“How soon will you be home?”
“I don’t know.” I checked the time. I could take lunch, but I was behind on my work and planned to eat at my desk. “You can leave the laundry till tonight, right?”
“I can’t sleep if the dryer’s tumbling.”
“Can I help?” Griffin murmured at my side.
“Just a busted washer hose back home,” I told him. “I’m on it.” I said into the phone. “Mom—”
“Lee!” Noreen hurried down the hall. “Thank God you’re still here.” She spotted my phone. “Oh, sorry. Important call?”
I said, “Hang on, Mom,” and put her on hold. “What’s wrong?”
“We got the pharmacy shipment and they left out some meds again. Carol’s due for her furosemide and they still didn’t send it.”
“Crap. Let me call them.”And rip someone a new asshole.With heart failure, it was a real bad idea to miss doses of meds. I raised my phone and unmuted Mom. “Listen, I have something I have to do. Turn off the dishwasher, turn off the water, just like last time. I’ll be home tonight.”
“The drywall’s getting soaked.”
“Well then,turn off the water!”
“Don’t shout at me, Lee.”
I ran a hand down my face.
Griffin said, “Listen, I have a two-hour lunch break. Does your mom still live in the same place? She’s met me. I can Lyft over there, install a hose and help her clean up, and still make it to my afternoon gig.”
Beside him, Noreen shifted foot to foot. She was a very good technical nurse, but she didn’t handle pressure well. Definitely not up to yelling at the pharmacist.
“Would you?” I dug in my pocket. “Don’t Lyft, though. Take my car.”
Griffin eyed my keys but didn’t touch them. “It’s not the car. I don’t have my license.”
“Crap, I forgot. That sucks. Why? You weren’t drunk or high or anything.”
“I screwed up. It’s okay. It’s fair.” His expression said it hurt, though.
“Let me cover the Lyft, then.”
“Dude, pretty sure I still have more money than you.”
I glared at him. “Okay, at least let me pick you up tonight after your shift and give you a ride home.”
“And miss two rush-hour buses?” Griffin grinned at me. “Deal. I’m at Rose Gardens this afternoon.”
I said into the phone, “Hey, Mom, you remember Griffin?”
“The man you were in—”
“The guy I brought around sometimes,” I rode over her words because Noreen was listening and I did not need my ex-love-life spread around the building. “He happens to be here, and he’s going to come on over and fix the hose for you, because I’m swamped with work. Okay?”
“Griffin the singer?” she clarified. “I thought he left town.”
“He’s back and right now he’s going to do us both a favor. If that’s okay with you?” She’d met Griffin a few times while we were dating, but that was a long way back. “Will you let him come in and fix things?”
“I suppose. I always liked that boy.”
I huffed a bit atboybecause Griffin was closer to her age than mine, but whatever got her calmed down and kept the drywallfrom dissolving. “Okay. He’s on his way, and Mom? Just turn off the knife switch, okay? Turn off the water and then turn off the dishwasher. Let me know when you’ve done that.”
