“Really?”
She smiled. “Um, I didn’t want to tell you at first, but I kind of have an overnight bag outside in the car.”
“Are you clairvoyant or something?” I teased with a small chuckle.
God, it felt good to laugh.
“No, I just wanted to be prepared. I didn’t like the idea of you being all alone.”
“Well, I’m not anymore. I’ve got you now.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, her hand reaching up for my jaw. “You’ve got me.”
Getting on her clothes, Millie hardly left my eyesight for most of the day. We had breakfast together, me fixing coffee and Millie warming up her casserole. Warm and filled with peppers, sausage, and hash browns, the homemade dish was a welcome change from endless takeout trays and bowls of cold cereal. We stayed like that for the rest of the morning, always touching in some form or fashion, yet when afternoon rolled around, Millie’s cleaning habit got the better of her.
“It will make us both feel better,” she swore as she pulled out the cleaning supplies from my laundry closet. “Cleaning will be refreshing.”
I didn’t have an issue with cleaning up. What bothered me was that Millie was insistent upon doing it all herself.
“I know how to clean,” I insisted. “I can do the dishes and clean up the kitchen.”
“No, you can get all your laundry together into the basket,” she countered. “If you’re going to be traveling, you’ll need clean underwear.”
“I know. I’m a grown man.”
Millie flashed a grin. “I’m well aware, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be doted on every once in a while. We all deserve to feel cherished, Caleb, even you.”
I couldn’t argue with that. All I could do was sit on the couch and keep my body out of her way. As the television played, Millie dusted my books lined along the living room windows and ran the small vacuum over my rug. With her hair pulled back in a bandana, she was a cleaning whirlwind, and I didn’t know how she could stand me. My clutter must have been a baffling nightmare for a tidy person like her, or maybe we balanced each other out. By the middle of the afternoon, my small apartment was practically spotless, and Millie’s tired body was slumping into my chest. I curled my arm over her shoulders as she sighed.
“You know, there’s one thing I didn’t mention earlier,” I realized as my fingers twisted around the ends of her hair.
“And what might that be?” she asked.
“Thank you for coming and for caring about me.”
Her eyes finding mine, Millie smiled. “You’ve always been kind to me. It’s the very least I could do.”
No, it wasn’t. The least she could do was send a card or call. The least she could do was wait around until I showed up at the office again and sweep my absence under the rug, but doing the least wasn’t Millie’s style. She was always striving for better, wanting more, and she cared fiercely.
And those were only a few of the things I loved about her.