I got the home in record time, signed in, and went looking for her. It took me a while, but I eventually found her in the new crafts room, cross-stitching onto a circular frame.
“Hey, Grandma. What are you making?” I kissed her cheek.
“A cross-stitch.” She held it up. “The pattern says, ‘Kindly Fuck Off.’ I’m making it for my bedroom door.”
“Of course you are. Where else would you put it?”
“Exactly.” She returned to her stitching. “Where’s my boy?”
“He’s with his dad,” I reminded her. “I did tell you Christopher was here for the weekend.”
“Mmph. No good son of a bitch.”
“His mom is actually quite nice.”
“Raised a cheater, though, didn’t she?”
She had a point. Kind of. “Not sure you can blame his mom for his inability to keep it in his pants, Grandma.”
“You can always blame the mother. And the father. I’m an equal opportunistic blamer.”
Didn’t I know it?
“When does the scumbag go home?”
I was so glad she didn’t speak about him like this in front of Leo. “He’s here for work, so he’s here this week, he has Leo again next weekend, then he’s going home.”
“Two weekends in a row? I have candy here for Leo. I can’t wait that long.”
“I’ll bring him by one day this week that he doesn’t have practice, okay?”
“You better.”
“I will. I promise.” I pulled up a chair and finally sat down. “So, what’s new here?”
“Agatha wants a goat,” Grandma said, admiring her handiwork. “She was told no, then kicked up a fuss because there are chickens and ducks. She didn’t seem to care that they’re a lot easier to look after than a goat.”
This was getting out of hand. They really were one more animal away from being a hobby farm.
“I would have to agree. Goats are pretty tough to look after, and they’re accomplished escape artists.”
“How would you know? You don’t raise goats.”
“I have access to the internet, Grandma.”
“Oh. They banned it in our rooms. Mabel kept watching videos on how those gentlemen escaped from Alcatraz and I think the staff thought she was getting ideas.”
I’d pay to see that. “You didn’t join in?”
“No. I’ve come to rather like this place, if you ignore the dumb animals. I get hot meals, I have a nice room, everyone has to wait on me hand and foot… it could be worse. I could live with your uncle. Or your mother.”
There it was.
“Mm.” I smiled. “Any chance we can talk about something else?”
“What’s new with you?” Grandma finally put the cross-stitching down. “You mentioned a work project.”
“Yes. I’m working on something pretty big.” I explained what I was doing. “So I’m going to the office this afternoon to clear up some paperwork, then tomorrow I’m spending the day interviewing Seb at the center.” And I’d get to run into Leo at some point because he had basketball practice.
“Amazing. Has Reginald sacked that horrid Ebony yet?”
“Uh, no.”
“He should. You’d be way better at that job than she would.”
“Thanks?”
“You’re welcome.” She paused. “Now, let’s talk about your dating life.”
“Let’s not.”
“I know it’s hard to talk about something that doesn’t exist—”
“Thank you, Grandma.”
“—But Leonard’s grandson visited last week and he’s very handsome. A single dad, too, so there’s no cold feet over Leo, and he owns a travel company.”
I bit the inside of my lip as I listened to Mrs. Matchmaker. As the only single granddaughter remaining, I should have expected that she would get involved sooner rather than later.
“Thirty-eight so a bit older than you, but I believe his son does soccer with Leo so they already know each other. He got divorced a year ago.”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“I’ll pass on your number.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.”
“It’s fine. It’s not a bother, London.” She paused. “It still annoys me that your mother named you after a place and not a plant.”
I grimaced. “Thank you. It’s been a lovely visit with you, too.” I got up.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Well, in the last two minutes you have both tried to set me up with someone and insulted my name, and I have fifty thousand things to do for my job.”
“Oh. I’m still passing your number on.”
“You do that, Grandma,” I finally acquiesced. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going out with him.”
“You will. He’s terribly handsome.”
“Mhmm.” I kissed her cheek. “Be good.”
“Never am.”
She could say that again.
CHAPTER SEVEN – LONDON
RULE SEVEN: DO NOT LET GRANDMA GET INVOLVED.
There were a lot of things I tolerated in my life.
Finding Legos on the floor after I’ve asked eight times for them to be picked up. Socks constantly stuffed between the sofa cushions. Clothing always missing the laundry basket as if by magic.
Rain.
Bad book-to-movie adaptations.
My grandmother being involved in my dating life was not one of those.
She hadn’t been lying when she said she was going to pass my number on to Leonard’s grandson. He’d already texted me, apologizing for the intrusion, explaining that our grandparents were on the warpath and he was looking forward to meeting me in person tomorrow night at soccer practice.
Turned out the kid who wanted to be striker, Tom, was his son.
I had a horrible feeling it was going to end up with us meeting up so the boys could practice.
Look, I wasn’t against it.
I wasn’t against dating. It was just hard for me to justify bringing someone into Leo’s life, and it wasn’t like I had tons of free time where I could date quietly and introduce them when things got serious. If Chris lived closer, that would be different. I couldn’t keep springing stuff on my aunt and uncle or paying Felicity just so I could go out for dinner.
Thirty-eight also seemed a whole lot older than twenty-seven, when I considered he was divorced.
Then again, I’d had to grow up pretty quickly when I fell pregnant when I was twenty, and I’d just about managed to get my degree before Leo was born.
Not to mention the whole being cheated on thing.
I sighed as I put my phone back in my purse. I’d been interviewing Seb for two hours already, but there was so much to see and do at the center and the story behind it all was so long, from his injury to his epiphany that playing baseball again was more hassle than it was worth, that I had the distinct feeling I’d be writing a novel instead of an article.
“Sorry,” he said, emerging from his office. “What next? Or do you want to get some lunch?”
“Actually, can we get a couple of snaps in your office?” Sydney asked, holding up his camera. “It’ll accompany the personal section of your interview well.”