I set Dream down and made my rounds. Hugged Kiki and Tione, dapped up Julius, hugged Ivy and Serenity.
“Took you long enough,” Serenity muttered, but she was smiling.
Finally, I turned to Grandma Rita. She was standing now, her head tilted like she was listening for me, one hand resting on the back of her chair.
“Hey, Grandma,” I said softly, walking toward her.
“Prentice.” Her voice was warm. Sweet. “Come give your grandma a hug, baby.”
Relief flooded through me. Maybe she wasn’t as mad as I thought. I stepped closer, arms outstretched.
That’s when I saw it.
The belt.
She’d been holding it behind her back with her other hand, and before I could react, she swung.
“Grandma—!”
WHACK.
The leather caught me right on the knee. Pain shot up my leg.
“You think you can just disappear for months?!” She swung again, this time catching me on the back of the thigh. “Not call?! Not visit?!”
“Grandma, I’m sorry!” I tried to back up, but she was surprisingly quick for someone who was legally blind.
WHACK.
This time she got me in the other knee. I stumbled, and she advanced.
“I’m old! I’m going blind! What if I died and you weren’t here?!”
“You’re not dying—OW!”
She caught me right in the dick.
The entire house erupted in laughter. Justice was doubled over. Quest was crying. Even Serenity, who’d set this whole thing up, was cackling.
“Grandma!” I wheezed, trying to protect myself. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“You better be!” She swung again, catching me on the shin. “Don’t you ever—” WHACK. “—stay away—” WHACK. “—that long again!”
“I won’t! I promise!”
“You promise?!”
“Yes! I promise! I’ll come around more!”
Finally, she lowered the belt. I was breathing hard, my legs burning, my dick aching.
Grandma Rita’s face softened. She reached out, her hands finding my face. “Let me look at you.”
Her fingers traced my features—my jaw, my nose, my forehead. It was how she “saw” now.
“You look weary,” she said quietly. “You working too hard?”
“Maybe a little.”
