“Oh, a fine-looking young gentleman brought those to me,” she says with the expression of a cat who just caught a canary. “I still got it.”
The nurse laughs and tells her she’ll miss her, but not to hurry back.
We get Nana secured in the car, then I take her home. Once she’s comfortable in her recliner and watching Hallmark movies, I finally relax. I didn’t realize how much stress I’d been carrying until things finally feel normal again. All at once, exhaustion and achiness hit me like a ton of bricks.
I leave Nana to her movies, light some candles in the bathroom, and take a bubble bath in the old pink tub. I nearly fall asleep listening to Lana del Rey, only waking up when my phone dings.
It’s Garrett.
Hey gorgeous – you up for a visit this weekend?
I roll my eyes and put my phone down without responding. I’m not sure what to say to him. I don’t want to see him this weekend. It doesn’t feel right since I’ve now kissed Rhodes, though I’m technically not committed to either one of them. If I do break things off with Garrett, what do I even say? It’s not breaking up if we’re not together. What do I owe him, if anything?
I can’t think about this right now. I don’t want to think about anything, so I simply don’t respond to Garrett for the rest of the night. By the time Rhodes calls for our nightly chat, I’ve completely forgotten about Garrett’s text.
* * *
On Thursday and Friday, I leave Nana at home to rest while I go to the store. I take tons of pictures of the new stuff and schedule social media posts for the next three weeks, then continue Nana’s job of cataloguing all the new items onto our spreadsheet.
I still haven’t responded to Garrett, but before I’m about to close up and go home to a quiet weekend, I get a text from him.
Hey sweetheart – did I do something? I’d really like to see you.
Sweetheart? That’s new.
I ignore this text too.
After a trip to Piggly Wiggly to grab some things for dinner, I go home and start cooking. I watch a Lifetime movie with Nana, then get her settled in bed and wait for Rhodes to call while I readPride and Prejudicefor the hundredth time.
My phone rings, and instead of seeing Rhodes’ name, I see Garrett’s.
He never calls me. Like, ever. Not in the all the years we’ve been doing whatever it is we do.
I almost let it go to voicemail, then panic-answer at the last minute.
“Hello?”
“Micah! Hey.”
“Is everything alright?”
“I…” he starts, his voice cracking. “I needed to hear your voice.”
“You sound upset.”
“There’s a lot going on. Things at work are really bad right now. I’m afraid I’m gonna lose my company.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “What happened?”
“Do you remember me telling you about the people we let go? They’re suing for wrongful termination and other stuff. Now some of my current employees are making allegations. It’s all total b.s., but my lawyer says I may have to pony up some funds I don’t have. I’m … I don’t know. I need a friend, and you’re the only person I trust.”
This catches me off guard. I’d gotten to a place where I thought I was done with Garrett, but hearing him so vulnerable and open for the first time tugs at me in a way I didn’t expect. He needs me, and it feels good.
“That sounds awful,” I say. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Can you come up tonight? I don’t want to be alone. I’m not okay right now.”
I pause to think. I don’t want leave Nana, but she’ll be going to bed soon. I know she’s eaten and taken her meds, so she should be okay. And Montgomery isn’t too far. It’s not like driving to Birmingham.
