Restore Me (7 page)

“Well, the good news is that he’s talking; he’s
just not talking to me. I think he hates me for ruining
everything.” I shake my head in disgust. Disgust at the
circumstances. Disgust at life. Disgust with myself.

Grams scoffs like she’s just choked on her own
tongue. “You’re too damn smart to be so dumb, girl! I would know.
You and me are just alike, ya know?” She pats my hand
affectionately. “He doesn’t hate you, Jo. Give him time. He’ll come
around and you’ll have to figure out how to help him get
there.”

“How?” I whine like a petulant child as my
shoulders slump.

Grams clicks her tongue at my dismal state. I
can’t blame her. Even I’m repulsed by how pathetic and weak I must
look.

“You’ll figure it out. I’m sure of it. It
reminds me of what happened with that dog he used to have.”

My brows rise. I’m interested in this story.
“What dog?”

“He was about 13 or so and I got him a dog to
play with at my house. It was a mutt and the poor thing didn’t have
a home. Well, long story short, Damon fell in love with the
dog.”

“What did he name it?”

“Dog.” She shrugs and I roll my eyes at
adolescent Damon.
How original.
“So anyway, one day the dog
got out of my back gate. The damn thing nearly got killed in the
street. Damon was rattled by it and after that he didn’t want the
dog anymore.”

My face screws up when I realize what the fuck
this analogy is all about. “Are you seriously comparing me to a
dog?”

“Bitch. Dog was a female. I’m comparing you to a
bitch.” She winks at me. “You know, the pot calling the kettle
black and all.”

I smile and shake my head at her. I love this
woman. “So what happened to the bitch?”

She smiles wide, exposing her too big dentures.
“It took a while, but he got over it. That damn dog was his closest
companion until she died.”

“I’m confused. Why did he not want the dog
anymore after she got out?”

“Well, he was scared. He realized that if he had
someone to love he also had someone to lose. He was trying to
protect himself. The dog just wanted to please him; she was always
bringing him dead animals and wagging her tail and looking at him
with her adorable puppy dog eyes. It took a while, but he got over
his fear and he and the bitch; I mean, the dog, were
inseparable.”

A knock interrupts what was left of her story,
her eyes immediately focusing over my shoulder. I follow her gaze
to see who in the hell she’s waiting on with such rapt
attention.

“Come in,” she says in a clear voice.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cole.”

Holy shit!
That guy is gorgeous and Grams
is positively beaming. She might actually be blushing!
No wonder
she’s waiting on him. I would, too.
His bright smile is showing
off those straight pearly whites.

“Oh, Andy! How many times do I have to tell you
to call me Bee? My friends call me Bee, so you should, too.”

I gape at Grams’ open flirting with the sexy
muscle man near the door. He has a tool belt hanging from his
narrow hips and a tool box gripped in his left hand. Grams winks at
him and I can’t help grinning from ear to ear watching the scene
before me.

“Sorry, Bee. I keep forgetting.” The maintenance
man walks further into the room and comes to a stop near the side
of Gram’s bed, where I’m sitting.

“Andy, this is Josephine. Josephine, this is
Andy. The best handyman in town. Not too hard on the eyes either.
Is he?”

Grams pokes me and I stand, a little
reluctantly. I blush from head to toe and make note of her jab with
using my full name.
An eye for an eye I guess.

“Hi, Andy.” I extend my hand. “Please call me
Jo.”

Andy’s dark blue eyes appraise me quickly then
he smiles politely and takes my hand. “Nice to meet you, Jo. I like
your name.”

I nod and smile politely in return.
Wow, he’s
hot!
“Yeah, it’s not bad, I guess. It could be worse. I could
be named Beatrice or something fucking awful like that.” I smile
sardonically at Grams and she sticks her tongue out at me. I glance
up at the tall, blue-eyed hunk to see his eyes are as wide as
dinner plates. It’s good to see I haven’t lost my charm during my
stint with heartbreak; my mouth is still filthy and locked and
loaded with plenty of smartass remarks.

“Josephine used to date my grandson, but she
dumped him. It’s a shame.” She shakes her head and smoothes her
silver hair, feigning disappointment.

“I did not! Well…I guess I did, but—”

Poor Andy cuts me off before I dig a deeper
hole.
Thank fuck!
“Uh, I guess I should change that light
bulb for you, Mrs. Co—Bee. I’ll change that light bulb for you,
Bee.”

Poor Andy, he’s caught in the same room with two
tenacious, snarky women. The poor sucker. I smile wide at Grams and
she belts out a witchy cackle. Andy walks over the light fixture on
the wall and begins working on removing the shade. His light brown
hair catches the light coming through the window and seems to
almost glitter. If I weren’t already utterly and completely in love
with Damon, I’d be giving him my number right now.

“Is this the guy you were waiting for?” I lean
in towards Grams and whisper loudly in her ear.

Her wicked smile tells me she’s up to no good
whatsoever. “You bet. I think he wants to get fresh with me.”

I shake my head at the brazen old bat. “And how
do you know this?”

“Edith, my snotty neighbor, always calls in work
orders to get him to come to her room and most the time someone
else goes. But when I call, Andy comes. Every time.”

I furrow my brows in disbelief. “I take it you
aren’t friends with Edith?”

Grams scoffs indignantly. “I wouldn’t be caught
dead in cahoots with that floozy! She manages to chase off just
about every good looking staff member here. They can’t stand her
crazy eye.”

“What?!” I screech as a fit of laughter rips
through me. Both of us cackle unabashedly, like two gossipy
witches.

“She has a funny eye. If she isn’t wearing those
thick glasses of hers, it tends to wander this direction.” Grams
brings one finger up to her face and mimics which direction said
lazy eye wanders. It’s fucking ridiculous, but a much needed break
from my own thoughts.

“It’s a damned soap opera in here,” I sputter
out between gasps for air.

“You got that right, honey. Instead of The Young
and The Restless, we got The Old and The Worthless!” Grams hoots
with laughter and pops a circus peanut in her mouth.

“Want one?” She extends the bag to me and a grab
a few. I lean back in my seat and prop my feet on the side of Grams
bed. We sit there and watch Andy’s behind as he changes the light
bulb.

I definitely needed this little break from
reality.

“Bee, you’ve got some scuff marks up here on the
wall. I could get some paint and take care of that.”

We both glance up to his face instead of his ass
as he turns to face us.

“Oh yes,” Grams clucks. “That’s gotta be fixed
then, young man. Can you come back tomorrow?”

Andy smiles politely and nods. The old bat
really has no shame. I wonder if I’m as bad as her. Andy gathers
his things and approaches Grams’ bed.

“It was nice to meet you, Jo.” He extends his
hand.

I take it for a friendly shake and his thumb
stokes over the back of my hand. I smile knowingly at the forward
bastard and pull my hand out of his.

“See you tomorrow,” he tosses over his shoulder
as he walks out of the suite.

I turn and gape at Grams. “What the hell was
that?”

“Guess my man might have an eye for you, Jo.”
Grams shrugs and pops another peanut in her mouth.

I narrow my eyes at her. There’s no telling
what’s going through that head of hers.

I squint at the grayish smudges on her wall.
“How did scuff marks get on your wall at eye level?”

“What? Oh, yes. My cane.” Her response is as
blasé as it could possibly be.

“What?” She has me confused… again.

“I may or may not have whacked the wall with my
cane a few times so that Mister Tight Buns would have to come see
me.” She shrugs and flips open the magazine in her lap, mowing down
another peanut. She really does eat a ton of those damn things.
It’s a fucking miracle she’s not gargantuan or diabetic.

“Wow, Grams. Seriously?”

She shrugs again and swipes her finger across
the magazine to turn another page. My phone chirps in my bag,
drawing me away from my gawking. I fumble through my mess of a
purse to find the damn thing and glide my thumb across the screen
to open the awaiting text message.

“Brian,” I mutter to myself.

Where r u? Boss man says u should be
back.

On the one hand, I feel a tiny bit relieved that
Damon is feeling with it enough to worry about where I am, but on
the other hand, this is total horseshit. He hasn’t said a thing to
me, or acknowledged my existence, yet he has Bloodhound Brian
texting to find out where I am? Yeah, I don’t think so, bud. My
thumbs move at the speed of sound to fire off a text.

Tell him to stop being an ass and text me
himself if he gives a shit.

I lay my phone in my lap and get comfortable
again. “Grams, I have a question.”

She closes her magazine and turns her blue eyes
on me. “I have an answer,” she quips. It’s just another reminder of
why I adore her.

“Why do you stay here? There really isn’t
anything wrong with you.”

“Well, I’m older than dirt, girl!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. 78 isn’t really too old
these days.”

“I like it just fine here. I’m not a burden on
anyone. These people get paid well. Damon takes care of it all for
me.”
Of course he does.

“Well, if you were my grandmother, I’d have you
at home, not in some boring retirement home with a crazy-eyed
neighbor.” We both burst into fits of laughter at the mention of
Crazy-eyed Edith.

My phone chirps as a new text message arrives;
Brian again.

He’s on the war path now. U r killin’ me
here.

I roll my eyes and take a deep breath. He can’t
possibly think that I would be very receptive to him playing
messenger games with Brian in the middle. This is stupid and I’m
flat out irritated with him.
Why won’t he just fucking speak to
me?

“What’s wrong, honey?”

I glance up at Grams to see her watching me
closely. “I don’t know what to do with Damon.”

Grams’ response is to shake her head
disapprovingly. “You’re smarter than that, Jo. You know what to do.
Go to him and help him get his head together. You’ll find a way. We
always do.” She leans in and whispers the last bit and it has my
mind going into overdrive.

She’s right.
Time to stop whining and make
shit happen.
I told myself to make shit happen when I was
homeless and I did. I wasn’t enrolled in school, but I studied hard
in the library to make sure I could pass the GED, and I did. I’ll
get him to come back to me the way he was. I love him and he has to
still love me, too. That doesn’t just vanish overnight, no matter
what the circumstances.

“You’re right, Grams. I guess I’d better go
then. Time to make that man snap out of it.” I stand and lean over
to hug Grams. Her arms around me feel so good; like I always
imagined a grandmother’s embrace would feel. It’s comforting and
strong, no matter how weak time has made her body. “You know I love
you, Grams. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I love you too, honey. You’re a good woman, you
know. It may be damn selfish of me, but I am glad you came into our
lives. No matter how. I’m still glad.”

A lump instantly forms in my throat. She’s
right. It’s terrible to admit. That accident may have taken my
parents, but it brought me Damon and Grams and I love them
both.

“Me too,” I choke out, stepping back from
her.

“You’re coming by tomorrow, right?”

I smile broadly. I couldn’t refuse her if I
tried. “Yep. I’ll bring you some lunch.”

“Oh, wonderful! Bring me a cheeseburger, will
ya?”

There’s no denying it. I love this lady as if
she were my own family. I’ll bring her lunch every day if she wants
it. Hell, I’d prefer to take her out of this place and have her in
a real house with real family and a real life.

“I’ll bring you whatever you want. See you
tomorrow.” I give her hand one last squeeze and leave her room with
a new determination to get my life together.

I’ve done it once and I’ll do it again.

***

With a proper plan
for the rest of my day, I swing by the grocery store to pick up
some essentials before I return to the penthouse. I make my way
into the elevator, bags in hand, refusing Howard’s offer of
assistance. I feel like quite the independent housewife. When the
doors slide open, I step out, adjust my grip on the shopping bags,
and punch in the code to unlock the door. I use my hip to push it
open and walk in.