Her eyes flicker from mine to my lips. Her tongue peeks out and moistens her top lip before her eyes go back to mine.
“Ibet.”
Chapter 5 - Diana
“What else?”
I still can’t believe he’s here. It’s been a week since he walked out of the hospital, and on a random day after work, I do something that I’ve been putting off all month and find him. And he wants to help.
We’ve already picked out the knobs and the paint. I should just pay to get a whole new set of cabinets, but a little freshening up will be good enough. At least the paint will hide some cracks and divots if everything is the same color and not showing the chipped brown underneath it.
Yeah, we’ve painted the cabinets before. Years ago, before Mom got sick. When everyone was doing white kitchens, we went brown. Now Nana is into the two-tone color idea, but instead of light on top and dark on the bottom, she wants the opposite. Not sure it’ll look good, so we just got samples to try them out before we get the big buckets.
I shake my head. “Unless you know how to fix an electrical switch, I think we’re done for the day.”
“What’s wrong with the switch?”
I shrug as I push the cart toward the front. He takes it easily from me. I’m not one to put up a fuss about pushing something when someone else wants to do it. I pushwheelchairs with people in them all day long. Having the load literally taken away is nice sometimes.
“Not sure. It just sparked once, and now the light above the sink flickers. It started last night. I changed the bulb, but that didn’t seem to be of any help. Figure I’ll just call an electrician when I get home. For now, I put tape over the switch to remind Nana not to turn it on. But knowing her, she’s already forgotten why the tape is there and taken it off.”
“Is she having a memory issue?”
I roll my eyes with a shake of my head before looking back at him as we get in line. “No, just Nana being Nana. She only remembers things that are important to her, and that rarely has anything to do with the house.”
I put my stuff on the conveyor belt, and he puts his on next, then walks forward enough that I move back a few steps.
“You okay if I come over and take a look? A tripped wire, especially in the kitchen, can be pretty hazardous.”
“Total is $52.73.”
I blink at the cashier till it registers that she’s speaking to me, then pull out my wallet from my bag. But as I look back, Karter is already sliding his card into the machine.
“You don’t need to do that.”
He looks at me and gives me a small smile. One that sends my toes curling. “I know.”
He grabs our stuff, nods to the cashier, and then pushes the cart back to where it goes. All with me just walking beside him like a lost puppy.
Or maybe just a girl drooling at the sight of it all.
“Is now a good time to come by?” he asks.
He looks over at me as I walk absentmindedly to my car. He keeps step with me, and when I pop the trunk, he puts my bags in there and holds only his small one. I never said yes, but I didn’t say no either.
“Yeah, I guess so. You don’t have anything going on?”
He shakes his head.
“Need a ride?”
Another shake of his head. “Got my bike.” He gestures toward a beautiful silver and black Harley. I know nothing about motorcycles, but I can read the brands and know that Harley is one that many people buy. I can also just appreciate the way it shines in the evening’s glow.
“Okay. Um, I live off Main Street, so just follow me.”
He nods and walks to his bike to mount. He starts it up but then just looks at me till I start my car and back out. And then he follows me.
“Dear God, please don’t let this be the beginning of a bad movie,” I plead to the universe as I lead a complete stranger to my home.
