I was deep in those weeds when Kashira tapped on my doorframe. She grinned when I looked up from my computer. “So, did you get your mom all squared away yesterday?”
“Griffin did.”
“You and him, is there something going on?”
“No.”
“Hah, I’ve seen the way you look at each other.”
“There is no looking.” At her raised eyebrow, I huffed. “Okay, a little looking. He’s still fine.”
“Still?”
“We knew each other twenty years ago,” I admitted.
“Ithoughtthere was something going on. ‘Knew him’ as in pined for him across the street or exchanged body fluids?”
“Um. The second one. We dated for about three months.”
“You and Griffin?” She fanned herself with a hand as she perched on the chair across from me. “How was he? I bet he was hot back then. Dish.”
“No, no, no. I am not talking about our past. He left to follow his music, I had other things to do. End of story.”
“That’s sad.” Kashira hadn’t been at Wellhaven when Alice was, but she knew about my sister. That didn’t keep her from saying, “You say he’s still fine and now you got more time. Why aren’t you hitting that? I bet he’s interested. He watches you too.”
“He’s going to leave again, though, right? The rate he’s going, he’ll finish his community service in six or eight months and then he’ll be off again.”
She sobered, eyeing me with her head tilted. “Lee, did that man break your heart?”
I pushed some papers around my desk to avoid meeting her gaze. “Maybe battered my optimism a bit. It was a rough time all the way around. I don’t want to do that again.”
“Doesn’t have to be the same, though. You said twenty years. People change a lot in twenty years. Or just, you know, have some fun. You haven’t mentioned a single date in the last couple of years. You need to get out before you wither like some dead plant.”
“I’ve dated.” I patted my ample belly. “I’m in no danger of withering.”
“Not your body, you dork. Your heart. Maybe your dick.”
“My dick is not withered, thank you.”
I heard a snort from the doorway and looked up to see Griffin grinning. “Good to know,” he said.
“What do you want?” I sighed and toned down the snippiness, embarrassed to have wiped that grin from his face. “Sorry, what can I do for you?”
“I brought my guitar today and I was going to suggest I could do a bit of a show, maybe take requests. If that’s an okay idea? Around ten-thirty?”
“Sure, sounds good. I’ll have the staff pass the word to the residents.”
A little of Griffin’s humor returned. “What about you? Any advance requests?”
“Korn?” I suggested, unable to resist.
“‘Y’all Want a Single’?” Griffin named the Korn song that was thirty percent composed of the wordfuck, an eyebrow theatrically raised. “You sure you want that echoing down the halls of your fine establishment?”
I had to laugh. “Just kidding. Take requests from the residents. They’re the ones who’re bored and not knee-deep in staffing issues.”
“Anything I can do?” Griffin asked. “I mean, I got no skills but willing hands. My back maybe not so much.”
“Nah, this is more of a future problem.” I waved him and Kashira off. “You two go do the fun things you need to do and leave me to my spreadsheets.”
