AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I scratched the back of my head and grinned sheepishly at her. “Nothing much, really. I’m mostly consumed by work. In fact, this is the first vacation I’ve had in years!”
“Then all the more you should come home with me,” she said resolutely. “We’ll have a lot to talk about, I’m sure!”
I couldn’t refuse her so I helped Grandmother Margaret off the wheelchair that the hospital provided for her and helped her into my mom’s old car.
“Hmpht! I’m not an invalid!” she huffed. “They could have given me my cane and I would’ve walked out of there just fine on my own.”
“It’s protocol, Mrs. Ross,” the nurse smiled gently. “We have to follow the protocol.”
“Yeah, or if something happened, they might make you stay another night,” I grinned at her.
Grandma Margaret shot me a look of absolute horror that the nurse burst out into giggles. Since then, she refrained from complaining about it the entire way home, which amused both me to no end, knowing that she was probably bursting at the seams keeping it all down.
When we arrived in the quaint home with its cozy ambience, I could see Amanda standing in the veranda with a soft smile on her face. Her hair had been pulled back into a loose braid that trailed over her shoulder and she was wearing a soft, lilac dress with tiny white buttons running down the front. She looked absolutely beautiful. Her sea green eyes lit up as we drew nearer.
“Grandma!” she greeted with shining eyes, giving her grandmother a kiss on her wrinkled cheek.
“Such a good child,” Grandma Margaret muttered, fondly patting Amanda’s cheek. She paused and sniffed, her eyes lighting up with delight. “I smell something wonderful! Tell me, is that my favorite apple crumble cake?”
“It sure is!” Amanda smiled widely. “I made it as a surprise!”
Grandma Margaret looked up to the sky and smiled. “It’s a perfectly good day today. Let’s just eat in the veranda.”
“Great idea, Grandma,” Amanda agreed. “I’ll just get everything out for a sec.”
She went back inside the house and Buddy excitedly bounded out of the door, barking happily at us as he sniffed and circled Grandma Margaret, who laughed at him and handed him a treat. Amanda just shook her head, smiled, and ducked into the house.
I helped Grandma Margaret over to the couch on the veranda and she smiled at me. “Amanda’s such a good girl. She even baked me my favorite apple crumble cake to celebrate my homecoming!”
“Yes,” I murmured, my eyes following the front door where Amanda had disappeared into. “She is a great girl.”
The elderly lady looked around at the veranda and rapped her cane slightly on the floor. “My Frederick built this veranda shortly after we were married. Before, this house was just plain and boring so we thought we should add something and we decided on this.” She shook her head sadly. “Now that he’s gone, there’s nobody left to fix it up.”
“What about Amanda?”
“She’s afraid of it,” Grandma Margaret whispered in a conspiratorial tone. “She’s afraid of botching it, to be more precise. But she’s a sentimental girl so she doesn’t want to hand it over to some construction company who would make it into something else. I heard her asking that good-for-nothing for help but he just dismissed her!”
We both sat down and Buddy nudged my hand briefly, demanding I scratch the back of his ears for a bit before he laid down at my feet with his head between his paws. I shook my head at the sight of him like that. He used to do that all the time with me, even when he was still a puppy.
Moments later, Amanda emerged with a tray laden with three generous slices of warm apple crumble drizzled with caramel syrup. She also brought two cups of coffee and some tea for Grandma Margaret. The scent of the food made my mouth water and the sight of the hefty slices…well, it was glorious.
But Amanda? She is glorious perfection!
She caught me staring at her and she blushed prettily as she set the pies and the cups out for us in front of the table. Abashed that I had been caught staring, I cleared my throat and turned my attention to Grandma Margaret instead.
“It’s great to know that you’re fine enough to go home, Grandma,” I told her. “But I would be much more comfortable if I personally made sure you’re perfectly alright. How about I drop by once a day over the next couple of days while I’m here in Georgetown so I can check on you?”
“Ooh! That’s a great idea!” the older lady grinned at me. Then, as an aside to Amanda, “Now,thatis a good catch!”
“Grandma!” her granddaughter exclaimed, turning a pretty shade of pink.
I smiled at the both of them, shaking my head. Even when we were younger, Grandma Margaret was always a bit moreaudaciousthan most and it seemed that age had only made her a little more outrageous.
“I’ll just give you my number so you can call me anytime you need me,” I offered to her. “So you better leave your hearing aid on so you can hear me whenIcallyou.”
“Thank you so much, Oliver,” Amanda smiled at me.
“Ooh! I’d always hoped to get the number of a dreamboat like you!” Grandma Margaret cackled, handing me her phone. “Never thought one of the perks of being a senior citizen is to have a hot personal doctor. Tell me, darling girl, have you ever seen a doctor as hot as he is?”
