Between Octobers Bk 1, Savor The Days Series (21 page)

My gaze shot to the ground, watching from
the corner of my eye as Maria shook her head. My hand slipped from
Evans waist. He grabbed it and held it to him.

“Grace, will you get the boys for me? I need
to say goodbye before I go.”

After a quick glance at Evan—he was smiling
and appeared relaxed—I acquiesced. “I’ll be right back.”

Inside, the promised bottle of tea was
sweating on the kitchen counter, but I saw no sign of Caleb. I
called out for both boys to come say their goodbyes. Noah passed on
his way out with the recliner over his head. I asked if he needed
help but he refused, noting that he was big enough to manage
without his mommy’s help, and he hadn’t seen Caleb.

I watched him walk by, the fluffy chair
hiding his upper body. “You know I’m not gonna be around forever.
And I’m rolling my eyes at you.”

I heard him laugh on his way out the front
door.

Caleb was in the backyard, playing with
Arnold. When he saw me in front of the glass door, I saw
recollection.

“Gramma!” he exclaimed, blowing past me in
the open doorway.

I lunged for him, planning to give him the
forgotten drink, but he was too fast. Before I could catch up, he
was out the front door. When I reached the porch, he was already
halfway across the yard. Evan and Maria were talking on the grass
as Caleb ran roughshod towards them. The joy of having his
grandmother around was evident in his stride. A few steps away, he
leapt into the air, jumping at her with all his strength.

My heart stopped.

Evan took two steps and snatched Caleb
mid-flight, tucking him behind his forearm. Caleb’s little feet
thrashed, Evan winced and worked the force into a spin before
setting him back down in the grass.

As soon as it registered that Maria would
not need to make a trip to the emergency room, I was teed off,
marching towards them. Noah was already reprimanding his little
brother. I silenced him and started my own lecture. Noah still
chimed in when he felt it was appropriate.

Above the commotion, Maria fervently thanked
Evan.

I explained to Caleb why his behavior was
inappropriate and demanded that he apologize. As he obeyed, his
voice sounded so sweet and small. Maria graciously accepted, “Mi
Hijo, we all do things we wish we could take back.”

I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard a
double meaning.

Evan had saved the day, but was disparaging
as usual, saying anyone would have done the same. He was also upset
with me for letting him sleep through the heavy lifting. “I don’t
like being treated like a guest. I thought I was more than
that.”

“You are,” I smiled. “But you looked so
peaceful.” I loved watching him sleep.

“Next time, you better let me help.” His
thanks was a gentle kiss.

As we watched Maria drive away, I felt Evans
elbow jab my ribcage. “So, what happened with the in-law? I thought
she hated you.”

I explained the unexpected apology, and he
made no secret of his thorough surprise. Apparently, Noah had
filled him in on all the dirty details of my former family
problems. As we walked back into the house, Evan followed up with
his extreme delight at my use of the term ‘boyfriend,’ so I
abstained from mentioning my acute anxiety surrounding the
expression.

We sat together at the table while he ate
the breakfast I saved for him.

“So, you forgave her?” He scooped a lump of
scrambled eggs in a piece of bacon. “Just like that?” After popping
the bacon in his mouth, he snapped his fingers.

“Well I wasn’t going to make her grovel.” I
closed my eyes, utterly thankful.

“You should’ve recorded it for proof later
on. What made her change her mind?”

“I was too surprised to ask.”

Evan looked curiously at me. “She’s part of
your family and that’s the most important thing to you.” He set his
hand on mine. “Equally important is the small matter of what we’ll
be doing this weekend.”

“I have to take Caleb
trick-or-treating.”

“But Grandma said I get to go with her.”
Caleb chirped, setting his cup down on the table. A pink
semi-circle hovered over his lip, stained by the grape juice. He’d
been so quiet I almost forgot he was there.

Hesitant to acquiesce, I reasoned. “But I
always take you trick-or-treating.”

“Please, please, please can I go with
Gramma? Please, please, please!” He slapped his palms together in
prayer.

I scrutinized his face, raising an eyebrow
and giving him the look. “Grandma is not a jungle gym.” He nodded,
vigorously. “Can you do what she tells you the first time she tells
you?”

“Yes.” His eyes widened as he nodded his
head ferociously.

“Do you promise?” It was difficult to hide
my grin from his giant brown eyes.

“I will, I promise.” He made a large cross
over his heart in demonstration of his sincerity and willingness to
comply with any mandate I might set. “Please, please, please . .
.”

Unmoved by his pleading, my eyes strayed to
Evan. He was in the exact same pose as Caleb. Both stared at me
with pleading eyes, hands folded, earnestly petitioning for
consent. I laughed at them both. Caleb scowled, Evan chuckled, but
I didn’t budge, decidedly letting them sweat it out a little
longer. It was work to keep my face straight, staring at the two
with more than two decades in age difference between them. Both
boys begging for permission.

“Alright, you can—”

The room erupted with cheers. They
high-fived each other and jumped around the table in a victory
dance. When the enthusiasm died down a bit, Caleb ran off to tell
Noah the news.

I sighed. My first holiday away from him and
he was happy about it.

“So, what are we doing this weekend?” Evan
repeated.

October
29
^th

Evan was crazed, wild-eyed at the idea of
going to Las Vegas. He was making all the arrangements and insisted
on paying for everything. He’d already gotten four ringside seats
and didn’t even flinch when I suggested separate rooms.

Boxing was one of our mutual interests. He’d
been trying to get me into soccer and I could not stand it. It was
like watching Pong on the Atari. Boring. We didn’t share the same
taste in music, either. We liked some of the same stuff, like Pink
Floyd, but differed in the type each was most passionate about. He
preferred a style my dad would’ve called “hippie music.” He loved
all things from the 1960s, and some from the ‘70s, but he had a
serious weakness for ‘80s. I teased him for that one, but there
wasn’t much room to talk. Metal from the early ‘90s was all about
power ballads. Evan hated metal, but still took me to a rock show.
When I considered that, I guessed I could suffer through a short
trip to Nevada.

It promised to be a good fight, but my
anxiety stemmed from the fact that it was a weekend excursion. Lily
and Marcus were coming along, that was for sure, but I still
worried the sleeping arrangements would turn awkward once we were
up there. Those two would want to be alone at some point and then
what?

We were on our way to the furniture
warehouse to replace the living room set I donated. We’d already
dropped Noah off at his final Driver’s Ed class—not before I
informed him and Evan that they were my new party planning
committee, officially in charge, and able to plan Noah’s
more mature
birthday party any way
they wanted. But they had to get busy; it was only five weeks away.
Both seemed very pleased.

Noah pumped his fists in the air, chanting,
“Yes! Yes!”

Evan’s reaction was more subdued. “Tidy,”
he’d grinned, “I have all sorts of ideas.” His accent sang amiably
as he devilishly wiggled his eyebrows.

His hand was wrapped around mine on the seat
between us.

Caleb was in the back humming to himself and
staring out the window, offering no interest in anything we tried
to engage him in. Occasionally he’d point out a road sign to show
how he could read the words. I indulged him with compliments on his
intelligence, though I was not sure if he was identifying by
memorization or actually reading.

Stopped at a red light, Caleb yelled from
the backseat. “Mommy!” His chubby finger excitedly pointed out the
window at a tall street sign advertising a fast food restaurant.
“That says Jack! It starts with J!”

“You are so smart, Caleb. Can you tell me
what that sign says?” I pointed to the opposite side of the road at
a small side street where there was a bright red stop sign.

“Stop. It says S-T-O-P!” He gloated.

“Hey Caleb, can you tell me what ‘Yes’
starts with?” Evan questioned, exaggerating the Y sound and
repeating the word. “Ya-Ya-Ya-Yes . . . ?”

My fingers crossed as Caleb thought
carefully. From his reflection in the rearview mirror, I watched
his fingers touch his chin in a look of deep concentration.

“Can you tell me? What does Ya-Ya-Yes start
with?” Evan asked, again.

Calebs face lit with excitement and I knew
he had the answer. “Please!” He shouted, and I burst into a fit of
laughter.

“Brilliant! It takes some a lifetime to
figure that one, Caleb. You’re a genius!”

It was in those moments, the ones filled
with unexpected laughter, the ones that demonstrated the perfect
innocence and childish reasoning, that I really felt Sol’s absence.
I half expected to hear him laughing, too. Normally, I’d call him
at the office to tell him what a character his son was
becoming.

“You miss him, don’t you?” Evan smiled
gently.

“He’s missing everything.”

“If what you believe is true, he knows.”

On the third trip
around the furniture store, Caleb started to complain about
his feet. Evan volunteered to find a place to sit with him and the
two took off. After I finally picked out the couches in the right
color and style, with just the right fabric, I signed the papers.
Then, it was time to find my boys.

Near the center of the warehouse, atop a
large, wrought iron bed, I found them. Evan was sitting near the
edge, pretending to be oblivious as Caleb was sneaking up behind
him. The moment Caleb got close enough to pounce, Evan stealthily
reached back, took him by the ankle and yanked. Caleb fell onto a
mass of pillows accumulated from surrounding bed sets. He giggled
raucously, then got up and begged for more.

I rushed over to let them know it was time
to go, before the salesman that had been eyeballing them could say
anything.

On the way out, I spied the most
beautiful canopy bed and got distracted. It was gorgeous, stately,
and enormous—like something that belonged in a palace. My hand
moved across the four shining, carved mahogany columns, elaborately
engraved in a spiral pattern, embellished with leafy vines and
roses that climbed all over. It had long iron rods at the top on
each side to drape curtains. It reminded me of the kings’ bed
in
Ever After
, one of my
favorite Drew Barrymore movies.

“Are you buying a bedroom set as well?” Evan
asked, taking my hand.

“
No. Just admiring.” The extravagant
piece of workmanship was something I would have loved to have.
Thanks to Sol’s wisdom and stewardship, I could’ve easily afforded
it. Still, it wouldn’t have felt right spending that kind of money
on myself. My fingers stroked the ornate post. “I do love the wood,
though.”

Evan belted a rolling laugh. “Well, that
remains to be seen!”

It took a minute to realize what he found so
funny. My color changed. It was the pickle all over again.

“Wooden furniture,” I amended.

I was nearly packed. The reservations were
confirmed for two rooms, each with two queen-sized beds for
insurance purposes. Evan got us into the MGM Grand. Lily and I had
never stayed there before and were looking forward to it. He also
scored us tickets to the weigh-in on Friday night, so we needed to
leave early in the morning to be sure we had enough time to check
in and get settled.

Something was bothering me. I could not
shake this ominous feeling in my stomach. I wasn’t sure if it
stemmed from unspoken expectations about the weekend, or something
else entirely, and the closer we came to departure, the more
expectant and troubled I felt. Lily promised not to desert me,
though I was sure she’d back out once she had a few drinks in her.
I was just finishing up, packing the last of my things for the
trip, when the kitchen phone rang.

I hunched over and slogged toward the
receiver. It was Lily, calling from work. Again. She’d been calling
nonstop over the last few days, trying to coordinate outfits,
making sure I was packing things that were interchangeable with
what she was bringing.

“What now?” I answered, flatly.

“I can’t go! Stupid Lydia was gonna cover
for me, and she just left in an ambulance!”

“What happened?”

“Appendicitis! Oh, this sucks!” She shrieked
into the phone.

“It didn’t rupture, did it?”

“Grace. Did you hear me? I. Cannot. Go. Dr.
Pataki says he has to have at least one of us here, and everyone
else turned me down. I have to work tomorrow and Saturday.”

“I’m scalping your tickets.” I managed to
sound disconnected, though the news sank my spirits like an
anchor.

“Very funny.”

“What about Marcus?” A third wheel might be
nice.

“He can do whatever he wants, I don’t
care.”

“This sucks.”

“Thank you. I know. I’ve got to go. I’m
trying to bribe Laney from Dialysis across the hall to cover for
me. I’ll call back on my break.”

I hung up, knowing she wasn’t coming. Laney
was a sweet girl, but she was also in the throes of a long distance
relationship. Highly unlikely she was going to sacrifice a visit
with her boyfriend in San Diego for work.