He shook his head. “That’s Mae’s. My wife,” he added. Looking around, he said, “I haven’t seen her this morning. I wonder where she is.”
“I’m sure she’s around here somewhere,” I patted his arm. Jude hadn’t mentioned a grandma, so I assumed she was gone. It broke my heart that Jerry was so clearly stuck in the past—in a t
ime when his wife was alive and his son was still home.
He led me upstairs, showing me the bedrooms and bathrooms. The upstairs was a little more updated than the rest of the house.
The last room he showed me was ‘Andrew’s’ but from what I saw in there, it had Jude written all over it.
The walls were painted a dark blue and the furniture was old and well worn. The bedspread was blue and gray stripes and gray curtains hung beside the windows. A calendar with scantily clad women hung on the wall. There were some clothes strewn around and enough odds and ends to tell me that someone still occasionally used this room.
Jerry took me downstairs again and showed me a sunroom. I was sure it was beautiful during the daytime.
“Huh,” Jerry tilted his head as he looked out the wall of windows, “it got dark fast. I forgot lunch…and dinner.”
I frowned, but didn’t say anything.
“Are you hungry, Julia?” He asked me.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Well, I am. I’m going to make something for Andrew and me to have when he comes in. You can stay out here if you want. Or go out on the porch. There’s blankets in a basket beside the couch in the living room.”
While he went back in the kitchen, I decided to listen to his suggestion to sit out on the porch. I grabbed a blanket, which was right where he said it would be, and found a rocking chair on the front porch.
It was completely dark now, but there were small solar lights dotting the walkway leading up to the front of the house. They provided enough light to illuminate the fence and some of the animals.
I shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around my body.
Today was shaping up to be interesting. I didn’t know quite what to make of it.
Jude was beginning to break down the wall of cinderblocks I’d built around my heart and myself. I didn’t want to be his girlfriend, or even his friend, but he was weaseling his way into my life and I didn’t like it one bit. Or maybe I did like it and that’s why it scared me so much.
“I thought you might want something to drink.”
I jumped at the sound of the voice. Jerry stood beside me with a glass of water. I hadn’t heard him approach. My heart gradually slowed and returned to its normal pace. “Thank you.” I took the proffered glass from him. He didn’t reply as he turned and disappeared inside once more.
I took a sip of the ice-cold water. I was thirsty and hadn’t realized it. I drank every last drop and set the glass on the ground beside me.
I rocked slowly in the chair, letting my eyes drift closed as I hummed softly under my breath.
It was nice here and I really liked Jerry, even if he didn’t know who I was.
Somewhere in the distance the sound of the tractor cut off.
A few minutes later a sweaty Jude bound up the steps.
“Tired?” I asked.
He jumped at the sound of my voice, pushing damp hair from his eyes. “I’ll live,” he winked.
“Your grandpa’s making dinner,” I told him.
“He was eating when we got here,” Jude groaned. “I’d joke that the man’s lost his mind, but that would be the truth,” he shrugged, sighing heavily. “And the truth makes for a pretty shitty joke.”
“Do you stay here with him often?” I asked, unable to help myself as I remembered the room Jerry had shown me earlier.
“A few times a week,” Jude admitted. “It depends on classes and how much time I have. This place isn’t exactly that close to school.” He shrugged.