Chapter 10
Magnolia
I didn’t think anything of it until now, as we stand in the hallway of his grandfather’s house. The emotions of everything has carried me through—right up until I remember one important detail.
“Wait a minute. I’m not your fiancée. I could be your friendly neighborhood drug dealer for all you know! You might sell body parts for a living for all I know! I shouldn’t be here.”
Why am I standing in a stranger’s house pretending to be engaged?
Nash sighs. “Please. I just want to make sure he gets better. And you’ve given him a reason to live. Please. I’ll pay you. I’ll make it worth your time.”
“You’re sure he needs me? What if I’m more of a stressor? A one-hit wonder? What if he only liked me yesterday but today I send him into cardiac arrest?” There are so many things that could go wrong with this lie.
“He’s going to love you just as much today as he did yesterday,” Nash assures me with a small smile.
“When will you tell him the truth?”
“I haven’t written my five-year plan yet, but I’ll get to that,” he says in exasperation. “Please. I’m sure we’ll be able to tell him the truth tomorrow, after he’s had a little more time to gain his strength.”
“You’re right. Of course I’ll help. I want him to get better too.”
He’s a man, desperate to help his grandfather. If I were home, I’d be eating my way through that box of cinnamon rolls. It’s better that I’m here. In a stranger’s house. Pretending to be engaged to a man I only met this week, right?
“Let’s go.”
I pull back my shoulders and head for the stairs. If there was anything I said or did yesterday to help improve his health…I only hope I can do the same today.
The man lying in the bed isn’t the same man from yesterday morning. I mean, technically, he is, but he isn’t.
He’s alert and propped upright. There’s a bright twinkle shining from his eyes. His hands fidget in his lap as though he can’t stay still. There’s a vibrant air that circles around him today. The deathly shadows are completely gone.
“Aha, there you are. I thought I was going to have come find you myself at the rate Nash was going.”
I let go of Nash’s hand and hurry to the bedside. I pick up that fidgeting hand in mine and pat it. “I’m so glad to see you this morning. So very happy.” And I mean it.
Can you fall in love with someone else’s grandpa? Because I think I have. I want this man to live to be one hundred twenty years old.
He smiles at me, squeezing my hands and keeping ahold of them as he leans to the side to speak with Nash. “You know, I do believe she means it. We shall have to keep her.” He leans back against his pillows and looks at me as he announces, “I like you.”
“I like you too. I don’t wear high heels for just anyone.” I hold out my new purple heels. “Brand new, just for you.”
“They’re very nice,” he assures me.
Nash pipes up, “Don’t let her fool you, Grandpa. She wears high heels every day at work.”
“Oh, hush, you.” I roll my eyes at him and point at his grandfather. “I’m trying to make the recovery feel special,” I whisper loudly.
I wonder how he knows I wear heels every day.
The nurse from last night walks in the door, carrying a tray of something. She looks as though she hasn’t slept in a week. Maybe she hasn’t.
“I’ve brought you some breakfast,” she says to Nash’s grandfather.
He scowls as she sets a bowl of applesauce in front of him.
I glance at Nash to see that he’s hiding a grin. I catch his eye, and he winks at me as if I understand the joke.
“Mary, why don’t you go get some rest?”
The nurse looks at Nash as though he uttered words she can’t understand.
“You’ve been up for who knows how long,” he says.
“I don’t want to leave him unattended.”
“The doctor’s coming soon, and I’ve arranged for a relief nurse. I’ll be here with him until they get here. Go get some rest.”
My heart melts as Nash speaks warmly to Mary. She looks like she’s ready to melt, as though she ran an ultramarathon and is about to collapse on the finish line. Poor thing.
Alexander waits for the nurse to leave the room, then sets the applesauce aside. “Who thought applesauce was a good idea?”
“The woman who’s been helping keep you alive.”
Alexander waves his hand through the air. “No. I mean, in general. Who thought mushed-up apples was a good idea?”
“Probably the same people who thought of apple pie,” Nash answers him.
Alexander scowls. “Apples are the laziest fruit. They hardly taste like anything. What are we going to do about your wedding?”
His quick change in subject sends my head spinning.
“I was thinking this Sunday would be perfect for it,” he says while I choke on air.
Nash drags a stuffed chair closer to the bed. His movements are unhurried, and he takes his time to get comfortable when he sits down.
“Why not Saturday?” Nash asks.
I wonder if he can understand what my bulging eyes are trying to tell him. His grin grows when he looks at me. I offered to be a fiancée, not a wife, so he’d better explain himself on this one.
Alexander speaks up. “Saturdays are overdone. Friday night?”
Nash nods. “I’d marry her this morning if I could. She’s always so beautiful first thing in the morning.”
Someone had better stop this madness. I narrow my eyes at Nash. He’s making fun of my morning hair—I just know it.
“I know a guy who would do a quick ceremony,” Grandpa says.
Nash sits up straight in the chair and begins adjusting his tie. “Well, in that case, I’d better get ready.” He combs his fingers through his hair as he tries to straighten it.
“Wait a minute! You boys aren’t cheating me out of my dress.” I squeak the words out.
I really don’t know Nash. Just because I feel comfortable with him doesn’t mean anything. Why would he be rushing this marriage thing? Or are they really joking?
“I’ll buy you one today,” Nash offers.
There’s a dangerous twinkle in his eye that I’m sure means trouble.
I stare at him, wondering if I want to kiss him or punch him. I’m doing him a favor, and he’s taking advantage of it.
Grandpa pats my hand. “We’re just joking around. If you want a big wedding, you can have a big wedding.”
Nash leans forward to hold my other hand.
I stare down at that tan hand, completely covering mine. It’s rough, the calluses on his palm thick.
“Should we let you get some rest, Grandpa?”
Grandpa shakes his head. “Not yet. The relatives are coming. I’m sure they’ll be wearing black,” he grumbles. “I want some uninterrupted time to talk with Magnolia.”
Nash pats him on the shoulder. “In that case, I’m going to take a nap.” He leans back in the chair, getting comfy, then closes his eyes.
“Check my IV after visitors. Make sure there’s no arsenic in it.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t think that can go through an IV drip,” Nash replies with his eyes still closed.
My head is ping-ponging back and forth between them as Nash kicks his feet onto a dresser close by. He really is settling in for a nap. And I’m here, visiting with his grandfather.
“So, tell me about yourself,” Alexander demands.
He releases my hand and reaches for the glass of ice water at his bedside. I jump up and grab it for him, helping him hold it steady as he takes a drink before I set it down again.
“Should we start with my birth or preschool years?”
“Smart-ass,” Alexander says with a smile. “I know I seem pushy.”
“You are pushy,” I tell him with a laugh.
He shrugs. “I’ll let you in on a secret.”
I sit down on the edge of the bed again. “I love secrets.”
“When Nash told me he’d gotten engaged so soon, I was worried that you were going to be a money-grabber.
It’s so silly. When you build something for your children and grandchildren to inherit, you have to think of things like that.
Goodness knows some of my own family members are greedy enough.
I know my son-in-law would be thrilled if I cut everyone except him out of the will. ”
“Ah, is that the one you’re worried about the arsenic with?”
“Of course.”
“But you still let him come here?”
“I haven’t lost hope for my daughter or her children. They’re spoiled, but sometimes, I see a glimmer of hope there. They just need to get out in the world and experience some life for themselves. They need to grow—build some character.”
He sighs and continues, “Now my son was the complete opposite. He couldn’t be bought.
He taught me some very valuable life lessons, and I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to learn them.
I was so stubborn that I missed out on eight years of that kid’s life.
” He points over my shoulder at Nash, who’s looking solemn now.
“And now I want to do my best to keep the family together before money tears us apart. But you’re not here to hear me philosophize about my past mistakes, are you? ”
“Well…no,” I tell him with a soft smile. “I couldn’t get much conversation out of you last night. You owe me some stories about Nash when he was young.”
“Oh, I’m sure Natalie has told you plenty already.”
I glance briefly at Nash, who jumps in. “I’ve been trying to keep Mom quiet about too many of my embarrassing stories.”
“It’s a crying shame,” I tsk.
“Then let me tell you one…” Alexander says, and proceeds to tell me about Nash’s high school antics.