother has always held all of us to a high moral bar… yet, she’s also smart. She has to logically understand that we need food, and she should be happy with it, however I went about getting it.
Fuck. I’m just going to give this the nicest spin I can.
“I know I deserve more pay for all the work I do, so consider these my bonus payments. Bonus payments I just have to take when no one’s watching.” I grin, and although Grandma can’t see it, I know she feels it.
The air stretches between us for a minute. I can see her thoughts spinning, and I’m half dreading what they’ve concluded when she opens her mouth. “Well, give it here. I’ll whip something up with it.”
Relieved, I place the food on the counter in front of her. She gives everything a quick feel and sniff, yet another way she’s learned to work around the loss of her eyesight. Then, she takes the soup pot out and starts prepping the food.
Looking at the spread I stole, I wish I’d had a little forethought to try to get a little variety of food. Food is food, but with just a little more effort, it could’ve been a nice soup. The meat will be amazing, for all of us though. It’s been a long time since I could afford to buy meat.
Grandma already has the wood burning over the stove and the pot placed on top, while I’ve just been sorting my thoughts. She goes and starts cutting up the meat into little slips, humming her happy tune again. A smile on her face.
Being useful always makes her happy. So does the thought of a full belly.
“Do you need any help?” I ask, rolling up my sleeves to take my place next to her.
“Now you know I can’t stand that question. If I needed help, I’d ask for it.” She starts mumbling and cuts her cloudy eyes at me. She can’t see with them, but she can still be expressive with them. “And you know you can’t cook. Why are you even acting like you can do anything but get in my way? Go on somewhere else.” She shoos me away.
I laugh and hear the sound of my father no doubt crawling into his chair in the living. “I’ll go see if he’s up.”
Taking a few steps into the living room, where sure enough I find my dad. He’s carving sun figurines to sell at the market, because he hates being idle and not being able to help the family. He can’t use his whole body to work, but he’s always been handy. He typically makes enough to buy food for one meal a week, which is amazing.
“How are you doing today, Old Man?” I bend down and give him a kiss on his cheek. His color’s so much better than it has been for the past few years. I swear, from the time I was old enough to be aware of his pain, he’d been an unnatural grey-green color. When he started taking the potions this year, one of the first things that returned was his color… then, slowly, his strength. He almost looks like a healthy person now, even sitting up straighter.
“Mother, should I show her?” He turns to me, an airy smile on his face. “I have a surprise for you.”
Grandma beams from the kitchen and walks to stand near him, while I watch, confused. He scoots to the edge of his chair then braces himself and rises to his feet. My grandmother hovers a foot in front of him, and I watch in confusion as my father takes a step. My chest feels tight. He’s managed a few steps before, and that tired him out for quite a while. Two steps because of the painfully expensive potion I’ve been buying him.
What’s he doing now?
“Should I–?” Stand behind him to catch him? Help?
Grandmother shakes her head. “Just watch.”
He manages another step, and now I’m sweaty. Two steps. He should be falling. Falling, and getting upset. Falling and going to his room and crying so quietly that he thinks we don’t hear him, but we do.
Somehow, he remains standing, managing three more steps, reaching the front door, before his legs crumble. Grandma somehow manages to catch him before his knees hit the ground, leading me to believe that they’ve been practicing this.
I press my hands to my mouth as he turns his head and looks at me, grinning. He’s happy with himself. Happy with his amazing accomplishment for the first time instead of feeling depressed that his progress has been so slow.
“That’s amazing!” I run over to him and pull him into a hug. He groans, and I help him back to his chair.
