Finding Gracie's Rainbow (7 page)

Gracie shrugged her
shoulders as Addison answered Kim. “At least ten and that is why
she’s the boss.”

“
And if I had your memory,
I would be dangerous. I think that this takes care of Mr. Johnson.”
Gracie turned her attention to Kim after Addison shut the
door.

“
I’ve never actually seen
you work.” Kim beamed at her.

“
You haven’t missed much.
This is what all those years at Night College have got me.” Gracie
sat down behind her desk. “What brings you out here so
late?”

“
We just finished putting
your kitchen back together, and I thought I would stop by to invite
you to the barbeque that Robert is throwing on
Saturday.”

“
Sounds like fun.” Gracie
thanked her before Kim stood up to leave.

“
Oh, one more thing,” Kim
glanced down at her. “I heard Jackson benefited from your anger
again.”

“
How did you hear that?”
Gracie frowned as she looked back up at her.

“
Paige saw you.” Kim
smiled as she saw Gracie looked back down.

“
Maybe he shouldn’t be
around when I get angry.” Gracie mumbled after Kim
laughed.

“
Are you sure that’s all
there is to it?” Kim smirked. “I’ll leave so you can think about
that. Are you coming to service tonight?”

“
Sure,” Gracie watched as
Kim walked out of the office.

“
Does that pen taste
good?” Addison knocked on the door, walking in as she
asked.

“
Huh?” Gracie looked up as
she came closer to the desk.

“
The pen?” Addison was
smiling as Gracie took the pen out of her mouth and looked at it.
“If you're hungry, you could've found something better to
eat.”

Gracie looked up at the
clock and shut down her computer. She picked up the pen and threw
it away before she walked out of the office with Addison. “I guess
I was just thinking.” They walked out to the parking lot. “See you
tomorrow, Addie.” Gracie shut her car door and headed to her mom’s
house to pick up Bea.

Bea was watching for her
and walked out the door as soon as Gracie closed the car
door.

Gracie smiled when she saw
her daughter running towards her. “Momma!” Bea hugged her tight as
a puppy followed her.

“
Let me guess. Uncle
Jackson has two puppies.” Gracie smiled down at Bea.

“
This one is mine.” Bea
watched Gracie frown.

“
We can’t have a pet, Bea.
I thought we had already discussed this.” Gracie watched as her
daughter went from happy to sad in the blink of an eye. “It’s
against the apartment's rules.”

“
Oh.” Bea was
crestfallen.

“
Maybe we can talk Granny
into keeping it here while I try to figure something out or Jackson
could keep it with his puppy.” Gracie picked up the puppy and
looked into its eyes. “Another fuzz ball,” she handed the puppy to
Bea before she hugged Janet. “Where is he?”

“
Who?” Janet saw Gracie
frowning at the puppy. “Jackson?”

“
Exactly.”

“
Outside with Chandler,”
Janet watched as Gracie marched out the back door.

Gracie saw Jackson standing
next to the swing set and walked over to him. “For your
information, we can't have pets at the apartment.”

“
You can’t?” Jackson
frowned at the look that Gracie shot him.

“
No, we can’t. Now I have
to find somewhere else to live so I don’t break her heart anymore.”
Gracie turned away from him. “You can keep the fuzz ball until then
and thank you very much.”

Chandler only laughed at
the look on Jackson’s face after Gracie walked back into the
house.

“
I guess I should've asked
first.” Jackson picked up a screwdriver and placed it back into the
toolbox.

“
I have a feeling you knew
exactly what you were doing.” Chandler stepped back and looked at
the swing set. “Seems like we're finished. Gracie and Bea usually
eat over here on Wednesdays, and we go to Church. You're more than
welcome to stay.”

“
Thanks, I’ll pass this
time.” Jackson picked up the puppies.

He walked in and watched as
Gracie talked to Bea, who was crying. Gracie looked up at him and
glared. “‘Uncle’ Jackson, would you please tell Bea that you won't
give away her puppy.”

“
Of course, I won’t. We'll
figure something out.” He knelt down beside the little girl. “I
could fix him a pen here, and you can see him every day after you
get out of school.”

“
Really?” She took the
puppy that he handed to her as Gracie moaned.

He looked up to see
disbelief mixed with a little anger in her face. “What?”

“
Never mind, Jackson,”
Gracie took the puppy away from Bea and handed him back to Jackson
after telling Bea to go wash her hands again. “Are you trying to
make me mad?” She asked after she heard the water running in the
bathroom.

“
I had good intentions,
but on second thought. . .” He smiled when he looked at her
mouth.

Janet watched the two of
them interacting as Bea came back into the room. She studied Gracie
as she smiled sweetly while sitting down at the table. “Is there
something going on between you and Jackson?”

“
No, Mom, there's nothing
going on with me and Jackson.” Gracie looked innocent when
answered. “Nothing at all. Eat Bea, or we're going to be late to
service.”

~

Gracie was helping Kim
place the Hymnals on the back of the pews as her sister watched.
“Is there something bothering you, Cinderella?”

“
No.” Gracie looked over
at Bea as she answered. “It’s not really bothering me. I just need
to figure how I'm going to find another apartment that I can afford
the rent on and allows pets.”

“
Why?” Kim sat down on the
pew.

“’
Uncle’ Jackson gave
someone a puppy without asking me.” Gracie smiled when Bea looked
over in their direction. “Sammie is turning into quite a young
woman.” Gracie was quick to change the subject.

“
She is, and you’re not
changing the subject on me. Did you get mad?” Kim asked as she
watched her husband, Robert, walk over to them.

“
I did, but I just smiled
at him this time.” Gracie greeted Robert after she answered her
sister’s question.

“
When are you going to
start singing for the church again?” Robert asked after he hugged
her.

“
I’m not sure I'm going
to. That’s something I'll have to think about.” Gracie smiled at
them and told everybody good night after she took her daughter’s
hand.

Chapter 4

“
What if I don’t want to
go out Friday night, Steven?” Gracie asked looking at him
seriously.

“
You need a night out.”
Steven looked around her office taking in the plain white
walls.

“
Like I need the headache
you're giving me.” Gracie went and shut her office doors. “And by
the way, maybe you should start going to church to confess all the
lies you're telling to everybody.”

“
What lies?” Steven asked
with a smirk. “Now let's talk about Friday night.”

“
What about it?” Gracie
held up her hand as she answered the phone. “Sorry, Steven. I have
some work to do.” She buzzed Addison as Steven watched Gracie
looking hard at him on his way out the doors.

After Gracie and Addison
solved the latest crisis, Gracie looked at her secretary. “He is so
up to something.”

“
Your brother?” Addison
watched as Gracie let her hair down.

“
The one and only, and I
guess if I want to find out what it is, I’ll have to go out
tomorrow night.” Gracie turned off the lights in her office and
shut the door.

“
Let me know when you
figure it out.” Addison laughed at the look that Gracie shot
her.

~

“
Is that what you're
wearing?” Steven asked his sister while scrutinizing the slacks and
sweater that she had been wearing at the office.

“
Since you couldn’t, or
wouldn’t, tell me anything, yes, this is what I'm wearing.” Gracie
looked at him angrily. “I still don’t understand why you think I
need a night out.”

“
Because you've become a
wall flower, and I guess if that is what you're wearing, then I’ll
have to be happy with it.” Steven opened the door for her. He
glanced at Paige as they drove off for the restaurant.

They walked into Asahi and
sat down at the sushi bar before Gracie noticed that Steven was
watching the door.

“
Are you looking for
someone, Steven?” Gracie looked at Paige in shock. “Please, tell me
that this isn't a blind date.”

“
I'm afraid it is,
Gracie.” Paige looked apologetically at her friend. “Kim says this
guy is a total bore.”

“
Kim knows?” Gracie was
about to stand when Steven walked in with one of his old
friends.

“
Richie, this is my
sister, Grace.” Steven introduced them before he sat down beside
Paige.

Gracie looked over at
Steven before she glanced up to see Jackson stroll in with a date.
He stopped as he saw Gracie sitting beside Richie.

“
Hello,” Jackson glanced
at Steven before back at Gracie’s date. “How's it going,
Richie?”

“
Going fine, Jackson,”
Richie stood to shake his hand, and Gracie used that moment to
escape to the bathroom. Jackson watched her with amusement when she
walked away. He sat down at the table after introducing his date to
everybody, and they were chatting when Gracie came back to the
table. Paige could tell that she was bored and noticed the anger
starting to form in her eyes.

Gracie looked at her
brother angrily the minute Richie left. “I can't believe you!” She
stood, glancing towards Jackson as she threw her napkin down. “And
you. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you knew about
this so-called date.”

Jackson looked up at her.
“No, I knew that there were going to blind dates, but I didn't know
with who or where or when. I'm surprised that Richie made the list
though.”

“
Then why are you here?”
Gracie was still angry. “And why did you say ‘dates’ and what
list?”

“
Annie wanted to have some
sushi, and I don’t know why I said dates.” Jackson studied her.
“Calm down, Cinderella, before you cause a scene.”

“
I'm ready to go.” Gracie
glanced at Steven and Paige before she walked away from the
table.

Steven paid the check and
left the tip before walking out to the car where Gracie was still
trying to calm down. “I really do hate her temper.” He whispered to
Paige while they walked towards Gracie.

“
This is all on you,
Steven. I hope you enjoy it.” Paige answered him back. She watched
as Gracie stared at Jackson while he walked out with his own date.
Steven wasn't pleased as he watched her and told them to get into
the car.

~

Gracie was sitting in one
of the patio chairs, stretched out in a white t-shirt and shorts
spending time with Sammie before the rest of her family showed. Kim
walked over to her. “So how was your date last night?”

“
Was that what that was? I
thought they were just trying to put me to sleep.” Gracie felt her
anger return when she heard Sammie laugh at the description of the
blind date.

“
Richie is one of the most
boring people I know.” Kim smiled until she saw the look on
Gracie’s face.

“
You could've warned me.”
Gracie retorted watching her parents walk out to the
yard.

“
I wanted to.” Kim
admitted while she watched Bea eating a Popsicle as the juice ran
down her shirt.

“
Who invited Jackson?”
Gracie was staring at the door. “Bea, ‘Uncle’ Jackson brought your
puppy.”

“
He did?” Bea ran to the
house and took the puppy from Jackson, smiling as the puppy wiggled
happily in her arms.

Gracie watched her daughter
before she glanced back at her sister. “Again- who invited
Jackson?”

“
I did.” Kim sat down next
to her sister. “Aren't you comfortable with him being
here?”

“
He's your friend.” Gracie
stood and finished setting the table for Kim, who just watched her.
“Besides he makes Bea happy.”

“
I thought he was your
friend, also, but as long as it's for Bea.” Kim said before she
stood. “But what about you?”

“
Me? I don’t know what
you’re talking about.” Gracie watched the puppy with interest.
“It’s about Bea’s happiness.”

“
That’s where you’re
wrong. What about your happiness?” Kim walked off not waiting for
an answer to plate some of the food that Robert was taking off the
grill. She watched as Jackson made his way over to where Gracie was
standing.

“
How are you today,
Jackson?” Gracie studied the amused expression on his
face.

“
I wasn't the one that was
set up with Richie.” Jackson sat down at the table. “How did you
get talked into that?”