Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Noelle parked her car in the outdoor parking lot of her apartment building and sat quietly for a moment, listening to the sound of the wind rustling in the trees around her. It was a slightly blustery but still fairly warm evening, and she was looking forward to making dinner after work and sitting out on her balcony for a while to enjoy the evening.

She tapped the steering wheel of her car affectionately before getting out. She was enjoying driving more than ever now that Dean had fixed up her car so well. She kept noticing things that he’d fixed or spruced up for free. He’d vacuumed the interior, polished the outside, and she could see by the sticker on the top left corner of her windshield that he’d changed her oil for free as well.

She opened the door to her car and got out. At that moment, a gust of wind rushed against her suddenly, causing a paper to fly out of her purse and begin to skuttle across the parking lot. She let out a short yelp and chased after it, managing to snatch it as it blew in front of her car.

As she was straightening, she noticed that her headlights were clearer than usual, and gleaming in the sunlight.

Oh my goodness, he polished my headlights too, she thought, letting out a giggle. I can’t believe how sweet he was about that whole thing. What a great car shop—I’ve never even heard of such stellar service.

She knew though that it wasn’t really the auto repair shop. It was Dean, and he’d been extra sweet to her on purpose. Maybe it was because she was his physical therapist, and he wanted to be gracious to her because she was taking the time to help him improve his osteoarthritis symptoms. Maybe it was because they were beginning to be friends. All she knew for sure was that she felt grateful to him, and seeing all the little things he’d done to her car made her feel special and happy.

She smiled as she made her way to her apartment. She thought about what a nice guy Dean was—so considerate and thoughtful, and with a sympathetic demeanor. She realized as she climbed the stairs of her building that she was excited for his upcoming physical therapy appointment. She was looking forward to seeing him and getting to talk with him again.

Once she was inside her apartment, she hung her purse up on a coat rack that was placed by the front door and made her way to the kitchen. She opened her refrigerator, wondering what she wanted to make herself for dinner.

Something with apples, she thought with a laugh, noticing the bag of apples that she’d purchased at a farmers market the day before. Should I just make an apple pie after dinner, or can I create something savory using apples first?

Smiling to herself, she sat down in a comfortable armchair near the window and began to browse Pinterest, looking for dinner recipes involving apples. She finally decided on an apple and chicken skillet, which looked mouthwatering.

She munched on one of the apples as she began to cook, since her stomach was growling and she never enjoyed cooking on an empty stomach. She turned on some cheerful, relaxing folk music and lighted a pumpkin-scented candle. Even though it felt as though autumn was just beginning to show itself, fall was one of Noelle’s favorite seasons, and she was ready to embrace it wholeheartedly.

Once she had her meal simmering on the stove, she changed into soft sweatpants and a hoodie. She returned to the kitchen to check her food, and smiled when she smelled the sweet, tangy aroma that was filling the air.

She set the little table that she had out on her balcony, and when her meal was ready, she sat there to eat it. As she chewed the delicious food, she looked out across the parking lot to a line of trees that were silhouetted against the ocean. The sunset was turning the water a variety of incredible shades, and she sighed happily as she watched the waves wink and flash in the waning light.

All of a sudden, she found herself thinking about Dean. She wondered what he was doing, and if he’d gotten a chance to see the beautiful sunset. She had his number, from when he’d texted her about her car, and for a moment she considered texting him. Then she decided that would be silly—after all, they didn’t know each other that well, and in a place like Rosewood Beach, it was hard not to get a chance to see the sunset.

She finished her meal and cleared the table, feeling satisfied and comfortable. It was still a beautiful evening, and she considered going back onto her balcony to read for a while.

As she was bustling around in her kitchen, cleaning up the mess she’d made while she was cooking, she heard the buzzer go off in her apartment, signaling that someone was at the front door who wanted to come upstairs to her place.

She sashayed over to the intercom and pressed the button. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, sweetie, your grandmother.”

“Oh, hey!” Noelle’s face lit up into a smile when she heard the familiar voice of her grandmother, Gloria Calhoun. “Come right on in.”

She pressed the buzzer, and less than a minute later, there was a knock on her apartment door. She opened it eagerly, revealing the gray hair and smiling face of Gloria.

“Hey, Grandma.” Noelle gave her grandmother a bear hug. “What’s the occasion?”

“I made a bunch of macaroons today, and I wanted to bring some to you.” Gloria held up a cookie tin as they separated, her eyes bright and warm.

“Aww, Grandma!” Noelle took the tin, smiling broadly. “You shouldn’t have. You gave me that banana bread three days ago, and I just finished it.” She laughed. “I’m going to be completely spoiled if you keep this up.”

Gloria shook her head, her lips pursed. “I’ve been baking for much longer than you’ve been alive, and I’ve always shared what I made with the people I love. I’m not about to stop now. Besides, I know you love coconut macaroons.”

Noelle bit her lip to suppress a fond chuckle. “You’re right. Next time, how about you let me help you make them? Then I’ll get some good practice in, and then the next time, I can make some for you.”

“Sounds like a great deal.” Gloria brushed her hands together. “Do you have any plans this evening, or can I intrude for a little while?”

“You’re never an intruder.” Noelle kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “How about you come sit out on the balcony with me and eat some of these cookies along with some hot apple cider?”

“Oh, that sounds fantastic.”

“I’ve got an apple theme going this evening.” Noelle grinned. “I made chicken with apples for dinner.”

Gloria gasped appreciatively. “Where did you find the recipe—no, never mind. I already know.” She laughed. “You found it online. You found that wonderful lemon mushroom shrimp pasta recipe online too. I’ll never forget about that one—so original.”

“I keep telling you to get a Pinterest, Grandma.” Noelle laughed as she began to pour apple cider into a pot. “You’d love it. Or you should at least start going online a little more to look for recipes. There’s so much great stuff out there.”

“I can’t seem to make sense of the internet.” Gloria shook her head. “How about you show me some recipes on Pinterest, and then you can send me the ones that look interesting? Your grandpa knows how to print things from email. Could you email them to us?”

“I can just print them off for you here.” Noelle chuckled. “Or better yet, why don’t you bring over your recipe cards and we can write some down by hand together? For both of us. I like cooking from recipe cards better than squinting at my phone anyway.”

“Oh, I’d love that.” Gloria’s face lit up. “We could watch some movies while we work.”

Noelle grinned. She and her grandmother both loved old black and white movies. Watching them together was one of their favorite pastimes. “Perfect. Let’s watch some of our favorites like The Philadelphia Story and Casablanca. It’s always easier to work while watching older movies like that because they’re so much slower-paced than modern movies are.”

“People knew how to pay attention back then.” Gloria nodded.

A few minutes later, they were seated out on the balcony, sipping their hot apple cider and munching on the delicious coconut macaroons. The sun had now set, leaving only a faint flush of gold at the western edge of the horizon.

“This is delicious, thank you, sweetheart.” Gloria took a sip of the hot apple cider, wiggling a little as she swallowed with relish. “Mm. Just hits the spot.”

Noelle laughed at her grandmother’s antics. “If we’re really talking delicious, let’s hear it for these cookies. I think you outdid yourself this time, Grandma.”

Gloria chuckled. “Thank you, dear. I just followed the recipe. Now tell me all about how things are going at work. Do you feel like you’re really settled in yet?”

“Oh, I’m getting there.” Noelle took a sip of her hot apple cider. “The other physical therapist, Chip, has been really great. He’s really helpful and I never feel like I can’t reach out and ask him a question. And my patients have been really great. The ones that started right when I got here have been showing substantial progress, and the new ones—well, the new ones are great.” She thought about Dean and found herself smiling broadly.

“Hmm, what do you mean by ‘great’?” Gloria asked, cocking her head curiously.

“Uh, well, there’s a very sweet old man who always brightens my day. And there’s a younger man too. His name is Dean.”

“Why is Dean in physical therapy?” Gloria asked. “Does he have an injury of some kind?”

“No, he has osteoarthritis.” Noelle shook her head sadly. “I feel terrible for him, although I think that putting in the work of physical therapy will really get his symptoms under control.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. How young is he?”

Noelle wondered if it was her imagination, or if her grandmother looked slightly mischievous.

“He’s… well, he’s around my age. A young man. So I’m really hoping that PT will help him. He’s too young to be struggling with weakness and fatigue the way he has been.”

Gloria nodded. “Well, hopefully you’re able to help him improve his quality of life.”

“I hope so.” Noelle smiled. “That’s the most rewarding part of the job—when patients really start to do better. I love seeing the hope start to appear on their faces. And Dean seems like a hardworking guy, so I think he’s going to put in the work and start to see progress.”

“Why do you say he’s hardworking? Just a hunch?”

“No.” Noelle shook her head, unable to keep from smiling when she thought about Dean’s auto repair shop, and all of the sweet extra things he’d done to her car. “I was having issues with my brakes on Saturday morning. Luckily Dean’s shop is a three-minute drive from here, so I drove there before the issue got really serious. My brake lines had been damaged, so the brakes still worked, but I could feel that something was starting to be really off with them.”

“Well, thank goodness everything worked out fine! Don’t ever take chances with things like that.”

“Oh, I won’t. Dean told me I should get my car towed when things like the brakes start acting up. He thinks it’s better to be safe than sorry and I agree with him.”

“Dean’s a mechanic?”

“Oh!” Noelle laughed. “I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. Yes, he is, but he also owns Rosewood Beach’s auto repair shop. And the way he took care of my car there—honestly, just the way he runs the whole place, even though I know he’s been struggling with his osteoarthritis symptoms—was impressive. It’s clear he cares a lot about doing a good job on things.”

“That’s a great quality.” Gloria nodded sagely. “He sounds like a nice young man.”

“Oh, he is. And while I was waiting there, I got to see some of the pictures hanging on the wall in his office. He used to be really active. He played baseball and went hiking and fishing a lot. So I’m hoping that he’ll have the energy to go back to those kinds of things soon, at least some of the time.”

“That’s nice that you got a chance to see what it is he likes to do. It’ll help you understand just how much he wants to feel better again. Not that you need motivation. I know you always give your clients your best effort.”

Noelle gave her grandmother’s hand a squeeze. “Thanks, Grandma. I appreciate you saying that.”

They continued to munch on their cookies and sip their apple cider as their conversation wound its way toward other topics. They discussed recipes, the upcoming holidays, and Gloria encouraged Noelle to take up the habit of knitting again, because it was so relaxing.

Throughout their conversation, Noelle’s thoughts kept darting back to Dean, wondering how he was doing and if PT was going to help him as much as she hoped it would.

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