“You two hitting up more trendy Nashville spots?”
Kendall chuckles. “Going to brunch took a lot out of her, so we’ve stayed at home the rest of this week.”
“Is she okay?”
Kendall nods as she pokes her chopsticks through her sesame beef. “Yeah, she just has to rest a lot whenever we do an outing like that. I take her out about once a week because she likes to check out new restaurants and shops, but she’s usually pretty exhausted and sore.”
“Oh. Sorry.” I instantly feel like a dumbass. What a stupid thing to say.
Kendall flashes a sad smile. “It’s okay. Not like it’s your fault she has MS.” She chuckles weakly at her joke. A second later, her smile turns brighter. “You really made her day. She keeps talking about how charming you were on Sunday.”
“I mean, can you blame her? I’m pretty damn charming.”
Kendall rolls her eyes as she laughs.
I clear my throat. “I know I mentioned it before, but that was messed up how the restaurant lost your reservation and tried to sit you at the bar. And how they didn’t do anything to try and make it right.”
The expression on Kendall’s beautiful face sobers. “It happens sometimes. We’re pretty used to it by now. Some places just don’t care to help disabled people.”
I make a disgusted noise as I tug a hand through my hair in frustration. “That’s really fucked up.”
“It’s the truth. My current landlord is the first one I’ve had who didn’t put up a fight when I asked him to make a couple of accommodations for my aunt so she could live with me.”
“You live together?”
She nods. “For the past three years, I’ve been her primary caretaker.”
I look at her, surprised. She’s never once mentioned being the caretaker for her aunt, or that she lives with her so she can take care of her.
“Kendall, that’s a big deal.”
“I know.” She grabs an eggroll and takes a bite. “When I asked our landlord to help me install a ramp next to the porch steps of our duplex so my aunt could easily get in and out, he installed it himself the next day when I was at work. That was so nice of him. The landlord of the last place I lived didn’t even return my calls and emails when I asked him to install a support bar in the shower for her.”
“No, that’s not what I…” I shake my head. “I mean, yeah, that’s awesome your current landlord is so great. Your previous landlord sounds like a dipshit. What I meant is that it’s a big deal that you’re taking care of your aunt.”
She stops chewing and looks at me, clearly surprised at what I said.
“What?” She sounds so shocked, so confused. Does she really not understand what a huge deal it is for her to do that?
“What you’re doing for your aunt is incredible.”
She blinks at me, like she still doesn’t understand.
So I lean closer and look her in the eyes. “You’re amazing, Kendall.”
For a second, she stares at me, like my words are finally sinking in.
“Do people not tell you that you’re incredible for what you do? They should.”
A soft smile pulls at her mouth. “It’s not that. My aunt tells me all the time how much she appreciates me. So does the rest of my family. It’s just…I’m not used to hearing people who aren’t my loved ones say that. I’m used to the opposite, actually.”
I frown. “Who the hell would make you feel bad about you taking care of your aunt?”
She sets aside the empty carton of sesame beef and takes a sip of water. “My ex,” she says as she glances off to the side before turning back to me. “He wanted to move in together. I did too. But when I told him that I wanted my aunt to live with us, he didn’t feel the same way. So he broke up with me.”
A stab of anger lands at the center of my gut. “He broke up with you over that?”
She shrugs. “I can kind of understand. It’s one thing to live with your partner. But to ask them to live with their family member too is a lot.”
