Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Mike
I was plowing through reports that my data team had put together on the marine-based supplement line, downing my now cold coffee with a grimace. It had been hard to concentrate when my thoughts kept drifting back to Ren.
When she saw Grammy’s ring, something inside me clicked into place like a puzzle. This was crazy. I knew Grammy and Grandpa’s story was an insta-love one for the ages, but this felt like falling with no net to catch me.
The moment Ren touched the ring, it was like my heart said, “There you are.”
That same heart thumped inside my chest, and I suddenly felt dizzy. This couldn’t be love already. It was impossible. Rubbing my face vigorously, I tried to make sense of what was happening, but I fell short.
Checking the time, I sat up straight, forcing my head back into work to get the reports done before the end of the day.
Two hours later, lost in a sea of numbers, I glanced at my phone and saw a missed call from Grammy.
I must’ve forgotten to turn the ringer back on after my earlier meeting.
She picked up on the first ring, which was impressive, given her declining hearing.
She wouldn’t even consider getting a hearing aid, and I’d given up trying to convince her.
“Are you alright?” I asked, once again pushing down my fear.
“Mikey, finally. What are you doing? Are you busy?”
Huffing out a laugh, relieved she was alright, I answered. “It is the middle of a workday, you know. And I am, but tell me what you need.”
“I just wanted to ask whether Ren likes pie or cake.” I could hear banging and wondered what she was up to in her kitchen.
“Ah, why, Grammy? What are you doing?”
She tsked and grunted, making me snicker.
“I don’t have time for your inquisition, boy. Just answer the simple question, please.”
“Are you trying to make it up to her for your Godfather impression the other day?”
There was a pause before she answered quietly, “Maybe. I just wanted to put her through my test, and she passed marvelously.”
I didn’t remember any conversation about Ren’s dessert of choice, so I had to wing it.
“She likes a lot of things, but if I had to narrow it down, I’d say cake.” Fingers crossed I was right. Knowing my Grammy, she’d have a huge cake the next time we visited, which we hadn’t worked out yet.
“Great, thanks. Love you.”
“Gram--.” I got dead air. I looked at the phone to confirm she’d, once again, hung up on me and shook my head.
“Crazy old coot.”
Rubbing my tired eyes, I noticed something off in the last data report I’d been reading, and I went down a rabbit hole to figure out how to fix it. It wasn’t until an hour later that my strange conversation with Grammy suddenly made sense. My head popped up like the Whack-a-Mole game at the arcade.
“Oh no. No, no, no,” I chanted, closing my laptop, throwing it into my messenger bag, and took off running. “She wouldn’t dare call Ren, would she? How would she get her number?”
“Something came up,” I yelled at my analyst as I raced past his desk. “I emailed you all but one report, and I’ll have that to you in a few hours.”
“Sooner rather than later, Mike,” he yelled back. I waved to him without turning around, racing to my car.
The whole drive to Grammy’s, I waffled between pride in her cunning ways of getting information and mortification at what she might be telling Ren at this very moment if my suspicions were right.
When I got to Grammy’s door out of breath, my fear was confirmed when I heard Ren laughing. I closed my eyes for a minute, gathering my courage to face what chaos my grandmother had caused. But I stopped short of walking in when I heard their conversation.
“He was about six here, I think. His teacher had a merit box for when the kids behaved well, and every time, without fail, when it was Mikey’s turn to choose from that box, he chose something he thought his mom, dad, grandfather, or I would like.
Never chose something for himself. I have a huge collection of gaudy plastic rings that I treasure almost as much as my wedding rings. ”
I smiled at the memory. Because I was a talker, I didn’t get a chance at that box often, but I could never pick something for myself. It was my way of showing them how much I loved them.
“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, Grammy,” Ren said with awe in her voice. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Most kids that age are inherently selfish.”
“Not my Mikey,” my grandmother said warmly.
“He was a very special kid, it seems.”
“Still is, Ren. I know I’m biased, but Mikey is unique.” Grammy giggled and said, “Also, we’d try to corner him and ask who he loved more out of the four of us, but he would never choose. Always said he loved us all the same. God gave him a heart that expanded to love easily and completely.”
“I can see that,” Ren said, her voice soft and contemplative.
“And this one is when he was fourteen. That boy was the smartest in his class,” Grammy said affectionately.
“Oh my gosh. But look at his outfit,” Ren said with a chuckle.
“I said he was smart, not fashionable,” she deadpanned, making them both laugh loudly.
I shook my head in disbelief that she was throwing me under the bus. I leaned against the outside wall, curious to see how this would go, close enough to step in if things got out of hand.
“He was a cutie, there, though,” Ren said, and I wished I could see which embarrassing photo garnered that compliment. Surely not one from my grunge phase.
I could hear the squeak of pages in a photo album being turned.
“This was his high school graduation. We were all so proud of him. Graduated with honors.”
“I call him Data Boy, so I guess it’s fitting,” Ren said confidently, making Grammy laugh.
“Yes, I was right. You fit right in.”
A soft thud made me assume she had closed the album.
“Ren, I like you,” I heard Grammy say, her chair squeaking, and I was dying to peek in and see what she was doing. “And I think that boy of mine likes you, too.”
Uh, oh.
I straightened, ready to walk in and save my fake girlfriend, the one I wanted something real with.
“I like you, too, Grammy. And Mike. I’m excited to get to know more about him while I’m here,” Ren said.
“Life moves fast, my girl. Yesterday I was eighteen and getting married. Now I’m old and gray and wrinkled.”
“No, you’re not. Il suo cuore ha ancora tanto fuoco. That means your heart still has so much fire.”
Whoa, hearing Ren speak Italian made my knees weak. Again.
I heard a kiss and wasn’t sure who’d kissed whom. This was ridiculous. I should just go in there, but something kept my feet planted in place.
“My heart is getting tired now. But you’re right.
There’s still some fire left there. I’m holding on to see what I’ve prayed for come to pass.
Mikey tries to act strong for everyone, but I see the sadness in his eyes.
There’s something he’s hiding. He needs a good woman to walk him through whatever that is.
And I see the same sadness in your beautiful eyes. ”
Her words about not having much time left made me frown, shocked to know she’d seen my sadness. I leaned in to hear Ren’s response.
“What do you see in me? What sadness?”
They were quiet for so long, I thought they had started whispering until Grammy said, “Your eyes hold a longing. Something you haven’t experienced yet, but you wish for.”
“You’re very insightful,” Ren answered, and I may have heard a sniffle.
“Don’t give up. You may be exactly where you should be to receive all that you want.”
The two were quietly speaking after that, and I knew interrupting them would be the wrong thing to do.
Ren proved she could take care of herself, but more importantly, she cared enough about my grandmother to treat her with love and tenderness.
I crept down the hallway and out the front door, smiling at the thought of them being together, thinking about how to make Ren’s unhappiness vanish.