Jillie waved her off. “No, but thanks, hun. I’m going home after this. It’s been a long morning. So,” she said, coming to a stop in front of one of the dozens of identical small homes on this street, each separated by a sliver of lawn. “These are the Villas, where the active adults who don’t need daily care stay.”
“We’re active adults!” Delly said excitedly, and my chin fell to my chest as I hid my smile. Her optimism really did overtake her sometimes.
“Yes, well,” Jillie said kindly, “in this case, ‘adult’ means over the age of fifty-five.”
Delly deflated. “That counts me out, but I guess Addy can stay.”
I poked her with my crutch, and she yelped, jumping away from me.
Jillie shook her head. “Well, I’ve actually spoken to thehousing manager, and she agreed to a temporary solution. This house is slightly bigger than the others, with three bedrooms. It’s meant for either older couples with a parent they’re caretakers for or seniors who want to have roommates. Neither case is common, so this house has been unoccupied for some time. There are some extra rules for living on Live Oak’s campus, all of which I have printed for you to look over. We had to get permission from your neighbor—” Jillie gestured to the house beside ours. “—but as I knew she would, she agreed with enthusiasm. As long as you don’t throw house parties or blast music inside, you should be good to go. Or, as Miss Lenny put it, as long as you invite her to said party, she’ll be happy.”
That name rang a bell, but before I could place it, Delly threw her arms around Jillie. “Thank you so much!”
“Jillie,” I said hesitantly, pulling my shirt away from my body as I started sweating in the ruthless sun. “Are you sure this isn’t asking too much? You already got us jobs lined up, and now this?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She tugged on her sweatpants, grimacing. She was beyond ready to leave. “This is a win for everyone. Now come on, let’s get out of the heat.”
We walked single file up the smooth, paved path toward the front door. Blooming azaleas lined the walkway and palm trees the sidewalks.
I already knew this, of course, but looking at these things as the surroundings of a home was different. It was way nicer than the original condo I’d booked, and I was going to save on gas—and on pain, too, given how smoothly I limped into the house behind Jillie and Delly thanks to the stepless entry and extra wide doorway.
Maybe I really was born old if these were the kinds of things that excited me.
“There was one more thing I wanted to discuss withyou as well,” Jillie said as I closed the door behind us. “How would you feel about having a roommate?”
Delly and I looked at each other, diving into a silent conversation.
The new wrinkle in her forehead paired with the tilt of her head said something like,“Are we getting a live-in grandma?”The straightening of her shoulders and the way she licked her lips said,“Oh my God, what if she is an Italian grandma who will cook authentic pasta for us?”
I raised my eyebrows at her in a move that I hoped communicated,“I seriously doubt they’d pair a regular resident with the two of us, and if they did—”I paused and pressed my lips together in a grim expression that was universal for:“When have we ever been that lucky? No Nonnas for us, little sister.”
Her shoulders slumped. I hated that.
We held each other’s gazes for one more moment, and I had to assume the resignation in her eyes was a mirror to my own.
We would do whatever we had to do to keep this good thing.
Delly turned to Jillie, who was back to fussing with her sweatpants. I had a feeling she wouldn’t know peace until she got home and changed.
“Who would it be?” Delly asked.
Jillie gave up on her sweats and forced her hands to her sides. “Actually, Adair has already met her. It’s Uncle Wilbur’s roommate’s daughter.”
Pop Rocks filled my brain as Delly whipped her head toward me.
“OHMYGOD,her? Blue eyes and skinned knees?”she asked silently. Her eyebrows were in the ceiling, but my head was in the clouds.
I yanked off my glasses and let the world blur.
Delly burst out laughing.
“What am I missing?” Jillie said hesitantly, her gaze presumably flicking between us. I wouldn’t know, as I wasn’t going to be putting the world back into high definition again until I could face it. Pulling my loose shirt from my body, I mindlessly cleaned the lenses with it and listened to Delly eagerly agree to the roommate.
Toher.
They chatted about it a bit longer, but I just gripped my glasses and wandered away from them further into the house.
Delly found me a few minutes later. “Addy?”
