Page 119 of Last First Date

“Turns out you’re a hardass at work,” he said with a soft laugh.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I grinned. “Did she tell you how horrible I was?”

“Nah. She respects you. She said you were tough, which I expected. I hope you’re not being too hard on them. I probably should have told you we try and take a breather in February.”

“Grandpa, we don’t need to talk business,” I told him. “You’re supposed to be resting and relaxing. You don’t need the stress. The company is fine. Waverly didn’t tell you it was falling apart, right?”

“She said things were good.”

“Then take her word for it,” I said.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you I saw the news about that New York thing,” he said with a weak smile. “Good job. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Grandpa,” I said quietly. Those words meant more to me than any accolade or praise I’d received in the boardroom.

We fell into comfortable silence, the familiar beeping of the hospital monitors providing an odd kind of comfort.

“I want you to promise me something,” he said suddenly, his eyes serious.

“Anything, Grandpa.”

“Promise me you’ll look after Waverly. She’s a good girl. She has a lot of potential, and she cares about you a lot. More than you think.” His gaze locked on mine. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m old and sure I’ve had a stroke, but I’m not dead. My eyes still work. She didn’t want to talk about you, which tells me there’s something going on. I’ll trust the two of you to work through it, but please, be good to her.”

I blinked in surprise at his words, but after a moment’s hesitation, I nodded. “Of course, Grandpa. I’ll look after her.”

“Good,” he said, seeming satisfied. He gave my hand another gentle squeeze then closed his eyes again. His breathing evened out into a steady rhythm.

A part of me was startled by the sudden shift in our conversation. I was always surprised by just how savvy the man was.

I patted his hand. “I’m going to go. You sleep and don’t worry about the company. Just get better. Grandma is holding you to the France trip. She wants wineries. She wants cheese.”

He didn’t open his eyes but slowly smiled. “I know.”

I got up from the chair. “Goodbye. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

“Go to work,” he mumbled.

I chuckled again. “I’m on it.”

I left the hospital and considered going to work but changed my mind. I was working from home, and thankfully, I had been left a company that could essentially run itself thanks to my grandfather’s amazing leadership from the very beginning. I had to focus my attention on my family.

I went home and found my mother and grandmother looking like zombies in the sitting room. They weren’t saying a word. Each of them had a cup of tea in their hands but they were both spacing out.

Both looked up as I entered the room, their eyes reddened from the endless waves of worry and tears. My grandmother offered me a weak smile, her lips trembling slightly as she tried to stay strong.

“Hello, dear,” she said, her voice soft and brittle. Her frail hands were shaking slightly, causing the tea in her cup to quiver. As I moved closer, I noticed the faint smell of chamomile wafting from her cup. Grandpa’s favorite.

“How is he?” my mother asked almost immediately, her voice strained. Her eyes were wide and desperate for good news.

“He’s resting,” I informed them, settling down into a chair. “He was joking and lecturing me. He’s stronger than he was yesterday, which tells me he’s going to keep getting stronger.”

My mother’s eyes welled up, and she forced a smile. “That’s good,” she said. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around her teacup.

For a moment, we all sat in silence, the only sound in the room being the faint ticking of the grandfather clock that had been in our family for generations. “I’ll be going to visit him this evening.”

“He wants to go to France with you when he’s better,” I told my grandmother.

She laughed softly. “He’s just too stubborn to be sick.”