Grant continues to shake his head at my answer while putting one hand in the air in a silent plea for me to stop talking. “Please, at least tell me your cell phone is locked.”
“Ummmm….” My words trail off before I come up with a good answer. One that hopefully won’t cause him to have a heart attack. Thankfully the doorbell dings and saves me from having to answer. “You should get that.”
I gently nudge Grant but he doesn’t seem to fall for my distraction technique. “I’ll get this, but we’re gonna talk about this cell phone situation when I get back.”
“I can’t wait,” I say waving to him as he walks out the door.
At least three seconds go by while I contemplate jumping out of bed and getting ready for work. Okay fine. It was like fifteen seconds, but in the end I decide it probably is better for everyone if I stay home and give myself a day of rest. Many working families don’t get paid sick days. If their child comes home sick and then spreads it to the house and they miss days of work, that’s money they can’t recoup.
When Grant returns to the room, I’m on the bed logging into Dragons Reborn in the exact spot he left me. He never needs to know about the quick potty break where I again considered going in to work. Since one look in the mirror showed my face looks like death, I peed and came back to bed. My eyes lazily make their way in his direction when he stops in front of my desk and places a large overstuffed vase full of white lilies and a bunch of other flowers I don’t know the names for.
“From my grandma,” he says before I question him.
It doesn’t explain much. “Your grandma bought me flowers?”
“I told her you were sick, and this display is how she handles it.” He shrugs. “She’s from another generation.”
He throws the small floral card on top of the laptop and I flip it over to read her message.
Get well soon.
~ Love Grandma Moore
I laugh at the sendoff. It seems Grant isn’t the only Moore who gets overly attached.
“She was super nice.” I’d want a grandma like Grant’s if I had one.
Grant settles back on the bed. “She is nice. Just don’t wear white after Labor Day.”
He says the words so seriously I laugh and start another coughing fit.
“I’m serious,” he says his eyes wide. “She takes her fashion super seriously.”
His reply makes me laugh harder. “But yet she lets you out of the house?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Do you remember the outfit you were wearing the night we first met?” The bright colored pinstriped jacket I first saw him in still makes my head shake. Most of the time he’s dressed as a normal person, but Grant always looks like he stepped off a boat somewhere on the East coast.
**
I distinctly remember falling asleep next to Grant sometime in the late afternoon, but when I wake up the bed beside me is empty. The room is completely dark so I’m cautious when I put my feet on the floor in case there’s a laptop left down there.
Throughout the entire day Grant continued to push fluids down me, handing me a glass of water every few minutes. At first I refused on annoying principle alone. I’m tired of being told what to do by the males in my life. Eventually my dry throat caught up with me and I relented. With the water going to my kidneys it makes sense I’d be up in the middle the night with the urge to pee.
There’s light escaping underneath Grant’s closed bedroom door, but I walk by and maintain my path to the bathroom. After my business is done and my hands are washed, the light is still shining on the hardwood floors as I walk back to my room. I divert the few feet and give a light rap on his door.
The door opens a smidge with the weight of my knock, but I wait to push it in until Grant answers with a “Come in.”
He’s lying on his bed, his back propped up against a few pillows. His sheets and comforter wrapped up around his waist and a laptop sits open on his lap. There’s no sound coming from the computer, but shades of light expose Grant’s chest and change color every few moments. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s watching porn and I back out of the door.
“Where are you going?” he asks before I make it and I’m so thankful it’s dark in the hallway because my face must be a crimson shade of red.
“Um… I was seeing what you were doing… I’ll go,” I stumble over my words to make a hasty retreat.
“Stop, Clare.” He works on standing up, putting the laptop to his side and throwing back the covers.
From a new angle I see it wasn’t weird fetish porn but the Dragons Reborn game on his screen. No longer embarrassed at what I caught him not doing, I step into the room.
