“Not tonight, Ray Ray. I’m awfully tired. I just stayed up for you because I wanted to see how it went when you asked Artio to the wedding?”
I stare, dumbfounded, at my shrinking grandmother and her hopeful pale green eyes.
“I haven’t had the chance yet, Grandma. I promise to let you know.”
Taking my hand to her cheek, she presses into it just like she did when I was a kid. My heart falls into my stomach and I feel sick, wanting to make everything perfect for this wonderful, loving, badass woman.
“Let’s get you to bed, Grandma.”
Twenty minutes later, I walk out the front door and straight into hot-as-hell Artio Baer.
“Oh, I am so sorry,” I say, bending down to help her pick up the files she dropped.
We share a few awkward laughs while we gather the folders. When we stand, my hand brushes hers as I hand them back to her. A zap of electricity bolts up my arm and my entire body heats. Artio’s beautiful face looks bewildered and I wonder if she felt it, too. We stand awkwardly for a long pause until I break it.
“I didn’t realize you worked at night.”
She shakes her head, her gold hoop earrings catching the walkway’s lamplight, and says, “Oh, no, I actually left work an hour ago. Then I realized I still had these files in my car and they need to be filed tonight. So I had to hurry back.”
Artio moves her body like she is about to step away. I open my mouth to ask her to the wedding, but a knot in my stomach stops me. We say goodbye, and she turns to take the last few steps to the front door. A desperate nausea boils up inside of me and I startle her with my raised voice.
“Artio? I’m sorry. I need to talk to you about something.”
Furrowing her brow at me, she walks back to where I am standing.
“OK, so you probably know that my grandmother only has months, maybe weeks to live,” I say, continuing after she sadly nods, “OK, so she has expressed, more than once, that she wants to see both of her grandsons in love and happy before she leaves us. My brother has checked that box and is about to be married in like five weeks. But, then, there is me.”
Artio’s rich brown eyes study my face and she asks, “What does this have to do with me?”
I take a deep breath in. This woman disarms me in such a way that I can’t explain. It isn’t just because she is built like an hourglass-shaped time-bomb, but her commanding presence is also intoxicating.
“Well, since our dinner the other night, she has been very adamant that I take you to the wedding as my date. Would you at all be willing to do that, by any chance? As friends, of course. Although, we wouldn’t tell Grandma that. And please feel free to say no. I get this is quite a whacky request.”
Artio stares at me with a perplexed, but amused, expression.
“Mae is an amazing lady. When is the wedding?”
In shock, I say, “The third Saturday in February.”
“OK, let’s do it.”
Since I am excited to tell Grandma my news, I pop in during my lunch break to say hi. I find her in the rec room, playing checkers with her bestie Myrtle. They burst into excited twittering when I tell her about Artio. Another woman walks by them, obviously intrigued by their excitement.
“Oh, Blanche, you’ll never guess who my grandson’s girlfriend is. Our Artio! Don’t they make a beautiful couple?”
I watch Blanche join in on the twittering as a bowling ball forms in my stomach. Girlfriend?
Fuck.
Chapter Six
Artio
Brynn pokes her head into my office.
“There’s a resident’s grandson to see you? Should I give him an excuse or…?”
“No, no, it’s fine. Send him in.”
