I cleared my throat and hastily turned my head away. From the telltale smirk on his face he hadn’t missed the fact that I had checked him out. I was never going to live this down.
“Andrew, stop gawking at the pretty girl and sit down and eat.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” he saluted his grandpa.
Jude and I sat side by side, facing his grandpa. He ladled out chili into all of our bowls and then bowed his head to say grace. Jude and I hastily followed suit, mimicking his position.
Once that was done, we all ate like we were starved to death. I could understand why Jude and I were hungry, but his grandpa had eaten ‘breakfast’ when we got here. It broke my heart that the man was basically losing his mind. It was horrible—something no one should have to go through, and no loved one should have to watch.
I glanced at Jude out of the corner of my eye. He watched his grandpa carefully, his jaw clenched and his eyes lined with worry. If there was one person in the world that Jude loved, it was his grandpa. Today showed me that there was a depth to Jude anyone rarely saw. I might not like him, but I’d take this small gift he’d given me by showing his true colors.
“This is delicious, Jerry,” I spoke up.
He smiled widely, pleased that I enjoyed it. “I’m happy to hear that. You should come over one day and I’ll teach you to make it.”
“Really?” I lit up at the same time that Jude said, “Quiet, Pap.”
“Certainly,” Jerry nodded at me. He narrowed his eyes at Jude, “Manners, boy.”
“Sorry,” Jude bowed his head like a small child who’d just been scolded.
It was so weird to see Jude cave so easily to everything his grandpa said. He respected and admired the man.
Once dinner was done, Jude and I stayed to clean the dishes. On his way out of the room, Jerry said, “Make sure to fix a bowl of leftovers for her to take home.”
“Will do,” Jude chimed, turning on the hot water and taking the bowls from my hands. “I’ll wash, you dry.”
We stood side by side, cleaning and putting away the dishes used.
If someone had told me a week ago that I would be in Jude’s grandpa’s house cleaning dishes I would have told them they were batshit crazy, flipped them the bird, and strode away.
But right now, there was no place I’d rather be.
I’d forgotten what it was like to sit down with other people and eat a meal. But it was more than that. There was a comfort present in this home that had long been absent from mine—even before Graham died.
Sometimes, I think the mind has the ability to make you forget traumatic things, at least temporarily. I wondered what all I might have blocked myself from remembering.
“I hope he wasn’t too bad,” Jude murmured under his breath in case his grandpa still lurked near us. “I didn’t want to leave you alone with him, but I knew he wouldn’t quit asking me to mow and I if I didn’t do it, he’d try to and—”
I surprised us both by reaching up and placing a finger against his lips. It effectively ceased his rambling, but now we were locked in a staring contest and I wasn’t sure who would look away first.
Of course it was me.
Swallowing thickly, I continued to dry the already pristine bowl in my hands. “You had nothing to worry about,” I told him. “Your grandpa is pretty amazing.”
He chuckled. “You might be the only person that thinks so.”
“Besides you,” I added, because we both knew it was true. He didn’t need to say it.
“Yeah,” he cracked a smile, “I think he’s pretty amazing.” He looked over his shoulder, as if his grandpa was standing there, but I’d heard his footsteps ascend the steps a few minutes earlier. “I worry about him,” he whispered under his breath, then looked at me with soft brown eyes.
I didn’t know how to handle this Jude. He was a stranger to me.
None of my normal bitchy comments would be appropriate right now. Jude was being oddly serious, and I needed to do the same. It was hard though, because I was afraid of being played.
“I’m sure you do,” I gave him a reassuring smile. Because he’d opened up about why he wanted to be a nurse, and showed me a vulnerable side of himself that I hadn’t known existed before, I added, “I worry about my mom.”
“Your mom? Why?” His thick brows furrowed together.