He held my gaze with his dark-brown shimmering eyes. “Yeah. Not.”
“So I need to find a way to make your life as easy as possible while you’re here. But that starts with you being honest.”
“Okay.” He said the word quietly. He also picked up his fork, speared a piece of broccoli, offered a tentative smile, and ate the vegetable.
I’d take that for a win.
We spoke casually about our lives through dinner. I shared some funny anecdotes about the work I did. Normally I considered it too boring for polite conversation, but I wanted Andre at ease. Since much of the humor was at my expense, I didn’t mind.
In turn, he gave me a better sense of what he did. I coaxed him into sharing some wins. Including helping people recover from injuries and slowly ease back into exercising. He might not prescribe the plans, but he worked with a physiotherapist to put that plan in motion. Quite a few of his clients had lost weight. Some had even kept it off by continuing fitness routines after they hit their target size.
“The successes sound great.” I stacked our plates and headed for the dishwasher.
“I should be helping.”
“Noshould. I like things a certain way. You can observe and, if later you want to try, that’s fine. Do you like ice cream?”
“I love ice cream.” His eyes lit with delight.
“Oh, perfect. I have several flavors. It’s my treat at the end of a long day. Just a little bit, mind. But you can have more.”
He bit his lower lip. “Maybe…after I make the call? It’s getting late and—”
I shut the dishwasher after having put the plates inside. “Is your phone charged?”
He checked. “Eighty-one percent.”
“That’ll do. How about we head into the living room where it’s more comfortable? You still want me here?”
He nodded vigorously.
“All right then. Maybe help me stow the food first?” I retrieved several containers. Together, we put all the food in the plastic containers and then put them in the fridge. I washed my hands and smiled. “Ready?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
I grasped his hand and led him into the living room. The sun was mostly set, and I hadn’t realized how late the time was. I was an early bird, but I suspected Demetrius would be up later—what with two teenagers. Well, Alaina wasn’t quite there…but close enough.
So I flicked on a lamp, then gestured for Andre to sit on the couch.
He did and then held out his hand.
I took it and sat right beside him.
He pulled out his phone. And stared for a really long time.
The decision is his. Of course he knows he can put it off until tomorrow.
Finally, at length, he pulled up his contacts and dialed. Before I could say anything, he put it on speaker phone.
It rang three times before a deep voice answered. “Andre? Is that you?”
I’d know Demetrius’s voice anywhere.
Andre didn’t speak.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Still, Andre said nothing.
