“That depends. Did it work?”
She laughed. “Oh my God. I think I’ve lost my mind. Because I think it might have.”
“Good. Then shut up and eat your lunch because your food is getting cold.”
Ireland was still laughing and shaking her head as she bit into her cheeseburger. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that had started to lose his mind. Especially since watching her sink her teeth into her lunch made me salivate at the thought of sinking my teeth into her skin.
With the important stuff out of the way, we managed to have a relaxed meal. We talked about work, our routines, and she asked if my grandfather had attempted any escapes again—which I liked. She was thoughtful, and her interest seemed genuine.
Too soon, Ireland’s phone buzzed. She had a reminder set on her phone, and it made me think of how I had Millie call to get me out of stuff. I eyed her cell.
“Is that a made-up appointment to help get you out of here?”
She brushed a hair from her face. “No. I wish it were. I have to run out to meet my contractor. I’m building a house in Agoura Hills. Construction is supposed to finish in a few weeks, but my builder said there might be some sort of a delay, and he wants to discuss plans.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it definitely doesn’t. Especially since my roommate is moving out in two weeks when she gets married, and our lease is up in just a couple of months.”
“I have a good real estate agent who can help you locate something temporary if you need it.”
“Thank you.” She squinted at me. “So is that something you do on a regular basis?”
“What?”
“Make up appointments to get out of a meeting faster.”
I smirked. “Occasionally.”
Just then, my desk phone buzzed, and Millie came over the intercom. “Mr. Lexington? Leo arrived a few minutes early. He just ran to the bathroom.”
Ireland raised a brow.
“That was a total coincidence. Leo is an actual person. I’m sure he’ll be busting in here when he gets back if I’m not out. So you’ll get to meet him. He has a button on his ass that makes him pop up after more than ten seconds of waiting if he doesn’t have a video game in his hand.”
“Is Leo an adult or child?”
“Child. Who thinks he’s an adult. He’s my… We spend time together every Wednesday afternoon. It’s part of a program my mother started twenty years ago for foster kids. It’s sort of like a Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, except all the kids in it are in foster care and all of the Bigs are former foster children. Bigs make a commitment to mentor a Little from five to twenty-five. Foster kids get bounced around a lot, and having the same Big for years gives them consistency.”
She shook her head. “That’s awesome. But there are really two sides to you, aren’t there? You should have told me that story the other night. I probably would have said yes to dinner.”
I chuckled. “Now you tell me.”
Ireland smiled. “But I’m also glad you didn’t make up an appointment to ditch me.”
“Likewise.”
“I should get going anyway. We both have things to do.” Ireland stood. “Thank you for lunch. Next time you don’t need to go overboard and order so much. I’m not picky. I eat anything.”
“Glad to know you’re planning a next time. I’ll pick you up Friday at seven?”
“I’ll come to you.”
“I’m capable of picking you up. Besides, I already know where you live.”
She smiled. “And I’m capable of driving myself.”
I shook my head. “You’re always a pain in the ass, aren’t you? I’ll see you Friday at 7 at the marina.”
Ireland picked up my empty food container and hers from the table and shoved them into a bag. She held the garbage out to me. “Oh. And I should tell you I don’t kiss on the first date.”
I took the handle of the bag, along with her hand, and used it to yank her closer to me. “That’s good. Because this was our first date. See you Friday, Ireland.”
***
“I don’t want the alarm connected to the police station. I don’t like guns in the house.”
The installer looked at me, and I motioned for him to keep working as I guided Grams into the kitchen to talk. “Grams, if the alarm goes off and you don’t hear it, they’ll know to go looking for Pops. I registered him with the police department, so they’ll understand that it’s more than likely a missing person and not a break-in they need to show up for with guns blazing.”
She sat down. “I’m capable of taking care of him.”
The worse Pops got, the harder things grew for her, too. She felt disabled herself for needing any help with her husband of fifty years.
I sat across from her and covered her hand with mine. An older, independent couple didn’t view taking help much differently than a foster kid might—they didn’t want to rely on anyone but themselves. Logical arguments don’t work, because what they’re fighting is emotional and not practical. So just like with Leo, I knew the best thing to do wasn’t reason with my grandmother. She needed her emotions validated.
“I get that you don’t need any help, Grams. You could handle him all on your own. But I want to help. If Mom were still here, she’d be moved in and sleeping on your bedroom floor to make sure Pops didn’t wander off and get hurt. Letting me help Pops is for Mom and me. Not because you can’t do it yourself.”
Grams’s eyes watered. I’d broken out the big guns mentioning Mom, but it was the truth, and we needed to get past her unwillingness. Unfortunately, things weren’t going to be improving.
She squeezed my hand and nodded. “Fine. But if I’m taking your help, there’re some other things I could use a hand with.”
“Name it.”
Leo busted into the kitchen, and Pops followed behind. “Look at this thing Pops made. It’s an electric chair!”
Great. More shit I’d have to explain to Leo’s social worker at some point. In his retirement, my grandfather had taken up building replica miniature houses. All of his years as a wooden boat builder had come in handy, and he’d spent the first two years of being home building an exact miniature replica of his and Grams’s house, down to the bathroom fixtures and chipped bluestone in the yard. Leo and I visited Grams and Pops a lot, and he’d tried to get Leo interested in his little hobby. But being a typical eleven year old, Leo thought making a dollhouse was boring. That is, until Pops started to work on a creepy dollhouse. The entire thing was a freak show of weird shit. But Pops and Leo had built every little bit of that freak show, and Leo had gotten pretty good with woodworking.
I took the miniature electric chair from Leo’s hands and checked it out. The details were pretty amazing, down to the tiny black leather wrist straps on the arms of the chair and what looked like a few drops of blood stained on the seat.
“It’s great. But do me a favor and don’t bring it home to your foster mom. She already suspects I might be a devil worshiper after you brought home that creepy miniature doll so you could work on mangling it.”