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And later that night, as I’m rolling around in my satin sheets with the boy-turned-man of my dreams, I do just that.
CHAPTER 20
Derek
The assisted livingfacility where Grandmom Paula lives is bustling with visitors when I arrive Friday evening. It’s dinnertime, and family members are here to dine with their loved ones. It’s why I’m here. But while I love my grandmom, there’s one place I’d rather be. Or, more accurately, one person I’d rather be with.
Tonight is the last night of Comedy Fest. Olivia and I have attended every night together. I’ve enjoyed the laid-back dates more than I could imagine, but not as much as the otheractivitieswe engage in later in the night.
We’ve spent every night together this week, and I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve enjoyed her constant company. Any other woman, I always ended up wanting space after spending one day or night together. I thought it was because I was a person who simply enjoyed my personal space. Now, I realize it’s because I never felt more than surface-level attraction to the women I dated. I certainly didn’t crave their company the way I crave every second I spend with Olivia.
I tell myself it’s because she knows me so well. Things with her are easy. She knows what I find funny, when I’m feeling overstimulated by the raucous crowds, and when I’m ready to call it a night.
And that goes both ways.
Something bad happened to Olivia on Tuesday. I could see it the moment she stepped out of her Volkswagen after work. Later that evening, I learned it had something to do with her boss, but I didn’t pry. And not to brag, but her mood immediately lifted after I grabbed her hand over the truck’s console while we drove to the first show of the night.
I know it’s only been a few days, but things between us are going great. And I’m confident they will continue to trend that way.
After speaking to the ladies at the front desk, I learn Grandmom is already in the cafeteria. I walk into the space filled with a cacophony of laughter, conversation, and utensils scraping against plates. I scan the sea of people, focusing on the older women, until I find a pair of kind blue eyes that are as familiar to me as my own because they belong to the woman who gave them to my father, who passed them onto me.
A grin stretches over Grandmom’s mouth when she spots me. I mirror her expression and walk over. It doesn’t matter that I’ve visited her almost every day for lunch this week, we’re both equally excited to see each other as if it’s been months since we last saw each other and not hours.
“Hi, Grandmom.” I lean down and kiss her cheek when I reach the table. She sits with two other women, Ms. Jeanie and Ms. Fiona.
“Hello, Derek.” Grandmom pats my arm. The expensive gold bracelets on her arms clink together. “Please sit.”
I take the chair next to her.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Jeanie and Fiona to join us for dinner.”
“Of course not.” I smile at the other women. “It’s nice to see you both again.”
“Oh my, would you look at that smile?” Ms. Jeanie mock-whispers to Ms. Fiona and my grandmom behind a ring-covered hand. “He is one handsome young man.”
“Yes, he is,” Grandmom confirms, beaming with pride. “He’s also quite intelligent.”
“Oh, we know.” Ms. Fiona chuckles. “You talk about his business success constantly. Not that I blame you. You have every reason to be proud.”
“Especially when he cuts such a fine figure,” Ms. Jeanie adds.
The women chuckle, and I find myself blushing.
I’m not usually so shy, at least not anymore, but there’s something about the borderline bawdy comments that make me act like the timid schoolboy I once was.
My table companions notice, and hoots of laughter follow.
“Oh, I just have to introduce you to my niece,” Ms. Fiona says. Her eyes gleam behind thick plastic glasses. “She’s a nurse, you know.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Well, she is. And she needs a fine man like yourself.” She reaches for her purse on the floor and takes out a pen. “Let me give you her number so you two can grab coffee.”
Before I can politely decline her offer, Grandmom says, “I already told you, Fiona, my grandson is taken.” She is the only family member who knows about me and Olivia.
I’d wanted to keep the news quiet, but it was impossible not to tell Grandmom. She’d picked up on my happiness within five minutes of talking to me on Tuesday.
She was ecstatic when I told her Olivia and I were officially dating.
