Adrian felt ashamed… and pissed for feeling ashamed. XL was right. Whoever his granddad had been, he wasn’t that person anymore. Even less so lately, with the memory lapses. Last time he’d seen the old man, Horatio had barely recognized him.
When they arrived, the nurse opened the door. “He’s in the backyard. I told him you were coming to cut the grass, so he’s waiting for you.”
“How is he?” Adrian asked, more to be polite than anything else.
“He’s having a good day.”
Adrian wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t inquire further. They were there to cut the grass so that Rachel would stop bitching at him, and that was it. XL was there as his shield.
“Hello, Ace,” his granddad greeted him with a big smile. Then he looked at XL. “You brought your kid. Where’s the other one?”
Oh hell, his grandfather didn’t recognize him.
XL frowned, and Adrian whispered, “He thinks I’m my father and you’re me.”
“Oh, right.” XL pulled his sunglasses off. “Whassup, Granddad?”
Horatio patted XL’s check with affection. “You’re such a rascal. Have you been fighting again?”
XL’s face still had blue-and-yellow bruises from the fight in the parking lot. “I won.”
“Good for you, Adrian. I know you’ll be a great man. Your brother too. Where is he?”
Adrian’s stomach clenched. XL threw him a glance and took over. “He’ll be here later, Granddad.”
Thank God the kid was quick on the uptake, because Adrian wasn’t in any condition to answer.
“Good. I miss him,” the old man said. His eyes were shiny—whether from tears or from squinting, Adrian couldn’t tell. And didn’t want to.
He didn’t know if he was going to survive this. He could deal with a screaming authoritarian. With an old, frail man who was losing his mind, Adrian didn’t know what to do.
“I’m going for the lawnmower.” He paused before adding, “Dad.”
Horatio smiled at him and watched as Adrian came back from the garage with the mower. “Sit with me, Ace. Your kid can do the lawnmowing, right?”
“Sure,” XL said. “You visit with Granddad. I’ll do the work.”
Jesus fucking Christ. This was crazy.
Adrian sat with Horatio on the patio, drinking lemonade.
“When’s your mother coming back from visiting your aunt? You know I don’t like being without her.”
Yeah. Horatio Skehan didn’t know how to be without his wife. He’d spiraled down damn fast when she died. Adrian and Ricky had paid the price.
“Mister Skehan,” the nurse said, “I already told you your wife passed away.”
Horatio frowned at her and whispered to Adrian, “This cleaning lady your mom hired says the weirdest things. I think she drinks.”
Adrian smiled apologetically at the nurse. He’d consulted the doctor. His grandfather’s condition was irreversible. Horatio was regressing in time in his mind.
Adrian sat with his grandfather until XL finished cutting the grass, and Horatio prompted him to sit with them. For two people who weren’t related in the least, XL and Horatio made the perfect granddad and grandson. They bickered and laughed and had a great time.
“Hi,” Rachel said from the fence. Adrian stood up to help her with the groceries.
“Hello Rose,” Adrian’s granddad greeted her in return.
“He thinks you’re my mother,” Adrian explained in a whisper.
Once he finished putting everything in the cupboards, Adrian came back to the patio. Rachel was pulling weeds. XL was laughing with Horatio.
“You don’t know how proud I am of you, Ace,” his grandfather said, patting Adrian’s hand. “You have such a beautiful family. Your wife. Your kids. Adrian is a wiseass, but he’s adorable. He’ll make it far in life, I’m sure. Ricky too. You’ll bring him with you on your next visit, right? I miss him. I’m sorry I was a bit hard on you when you were small. I did my best.”
Adrian was a mess. He’d held on to his anger for so long, and now he realized there was no purpose to it anymore. Horatio had done the best he could. It had been sorely lacking, but he hadn’t been able to get over the death of his son, and the death of his wife had finished him off. Once his rage had been fueled by alcohol and despair, Horatio had fallen into a hole he’d been unable to climb out of. Adrian and Ricky had been collateral damage. And it seemingly pained the old man so much, he didn’t even want to remember it. “I know, Dad.”
After visiting a little while longer, they said their goodbyes and left. They got in the car, and Adrian let out a long sigh.
“Your granddad is damn fun,” XL stated.
Adrian would have loved to disagree, but he couldn’t. The guy was fun to be around. “I preferred him when he was—”
“The monster you remembered?” Rachel offered. “He can’t stand remembering it. Why would you?”
True. Why would he?
When Rachel arrived at Wilma’s, the three OGs were sitting near the shore. Judging by the plastic glasses they were holding, they were drinking whiskey cream liqueur.
“Hello, ladies. Are you celebrating that your beloved B&B has been upgraded to an inn, and its grand opening party is in two days? I couldn’t believe it when I heard the name. I guess you’re over the moon. Such a coincidence.”
Taken aback at the lack of response, Rachel hastened her pace. The second she reached them, she realized there was something off. Whatever the reason was for the booze, it wasn’t a celebration. “What’s wrong?”
Wilma poured more alcohol in her friends’ glasses, and the three grandmas downed it in one swallow.
“What’s happened?” Rachel asked, sitting on the grass. She had the feeling she was going to need to be seated to hear whatever had made the OGs this serious.
Greta handed her a letter from a law firm. “Competence proceedings, dear. My son Grady is trying to declare me legally incompetent. He’s using all our latest run-ins with the authorities, including the hot-air balloon incident, to prove I can’t manage my life. He’s filed for guardianship. His lawyer asked for me to be committed to a facility where I can be taken care of.”
Rachel couldn’t believe what she was reading. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
It was a testament to how shocked the OGs were that no one commented on her language.
“What a…” She tried to search for the correct word.
“Say it. Scoundrel,” Greta said.
Well, Rachel had been thinking more along the lines of motherfucking piece of shit, but scoundrel would do too. “Where is he now?”
She was going to give him a piece of her mind, and maybe something more. Happy-hour cell, here we come.
“The coward ran away,” Wilma replied, pouring more liqueur into the glasses.
“Hit me too,” Rachel said, taking a plastic cup from the pile. “What do you mean, he ran away?”
The four threw their heads back and emptied their glasses. “He went on holiday a day before the papers were served,” Greta explained. Her expression was so sad, it broke Rachel’s heart. “He’s not answering the phone, so it looks like I’ll have to deal with his lawyer. I guess he’ll try to get me committed before Grady comes back.”