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Millie had just gotten dressed and had lain back down when her doorbell rang. She dragged herself into a sitting position and ran a hand over her face. She hoped it wasn’t someone she’d need makeup to face, but at this time of the day, she doubted it was.
She went to the door and found Jade standing there with a plastic container.
“Good morning, Grandma.” She held out the container. “I brought you some chocolate peanut butter poke cake. Have you had breakfast yet?”
Had she? She didn’t think so. But she wasn’t hungry.
“I’ll save this for later. Thank you.” She took the container and put it into the refrigerator.
Jade followed her to the kitchen. “Aren’t you going to ask why I made a cake?”
“All right. Why did you make a cake?”
“I made dinner for Caleb last night.”
“Well, good for you. What did you have besides cake?”
“Turkey breast, rolls, green beans, and mashed potatoes.” Jade smiled.
“I’m proud of you.” Maybe not as proud of you as you are of yourself, but I’m proud.
“Grandma, you look tired.”
“I am tired. I think I’ll go down to the pharmacy sometime today and get some vitamins. Maybe I’ve become immune to the ones I’ve been taking.”
Jade frowned. “Can that happen?”
“I don’t know. I just know I want to feel better and quit dragging around here like an old woman. Because I’m not an old woman.”
“I know.”
“I’ll stop in and see you and Terri at Nothin’ But Knit if I make it to the pharmacy.”
“If you make it?” Jade’s eyes widened.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to keel over. I just meant if I decide to go.”
* * *
Jade had already been to Nothin’ But Knit before Terri had arrived and had left Mocha there. Normally, she’d have taken him with her to Millie’s, but she wanted to put him down and let him get settled. Plus, she’d wanted to put the cake she’d brought for Terri and Caleb in the mini-fridge.
Terri grabbed Jade and squeezed her tightly when she walked into the shop. “I want to hear all about it! Was it wonderful?”
“It was…and I’ll get to that in a minute, but I’m worried about Grandma. She’s tired, and her color is off. I mean, she didn’t have her makeup on—which is unusual for her—but it wasn’t that.” She raised a thumbnail to her lips, and Terri batted it down. “Thanks. I don’t need to take up that bad habit again. She said she might come by here today. If she does, will you inconspicuously watch her and see if you think I’m overreacting?”
“Of course. Now, tell me about that date.”
Jade smiled. “It began and ended with a dance.”
Terri pretended to swoon onto the counter.
* * *
Millie plodded into Nothin’ But Knit about an hour later and sat on the bench by the window. Jade was busy helping a customer learn how to make a broken rib stitch, so Terri went over and sat beside Millie.
“How are you feeling?” Terri asked.
“I’m fine. I’m tired of you and Jade hovering around me as if I’m about to take my last breath. You’re like those children in the park with those remote-controlled planes. They fly them too close to you, it’s aggravating, and you’re itching to swat them down.”
“Are you threatening to swat Jade and me?” Terri asked.
“If you don’t stop being worrywarts, I just might. Especially Jade. Every time something good happens, she starts looking around for the bad.”
“I believe her date with Caleb last night went well.”
“Yeah, so do I. But then, in Jade’s mind, since that went all right, I must be dying. Well, even if I am, there’s not a thing she can do about it, so there.” She huffed. “I’m going to the pharmacy and getting some vitamins. Before you know it, I’ll be running circles around the both of you.”
“Um, Millie…you’re holding a bag from the pharmacy.”
Millie looked down at the bag. “So I am. I guess I’d better go upstairs and take one of these.”
* * *
When Jade’s customer left, she came to sit by Terri on the bench her grandmother had so recently vacated.
Terri raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know who came in here, but that wasn’t our Millie.”
“What do you mean?”
“That was a grouchy, addlepated woman.” Terri recounted her conversation with Millie and the fact that Millie had talked about needing to go to the pharmacy when the bag she was holding attested to the fact that she’d already been there.
“That’s not like her at all. Should I call in the big gun?”
Knowing Jade was talking about her mother, Terri said, “I wouldn’t yet. Use that one as a last resort. I’d just keep an eye on Millie today and see if the vitamins do make her feel better.”
“Okay. Would you mind holding down the fort while I run a piece of cake over to Caleb? I thought he might want to have it with his lunch.”
“Sure, Ms. Any-Excuse-To-See-Him. Take your time.”
“It’s not an excuse. It’s cake. And I brought you some too.”
“I do love cake,” Terri said.
“I know.”
Jade retrieved one of the containers from the refrigerator and took it to Hightail It! She was relieved to see that there weren’t any customers in the shop at the moment and that Caleb was standing at the counter.
She held the container aloft. “I brought you some cake.”
“Yes.” He grinned. “What did I do to score that?”
“Well, for one thing, I know you enjoyed it. And for another, I don’t need all that cake around my house.”
“Then I’m glad to help you get rid of the cake.” He took the container and leaned across the counter to give her a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you.”
“I’d better get back.”
“Wait. I’d like to return the favor of your making dinner for me last night,” Caleb said. “Would you let me cook for you tonight?”
“Okay.”
“Do you like spaghetti and meatballs?”
Jade laughed.
“What’s funny about spaghetti and meatballs?”
“It’s what I was going to make for you, but I didn’t know whether you liked it or not.”
“Who doesn’t like spaghetti and meatballs?” he asked.
“Fair enough. What time?”
“Does right after closing work for you?”
“It does.” She headed to the cat food aisle. “But I’d better get Mocha a can of food if I’m not going home first.”
Jade was smiling when she all but floated back into Nothin’ But Knit.
“Girl, you have it so bad for that man.”
“He’s making dinner for me tonight after work.”
“Ooh la la. You know, you can tell a lot about a man from his apartment.” She rubbed her hands together.
“Such as?”
“Lots. Let’s just leave it at that. Until tomorrow morning.”
Jade fed Mocha and left the cat at Nothin’ But Knit. He had a bed and a litterbox there, and he’d be fine until Jade returned for him.
She was nervous as she climbed the stairs to Caleb’s apartment. He opened the door and greeted her with a kiss before ushering her inside. She glanced around, remembering Terri’s words about being able to tell a lot about a person from his apartment. Right away, she could see that Caleb was tidy. He had a lot of books, and there was also an e-reader on the bookshelf. He had decorated the apartment in lots of dark browns and cream colors. There was a scented candle on the coffee table. She read the label: Oak Aged Whiskey.
“The sauce is simmering, and the meatballs are in the oven,” Caleb said. “Where’s Mocha?”
“I left him at Nothin’ But Knit. He has everything he needs down there, and I didn’t want to impose on you.”
“Nonsense, go get him.”
“Really?”
“Go.”
She was glad. You can also tell a lot about a person from the way he treats your pet.
When Jade and Mocha returned to Caleb’s apartment, he had set the table and was putting the spaghetti into a pot of boiling water.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jade asked.
“Actually, there is.” He bent his lips to hers. “I needed that.”
* * *
Millie was dozing in front of the television when Jade, Caleb, and Mocha paid her a visit. They brought some spaghetti and meatballs for her.
“Have you had dinner yet?” Jade asked.
Had she? She had no idea. She flipped off the television. “No.”
“Come on in here to the kitchen, and I’ll fix you a plate,” Jade said.
Millie got up and went into the kitchen. “What about you?” she asked Caleb. “Have you eaten?”
“Yes. Jade and I just finished dinner. I made enough to feed a village, so we had plenty left over and thought you might enjoy some.”
“All right.” She sat down at the table, and Jade sat a plate in front of her.
“What would you like to drink, Grandma?”
“I don’t care.”
“How about tea?”
“Not tea, Jade. It’ll keep me up half the night. That’s probably why I’m dozing off in the middle of the day—I’m not getting enough sleep at night.”
“Okay. Water then.”
Jade poured a glass of water and placed it near the plate. She handed Millie a fork and a napkin.
“Are you two going to sit here and watch me eat?” Millie asked. “Go into the living room or something.”
“Okaaay.” Jade got up, and she and Caleb went to sit on the sofa.
“I’m not a child. I’m tired of people treating me like a child.” Millie got up and went down the hall toward the bathroom. She had to take hold of the wall at one point to steady herself.
Millie returned and looked at Caleb and Jade sitting on the sofa. “What are you two doing here? You look like three rainy days.” She frowned. “Did something happen to Perry?”
“No, Millie, Perry is doing great,” Caleb said.
“Grandma, why don’t you let Caleb and me take you to the emergency room?”
“Why would you want to do that? I’m fine.”
“But—”
“Jade, I’m fine.”
* * *
“Caleb, something’s not right,” Jade said, in the hallway on the way back to Caleb’s apartment. “That’s not Grandma. She went to the bathroom and forgot why we were there by the time she got back. That’s scary.”
“Yeah. I’m worried too.”
When they got back to Caleb’s apartment, Jade called her mother and asked her to come to the Community Center. She hated to do it, but she felt she was out of options. Fiona was sure Jade was overreacting, but she finally agreed to come and see her mother for herself.
“Do you want me to go with you to see Grandma?” Jade asked.
“No. You’ve obviously upset her enough for one night.”
“Fine. I’ll be at Nothin’ But Knit when you’re finished talking with her.” Jade ended the call and turned to Caleb. “I don’t want Mocha to go that long without a litterbox.”
“I understand. The café is still open, so I’ll get us a drink and meet you at the shop. What would you like?”
“An iced green tea would be terrific.”
“You’ve got it.”
Jade was sitting on the bench by the window staring down at the floor and worrying that her grandmother was in the first stages of Alzheimer’s when Caleb arrived with their drinks. He placed the drinks on the window ledge and put his arm around her. She leaned against him and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Do Millie and your mom have a good relationship?”
“No, but Grandma might agree to go to the doctor simply to shut Mom up.”
Caleb chuckled. “That kinda reminds me of my three-year-old niece who was the only person who could make my dad stop smoking.”
“How’d she do that?”
“One day, Dad was standing on the porch smoking, and Ellie cried and said Pop Pop was a dragon. She refused to go near him until after he stopped smoking—not just that day, but in general.”
“Is Ellie your brother’s child or your sister’s child?” Jade asked.
“She’s my older sister’s child. There are only two of us Young children.”
Jade smiled.
Mocha hopped up on Jade’s lap and lay down. He didn’t want to miss out on this window bench love-fest.
About an hour and a half later, Fiona stormed into Nothin’ But Knit. Her auburn hair was up in a French twist, she wore a cobalt dress and nude heels, and tonight her eyes were blue. She liked to coordinate her colored contacts—brown, blue, green, and violet—with her outfits.
“Thank you for ruining my evening, Jade. Mom is fine. But if it’ll make you happy, I’ll call tomorrow morning and make her an appointment with her doctor.”
“That would make me ecstatic. Thank you.” She held a hand toward Caleb. “Mom, this is Caleb Young. Caleb, this is Fiona Fairchild.” Fiona had always enjoyed being a “fair child” too much to take her husbands’ surnames.
“Nice to meet you,” said Fiona.
Caleb reached out for a handshake, but Fiona ignored him and left.
“Sorry about that,” Jade said.
“Oh, that’s all right. She’s probably more concerned about Millie than she’s letting on.”
Jade nodded, but she knew better. That was merely Fiona being Fiona.
She knew her mother loved her…and Fiona loved Grandma too, for that matter. But Fiona was a narcissist. First and foremost, Fiona cared about how things affected her or how they made her look to others. Jade knew that was the main reason Fiona wanted her to have a more prestigious job or an enviable marriage. A high school psychology class had given Jade insight into her mother’s personality. It hadn’t made the two of them get along any better, but it had helped Jade understand Fiona a little more. These days, Jade gave her mom a pretty wide berth. Less interaction led to more harmonious encounters…usually. Not this time though.