AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How about a steak?” Pops chirped in.
“Ha ha, Pops. Sure, Grams. I’ll make one in a few.” I squeezed Pops’s shoulder as I passed him and headed to my room for a quick shower.
Twenty minutes later, hair thrown into a bun, sporting yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt, I threw together a salad to accompany our minestrone as I told them about my day.
“Thank goodness for Michael,” Grams said.
“That boy has really stepped up,” Pops agreed.
“He might be asking for a raise soon,” I joked, squeezing lemon juice over the lettuce. “The girls all texted saying how wonderful he is and how much they like him.”
“And what about you?” Pops asked.
“I guess he’s okay.” A slight smirk kissed my mouth as I turned. They sat staring at me, waiting for something more. “Okay, okay. There have been some recent developments in that area.”
“And?” Grams asked.
“I don’t kiss and tell, Grams.”
“I knew it! I knew it!” She clapped her hands together. “I told you so,” she said, leaning over and grabbing Pops’s hand.
“That you did, Soph.”
“You guys are a couple of gossips!” I teased. “Nosy, meddlesome—”
“And completely right!” Grams stopped me.
She was grinning from ear to ear. It was infectious.
“Don’t get ahead of yourselves. We’ve both agreed to take things slow. See what happens.”
“What about San Francisco?” Pops asked.
“I don’t know. We need to figure things out around here.”
“We’ve been talking,” Grams said, meeting Pops’s eyes. “And you need to follow your heart. Follow your dreams. If San Francisco’s what you want, then you need to go. Don’t worry about us.”
“I appreciate that, Grams. I just have a lot to think about.” Their complete understanding and unfaltering support meant the world to me. But leaving meant worrying about them, especially Pops. Leaving meant starting over and beginning something new.
Sitting with my grandparents, eating dinner, and enjoying each other’s company left a knot in my stomach. I would give this up again if I left. I’d come down here, knowing that I would go back as soon as I could. But after Pops’s heart attack, I didn’t know if I could leave without feeling guilty.
Something was up with them. They weren’t saying much, their lack of words resounding and thunderous, even in the storm. We chatted, but the elephant in the room wasn’t being addressed. Their superficial and surface-level conversation, pushing just a little too much about San Francisco, didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t like the feeling I was getting.
Grams and I had just finished cleaning up when the sky erupted, thunder roaring and lightning flashing. The lights flickered and went off.
Immediately grabbing some flashlights out of the drawer, I took one to Pops and handed another to Grams. “Sit, Grams. I’ll get some candles.” The last thing I needed was for her to fall or hurt herself in the dark. Imagining something happening, even something small, made my mouth dry, made my stomach clench with worry.
“Don’t you think you should go check on Michael?” Grams asked as I scattered candles around.
“Why?”
“I know he’s a grown man, but maybe you should go on out there just to be sure.”
“He has a generator, Grams. He’s fine.”
“Well, maybe just go anyway.”
“I don’t feel right leaving you here by yourselves in the dark.”
