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Doing my best to keep the tears at bay, I pulled back, then looked up at him. “Not as much as I missed you.”
Still smiling, he finally stepped back to let me inside, and as soon as he shut the door behind him, I took a seat on the small settee that he had in his living space, and because we were both predictable, he sat in the small rocker next to it. I also wasn’t surprised that his place was neat and clean like always. My grandfather had become a minimalist after my grandmother had passed away, and I wasn’t sure if that’d been because the memories were too painful, or if he was just trying to make my life easier once he was gone, too.
“So, what new things do you have to tell me since I saw you last?” he asked, and it warmed my heart how he was really interested. If my grandfather was my best friend, then I could only hope that I was his as well.
“I got some flowers yesterday,” I answered.
His bushy brows shot upward. “A boyfriend?”
I laughed as I shook my head. “No. I think they’re from a client that was just showing their appreciation for my help.”
“Dorogoy, it is not good for a young girl to be alone so much,” he chided kindly. “Don’t you want a family of your own one day?”
“I’m perfectly happy with you,” I teased, not wanting to discuss such a painful topic, something that he was aware of but refused to let me hide from it.
Once upon a time, I’d wanted a family. Though not a necessity for me to be happy, I’d dreamt of a husband and a couple of children as part of my future. Between my parents and grandparents, I believed in love, and I absolutely adored children. However, the knowledge that my children would grow up without grandparents or great-grandparents had ruined that picture for me. Now, while I wouldn’t say that I was opposed to having a family of my own one day, I also wasn’t actively looking to make that particular dream come true.
“You cannot let life frighten your dreams away, dorogoy,” he said. “If you do, then you are merely existing in this world, and you were made for so much more than that, Katja.”
“I’m not interested in changing the world, Dedushka,” I told him. “I like my simple life. I like being able to do my job without interference. I like going home to a peaceful house. I like being able to have crackers for dinner if I want to.”
His white brows furrowed. “You had better not be eating crackers for dinner,” he scolded. “Your health is not something that you should toy with.”
I grinned. “I am not eating crackers for dinner. I was just trying to prove a point.”
“Bah,” he huffed as he batted a hand my way. “You can prove it another way. Do not make me worry about you, rebenok.”
“There’s no need to worry about me,” I assured him. “Besides, you’ve got better things to do than worry about me. How’s your chess match going with Mr. Reasons?”
“He cheats,” he automatically replied. “He’s always tipping the board when he’s about to lose.”
“And how is Mrs. Turnbuckle’s great-granddaughter doing?”
“She’s just the sweetest thing on earth,” he said, smiling fondly over the little girl. “If I could just teach her chess, then everything would be perfect.”
“I’m sure it would,” I chuckled in agreement. “What about you? How are you doing?”
He let out a deep sigh before saying, “I am getting old, Katja. While my days are still blessed by God, my bones ache and the memories in my head fade a little bit more each night.”
Though a troublesome topic for me, my grandfather wasn’t afraid to be honest with me. Growing up, he hadn’t only told me stories with happily-ever-afters. He’d told me all kinds of stories, some wonderful, some tragic, some simple facts of life. He’d wanted to prepare me for the realities of life, though I’d ended up learning that lesson the hard way.
“You’re as sharp as a tack,” I argued. “You and I both know it.”
He just smiled again. “Sharp enough to know that George Reason cheats at chess.”
The rest of the evening was spent talking about the weather, sports, and a crazy television series that my grandfather had gotten hooked on last year. The topics were all mundane but safe. There were times when I could handle trips down memory lane with my grandfather, and other times when I couldn’t, and he was astute enough to know when it was safe to touch on serious topics and when it wasn’t.
Once it was time for him to go to bed, I kissed his cheek, said my goodbyes, then left him in peace. As usual, I began to miss him as soon as I started walking down the pathway that led back to the lobby, and luckily for me, the staff here was used to seeing family members crying all the time. So, I never felt embarrassed if someone caught me wiping away a tear or two.
When I finally got home, I immediately headed for the shower, hoping that I didn’t get any emergency calls tonight. For whatever reason, I was feeling especially exhausted, and it was enough that I was willing to spend money on lunch tomorrow, rather than prep my lunch before going to bed like I usually did. I chuckled as I remembered assuring my grandfather that I didn’t eat crackers for dinner, so I’d better not eat them for lunch either.
An hour later, I was crawling into bed, ready to put an end to this day, so that I could get started on tomorrow, and just as I was closing my eyes and getting comfortable, my mind wondered one last time about those damn flowers.
Chapter 5
Maksim~
I took a sip of gin as Akim let out a puff a smoke that I only allowed on rare occasions. Now, while I had nothing against marijuana morally, the smell was hell to get rid of sometimes. Luckily for Akim, we were in my backyard, and that was why I was allowing it. I did not smoke, neither cigarettes nor weed, though it sounded like I did whenever I spoke.
