9
The next morning, Garrison was surprised to hear someone knocking at the back door. It was barely seven. He hurried past where Oreo and Harry were already waiting for breakfast and pulled open the door. “Ruby?” he peered curiously at his bathrobe-clad neighbor. “What are you doing out this early?”
She held out what looked like a covered plate. “Breakfast,” she told him with a wide grin.
“Seriously?” He moved back, welcoming her into the house. “What did I do to deserve this?”
“Just being neighborly,” she said as she set the oversized plate on the kitchen table, proudly removing the cover. “Ham and eggs. Biscuits and gravy. And grits.”
His eyes opened wide and his mouth started to water. “Grits?”
She nodded knowingly.
“I haven’t had grits in years.” He smiled at her. “Not since I lived here and used to sneak over to eat them from your table.”
“That’s what I figured.” She pulled out a chair. “Go ahead, eat it while it’s hot.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He sat down and she handed him silverware from the drawer.
“Dig in and enjoy, Garrison.”
“What about your breakfast?” he asked as he stuck his spoon into the grits.
“I already ate. Don’t mind me. I’ll just make us some coffee.”
“Why are you being so nice to me, Ruby?”
“Just being neighborly,” she said again. “Neighbors helping neighbors. That’s what we do around here.”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded as he chewed a bite of ham, watching her with suspicion. She was up to something and he knew it. But whatever it was, he didn’t think he cared. He hadn’t had a breakfast this good in—years!
He was just finishing up the grits when she set a mug of steaming coffee in front of him. She had a cup of her own and sat down with a humph across from him. “Well, how do you like it? Can Ruby still cook grits or not?”
“Oh yeah,” he murmured contentedly. “No doubt about it. Ruby still can.”
She chuckled, then sipped her coffee.
He was almost done with the biscuits and gravy when she cleared her throat. “Elliott came by last night.”
“Your house?”
“Yeah. He spent the night. Still sleeping.”
“Uh-huh?”
“I could hardly sleep myself last night. Fretting and worrying over that boy. He’s broke with no place to go. Down and out. I just don’t know what’s to become of him.” She sighed. “His clothes were filthy. I’ve already run them through the washer twice. Once last night. And again this morning. Don’t know if they’ll ever come clean.”
“Clothes can be replaced.” He pushed the empty plate aside and reached for his coffee.
“I know that.” She gave him an exasperated look. “But grandsons cannot.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “That’s true.”
“So I got myself to thinking . . . in the middle of the night . . . after I spent more’n an hour praying to the good Lord to do something about this. I got to thinking that maybe there’s something we can do right here. Right under our noses.”
“What would that be?”
“Well, I know you’re working real hard to fix up Lilly’s house. And I got to thinking maybe you could use a spare set of hands.” She leaned forward. “Elliott’s a strong boy. He can work hard when he sets his mind on it. I thought if he could come over here and help out, well, maybe it would do both you and him some good. What d’you think?”
He chuckled. “I think this breakfast was a bribe.”
“Not a bribe exactly. But I thought it might get your undivided attention.” She pointed to the empty plate. “Looks like it did too.”
“And I’m not complaining either.” He smiled at her. “But you didn’t need to bring me breakfast, Ruby. I’m happy to hire Elliott. I really could use some help. But I can’t afford to pay him much right now.”
“I don’t want you to pay him at all.”
“Why not?”
“Don’t want that boy having any money in his pocket. The longer he’s broke, the longer he’ll stay put.”
“When it’s time to pay him . . . I’ll let you know.”
“What will I tell him?”
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ll handle everything.” She finished the last of her coffee. “I’ll tell him that I’m his manager. If a boy can’t trust his grandmother, who can he trust?”
“Good point.”
“So . . . if I can get him up—and that might be like raising the dead—I’ll get some food into him and send him over here.”
“Great.” He stood up and rinsed the plate, then handed it back to her. “And thanks for breakfast. I can’t remember when I’ve had a better one.”
She reached up and patted his cheek. “You’re a sweet boy, Garrison. I sure have missed you.”
A couple hours passed before Elliott showed up at the back door—wearing low-slung pants, a ripped T-shirt, a knitted black ski cap, and a suspicious dark scowl. He looked around the kitchen with narrowed eyes. “Just what am I supposed to do anyway?”
Garrison reintroduced himself to the sulky boy, then explained his basic plans for fixing up the house. “I’ve made a long list.” He nodded to the fridge.
“This is all about cats.”
“The other list. Anyway, right now I need you to help me in getting the living room ready to paint. I want to take the drapes down and mask off the woodwork. After that, you can attack the bathroom.” Garrison pulled a fresh particle mask out of a drawer and slipped it on.
“What’s that?” Elliott frowned. “We working with toxic stuff or something?”
“No. I just have cat allergies. I take meds, but the masks help too.” He jangled another one. “You can wear one if you want, but they get pretty stuffy.”
Elliott shook his head then rambled into the living room where the two of them started to remove the dusty drapes and drapery rods. Next Garrison showed Elliott how to mask off the wood, explaining how it was important to get it straight and seal it tight and smooth. Elliott acted nonchalant, but when he started doing it, he took the time to do it right. Garrison could tell this kid was smart. Okay, maybe he wasn’t smart when it came to life choices, but he had brains.
“Nice work,” he told Elliott when they finished prepping the living room.
Elliott just shrugged. “No big deal.”
“Actually, it’s a big deal to me,” Garrison corrected. “A lot of guys wouldn’t do it half as well. I can tell you’re intelligent.”
Elliott’s eyes seemed to light up and then he frowned again. “You mean for a black kid?”
Garrison laughed. “No, that’s not what I meant at all. Just take a compliment for what it’s worth, okay?”
He shrugged again. “Okay.”
“Now if you could go tape off the bathroom beneath the staircase”—he pointed to the door—“just like you did in here, I’d appreciate it.”
As Elliott meandered toward the bathroom, Garrison noticed a strange car in front of the house. A pair of women emerged and he felt a surge of happiness to realize that one of them was Cara. The other was a petite blonde woman. “Come in,” he called as he opened the front door.
Cara quickly introduced him to Sabrina. “As it turns out, she is interested in getting a cat,” she told him. “I hope you don’t mind that we popped in.”
“Not at all. I’d offer you a chair, but you can see there’s a shortage.”
“We just came to see the cats,” Sabrina said.
“Harry in particular,” Cara added.
Garrison went for the bag of cat treats, rattling the plastic and calling until both Harry and Oreo magically appeared. Harry, as usual, rubbed against his legs, looking up with adoring green eyes. Garrison bent down to scratch his head and chin. “Just two boys left,” he told Sabrina, “but if you ask me they’re the best of the lot.”
“Harry is a Maine Coon cat,” Cara said with enthusiasm. She knelt down next to Garrison, stroking Harry’s silky coat. “They are the best cats ever. Very smart and loyal and, in my opinion, gorgeous.”
“He is pretty,” Sabrina agreed as she petted the other cat. “But so are you, Oreo.”
“Handsome Harry,” Cara cooed. Then standing, she glanced around the room. “Are you painting?”
“Yeah.” Garrison picked up the paint samples, fanning the colors out. “Now if I could just pick a color.”
Cara grimaced. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.” She pointed to Sabrina, who had squatted down to examine the cats. “She’s the real color expert. You should get her opinion.” She glanced at her watch. “Now if you guys will excuse me, I have to get home for a conference call at ten. I’ll just walk back.”
“Thanks for coming with me.” Sabrina stood and looked at the color cards in Garrison’s hands. “You really want help with that?”
“I would be truly grateful.” He handed them over to her and she began walking around the room, taking it all in.
“Is this carpet staying?”
“No way,” he assured her. “I’m just leaving it in until I finish painting. Thought it might protect the floors. They’re hardwood underneath. I took a peek yesterday and they appear to be in good shape. This house belonged to my grandfather’s parents originally and finally to just my grandmother. But I think the carpet was installed back in the sixties.” He went over to peel back the corner for her to see.
“Pretty,” she said. “It’s a lighter wood than I’d have expected. But it’ll brighten it up in here. I really like this color.” Sabrina pointed to a warm shade of gray. “It’s neutral but sophisticated, and it looks really handsome against the dark woodwork. See?” She held it against the wall then handed it back to him.
Garrison studied the color. “I never would’ve picked that color, but I do like it.” He left the card sticking out. “Want to help me with the other rooms?” he asked hopefully.
“Sure. It’s the least I can do in exchange for a cat.”
“Great. Did you decide on which one?”
She pointed to Oreo. “This guy had me from the get-go. I didn’t want to hurt Cara’s feelings. She was so set on me adopting Harry. But I had a cat that looked a lot like this one as a child. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to have Oreo.”
He grinned. “I don’t mind at all.”
Before Sabrina left, with Oreo happily tucked into a cat crate, she had helped Garrison pick out a nice, pale robin’s-egg blue for the downstairs bath and a lighter shade of gray for the downstairs bedroom. She even made some great suggestions for the bath and bedrooms upstairs.
After a quick trip to the paint store, Garrison returned with the living room and bathroom paint. He’d arranged to pick up the other cans at the end of the day and had grabbed a couple of Subway sandwiches. He and Elliott had a quick lunch, then launched into painting. “You’re really good at this,” he told Elliott as he watched him dipping a roller into the paint. “Have you done it before?”
Elliott flashed him a surprising grin. “Yeah, as a matter of fact.”
Garrison laughed. “Well, who knew I was hiring a pro.”
“I never did it as a real job,” Elliott said as he rolled the paint-filled roller down the wall. “But I did help a friend paint his house last summer. I worked for free rent. It was a pretty good deal . . . at first.”
“Yeah, I guess that happens sometimes,” Garrison said as he used a brush to paint around the front window. “Sometimes things seem good at first . . . but we learn the hard way that they weren’t as good as we thought.”
“Yeah. My grandmother’s always telling me that I get most of my education at the school of hard knocks. I guess she’s kinda right.”
“You have to decide when you’re ready to quit that school,” Garrison said as he dipped his brush. “Then it’s time to take your life by the horns and turn it in the direction you really want to go.”
“Yeah, well, that might be easier said than done.”
“I know,” Garrison agreed. “And I think it helps when you have someone to go alongside you. It’s rough going it alone.”
“Hello?” called a feminine voice from the kitchen. “Anybody home?”
“We’re in here,” Garrison called back.
“It’s just me.” Beth emerged from the kitchen. “Sorry to just barge in. I came in the back door.” She giggled. “I left you a little something in the kitchen.”
“Really?” Garrison climbed down from the stepladder he’d been using.
“Yes. A thank-you for giving us the cat.” She grinned. “Cinnamon rolls.”
“Cinnamon rolls?” He smacked his lips as he removed the particle mask. “You hear that, Elliott?” He took a moment to introduce Beth to his young helper.
“I just wanted to express my thanks for giving us Spooky,” Beth gushed. “You wouldn’t believe the change that cat has brought to my Annabelle. It’s the most remarkable thing I’ve ever seen. Annabelle had been so moody and distant lately. I was worried that she and I were never going to have a normal conversation again. But it’s like that cat brought some kind of miracle over her.” Beth paused to look around the room. “Hey, what’s going on here?”
“Just fixing the place up.”
“I like that color.” She nodded with approval. “Where’s your furniture? In storage?”
“No. I don’t really have furniture. Other than a few pieces I saved from my grandmother’s stuff.”
“No furniture?” She got a thoughtful look. “How would you like some?”
“Huh?”
She laughed. “Well, it’s a long story. You see, after my divorce—I got everything just like I deserved—but I ended up losing my big house over on Sheridan Heights just the same. That’s when Annabelle and I moved over here. Anyway, with the downsize and all, the furniture from my old basement wouldn’t fit. It’s good stuff though, so I put it in storage, thinking maybe I’d get a real salon someday and use it in there. I thought it’d look nice in the waiting area. But that’s just not happening.”
“Uh-huh?” He tried to appear more interested than he felt. Beth’s chatter reminded him a bit of Muzzy. Only Beth was a little more upbeat.
“So, anyway, I’ve been paying for this storage unit ever since we moved. Just throwing money away. I held on to the furnishings thinking I could use them in my salon—not like that’s going to happen anytime soon. Then I thought maybe I’d let my ex take them. After all, he picked them out. I thought I might use them to coerce him into paying child support, but the jerk is just a deadbeat loser. And I refuse to hand them over to him now. If it wasn’t the middle of winter I’d set them in my front yard and sell them.”
“There are online classifieds,” he suggested.
“I don’t have time for that. Besides, I don’t even know how.” She rubbed a long red fingernail beneath her chin. “But what if . . . what if I plunked them down here for a while?”
“Here?”
“It would look fabulous, Garrison. It really would.”
“But I can’t afford to buy anything right now.”
“Well, maybe you could in time. And if not, maybe I could just sell it when summer comes. In the meantime you’ll be saving me rent money and you’d have something to sit on.” She smiled hopefully.
He shrugged. “Well, when you put it like that.”
Suddenly she was writing down an address and some numbers and fishing out a key. “Pick it up as soon as you can, Garrison. The payment is due on the fifteenth and I’d really like to save that rent. I could get Annabelle something nice for Christmas.”
“Okay.” He pocketed the slip of paper. “I’ll do that. Thanks!”
“Thank you.” She was beaming now. “And thank you for Spooky. I know that cat’s the reason that Annabelle has started talking to me more. She seems so much happier. I can’t even explain it. Except that I’m so grateful—for everything.” She threw her arms around him, planting a big kiss on his cheek. “Thanks!” She stepped back. “And I thought the cinnamon rolls might help too.”
He sniffed the air. “I can smell them.”
“They’re yummy. Now I gotta run. I’ve got a two o’clock perm.”
“Thanks again,” he called as she went out the back door. But before she was even gone, there was someone knocking on the front door. “This place has turned into Grand Central Station,” he told Elliott as he went to answer it. “Cara?” He smiled big as he opened the door wide. “Come on in.”
“Was that Beth I just saw in here?” She looked at him with a furrowed brow.
“Yeah. She brought some cinnamon rolls. Want one?”
“No . . . thanks.” She turned to the wall Elliott was working on. “Nice color.”
“Yeah. Sabrina picked it out. You were right, she’s got a good eye for color.”
“Speaking of Sabrina, I heard the news.”
“She took Oreo instead of Harry.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, well, she—”
“Did you talk her out of Harry?”
“No, not at all.”
“Seriously? Because I got to thinking that maybe you were saving Harry for yourself.” She tilted her head to one side with a slightly suspicious expression.
“I’ll admit I’ve gotten fond of him.” He smiled. “He’s a good cat.”
She pointed to the face mask still in his hand. “How are your allergies?”
“As long as I stay on the meds—and after cleaning out most of the cat hair stuff—they’ve gotten a little better.”
“That’s great. So are you keeping Harry then?”
“I—uh—I don’t really know.”
“Oh . . . ?” She narrowed her eyes slightly, as if adding him up.
“I guess I’m still trying to figure things out.” He shrugged, trying to think of a way to prolong this encounter. But it was pointless—Cara abruptly announced she had to get back to work. After she left, Garrison and Elliott sampled the cinnamon rolls and then returned to painting. But as he painted, he wondered—was Cara more interested in Harry or in him? And what about her attentive neighbor? Garrison was fully aware that David had his eye on Cara. And why shouldn’t he? But how did Cara feel about David? Garrison wished he knew. What he did know was that—based on personal experience—his skills at reading women were shaky at best. And making assumptions could get a guy into trouble.