Tank tried to cool himself down as he drove to LOCAL, the Lower Cape Assisted Living Facility where Mike lived, but Leah kept stealing glances at him, looking as flirtatious as she did curious, which only made him want to satisfy those curiosities even more. He rolled down his window to cool himself off and stuffed those desires down deep.
“Gwampa has a big house,” Junie said when they parked in front of the building.
“This isn’t his house,” Tank explained. “This is like an apartment complex. Grandpa Mike and lots of other people live here.” Mike had only recently moved to LOCAL, and Tank made a point to visit him every Wednesday before church. Mike had lived with Preacher and Reba previously, but he’d wanted his autonomy, and after falling a couple of times and ending up in the hospital, they’d decided to move him there, where he’d have both autonomy and oversight. Tank knew it was the right place for him, but it felt like Mike was one step closer to the end of his life, and Tank fucking hated that.
“Like where we lived before we moved here?” Junie asked.
“That’s right,” Leah said.
They got the girls out of the car and headed inside. As Tank was signing in, Chloe came down the hall, looking professional in a navy pencil skirt and white blouse. Her eyes lit up when she saw them.
“I didn’t expect to see you guys. This isn’t Tank’s usual visiting day.” Chloe hugged Leah.
“I didn’t know he had a usual day.” Leah eyed him appreciatively, as if she liked knowing he visited Mike regularly.
“Every Wednesday, like clockwork,” Chloe said. “Mike will be glad to see you. He was bragging about Leah and the girls to a flock of ladies over breakfast this morning. He’s such a flirt.” She grabbed a basket of stickers from the counter and knelt in front of the girls.
Rosie beamed at her. Junie put her arm around Tank’s leg, and he put his hand on the back of her head.
“Do you remember me from yesterday?” Chloe asked.
Rosie nodded. Junie said, “You kissed Mavwick.”
Tank chuckled.
“You’re right, I did, because I’m going to marry Maverick. How would you two cuties like stickers?” Chloe held out the basket.
“We like stickuhs!” Rosie exclaimed, and grabbed a handful of stickers.
“Wosie!” Junie admonished her.
“You can each take one,” Leah said. “And remember to say thank you.”
“Thank you,” they said in unison as they fished through the selection of animal and cartoon stickers.
“Can I take one for Gwampa?” Junie asked.
“Yes, of course.” Chloe looked at Tank and Leah, mouthing, They’re so cute.
Tank probably shouldn’t get a kick out of Rosie’s grabby hands, but he did. Just as much of a kick as he did out of Junie’s thoughtfulness.
“I didn’t know you worked here,” Leah said to Chloe.
“This is my home away from home. I’m the director, and it’s serendipitous that you’re here because Mads and I were just texting about you. She recently started doing puppetry with our residents, and we were both so impressed with the girls’ memory blankets last night, we were wondering if you ever made them for others and sold them. There are lots of grandparents here, and they’re always looking for unique gifts to give to family members.”
“Oh gosh, no. They’re not that good,” Leah said.
“She’s being modest,” Tank said. “You saw them. They’re incredible.”
Leah gave him a disbelieving look.
“I have to agree with Tank,” Chloe said. “They’re really beautiful. If you’re ever interested in branching out, I’d love to talk with you about it.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that and I’ll keep it in mind, but I don’t really have time to do much other than work and take care of the girls.”
“I understand,” Chloe said.
The girls chose their stickers and thanked Chloe again just as she got pulled away to take a phone call. Junie put on her sticker of a frog, and Rosie ripped off the back of hers, sticking it in the middle of her shirt and exclaiming, “Cheeky bird!”
“Love that,” Tank said with a chuckle. “What’s your frog’s name, Twitch?”
“He doesn’t have one,” Junie said. “He weminds me of Wiver.”
Tank’s chest constricted.
“River took them to the creek and they saw frogs. He told the girls a story about eating the frogs and growing a family of them in his belly,” Leah explained with a wistful expression.
Hell if he didn’t get choked up, too. “Come on, chickadees, let’s go see Grandpa Mike.”
The girls skipped in front of them singing, “Gwampa Mike! Gwampa Mike!”
Tank reached for Leah’s hand. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I want them to remember River as often as they can.”
He didn’t know much about parenting, but as far as he could tell, Leah was as good a mother as his own, putting the needs of the girls, and previously of River, before herself. For a girl who became the guardian of a grieving teenager when she was just a kid herself, that was pretty fucking impressive.
His grandfather answered the door with his usual furrowed brow, but the minute he saw them, his face brightened. His brown polo shirt was tucked into a pair of tan dress pants, with a brown belt cinched tight, and shoes to match. Tank didn’t know why it was, but his grandfather always looked frailer when he was at his apartment than he did when he was away from LOCAL.
“Hi, Gwampa!” Rosie shouted.
Mike grinned. “Hello there, Smiley. What a nice surprise.” He shielded the side of his mouth, like he was sharing a secret with only the girls, and said, “Did you girls bring me some candy?”
They giggled and said, “No.”
“Cookies?” he asked, eliciting more giggles and a unified “No.”
“I bwought you a sticker.” Junie held out the sticker of a puppy licking an ice cream cone.
“A sticker? Well, that’s about as good as gold in my book.” He took the sticker as they followed him into his apartment and put it on his shirt pocket. “This is about the best darn sticker I’ve ever seen.”
The girls touched everything they saw. They sat for a bounce on the couch, climbed giggling into the recliner by the patio doors, and made their way to the shelving unit, intrigued by his grandfather’s unsightly old television, which he refused to let Tank replace. There were several collages and pictures of Tank’s late grandmother, his uncles and aunts, and the rest of their family, telling his grandfather’s history all the way back to when he was a teenager.
The girls touched trinkets and pictures despite Leah following them around, saying, “Don’t touch. Be careful.”
Mike waved his hand dismissively. “Let ’em be. Things are made to be touched.”
“They’re good at accidentally breaking things,” Leah warned.
“As long as they don’t tear up my pictures, we’re good.”
“Y’all are too much,” Leah said sweetly.
“Nonsense. What brings you here today?” Mike asked.
Leah went to him. “I wanted to say thank you for giving us the car. I tried to refuse it, but Tank wouldn’t hear of it.”