Wherever You Go (18 page)

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Lena said, setting down the knife on the butter plate and slipping a thin arm around him. "It's okay. We're here."

I saw his eyes close at her touch, his face relax.

And in that moment I felt a small measure of relief too.

They stayed in that embrace for a moment, and then Lena re-leased her hold around his sagged shoulders and went on with buttering and cutting the toast into triangles, like everything was normal. I couldn't have been more thankful she was nine and resilient or clueless, or insightfully smart for her age. She had the good sense to not freak out.

I finished scrambling the eggs and scooped them onto three small plates. As I carried them to the table, Grandpa's posture straightened a little. Humming some chipper song, Lena slid a piece of toast onto each of our plates.

"
Mangia,
" I encouraged Grandpa.

"There's too much pepper," Lena said, using her fork to pick at the pile in front of her.

"You didn't even try them yet. Take a bite."

She sighed and dug in.

"Good, right?"

Seeming to follow Lena's lead, Grandpa reached for his fork and shakily lifted some eggs to his mouth. His chewing was sloppy this morning, but at least he was eating.

I took a bite, finally realizing how hungry I was, even after breathing in the awful smell of burning eggs. These were good scrambles I'd made. Creamy, fluffy, seasoned just right, not a speck of brown to be seen.

"Hey, Grandpa," Lena said around a mouthful of toast, "you've got eggs on your chin."

He didn't respond to her, but he did dab at his chin with his sleeve. So, maybe he was more with us for the moment.

"Sorry, guys. I forgot napkins," I said, springing up to get some paper towels. Folded in half, they worked just as well as the fancy ones at the store.

As I floated the makeshift napkins on to Lena's and Grandpa's laps, the buzzer to the apartment rang. "God, what now?" I glanced up at the clock—it was nine. "What time is your play date?"

"One," said Lena. "Tori's mom is picking me up."

I walked over to the intercom. Our building wasn't a cool one that dialed your phone or anything—that would have been too modern for this place. "Hello?" I said, pressing the brown talk button.

"Hey. It's Jason."

I froze in place, my heart suddenly up in my throat. I managed to mumble, "Um, it's pretty early over here."

"Yeah, I know. You didn't answer your phone."

"It's off." I didn't explain to him again the whole thing about trying not to use Mom's minutes, which we could barely afford. Maybe the phone had been turned off for more than that reason, anyway. To say I wasn't in a what-do-I-do-about-Jason mode would be a lie.

"I was in the neighborhood. Can I come up?"

"Uh..." I glanced over at the breakfast table, where Grandpa was focusing on hoisting another bite to his mouth and Lena was tearing into another piece of toast, crumbs all over her face. They were a mess, and Grandpa had just had a major freak-out. Not to mention that I was a mess in my worn yoga pants and the old T-shirt I liked to sleep in. My hair hadn't seen a brush yet—I hadn't even spashed water on my face. However I felt about Jason, I didn't want him to see me—us—like this.

And then there was the state of our place. The main parts of the apartment were clean, but our secondhand furniture looked lived in, rumpled. My room was a mess, thanks to Lena's stuffed-animal collection, which had had some kind of a war last night and was scattered all over the room. And the kitchen? I just couldn't imagine showing him into this cramped place that now reeked of blackened eggs. I tried to sound casual when I said, "It's not the best time for you to visit."

"Okay, well," Jason said, "can you come down, then? I trie k than">"d to call you because I want to take you—all of you—someplace today. We've only got a few hours."

"I'm in my pajamas. We all are." He laughed. "Nice. I'll wait while you get dressed."

"You don't understand. You can't just rush these guys," I said. "It's gonna take me a while to get them ready."

"I'll go get a mocha and come back in an hour. That long enough?" There was hope in his voice. A kind hope. He was here to do something for us. Not that I knew where he wanted to take us.

"What are we doing?"

"It's a surprise for Aldo," Jason said, his voice warm. "It's on the list. I think he's gonna love it. Just say yes. It's a limited-time offer."

I smiled in spite of myself. "Okay, okay. You wore me down. Give us an hour."

"Perfect. Later." Jason clicked off the intercom.

I sat back down at the table and started eating.

"Was that your boyfriend?" asked Lena.

"He's not my—"

"I like him. Where are we going?"

"I don't know, Lena. Let's just finish breakfast and get dressed."

Grandpa Aldo's plate was empty. He had a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, Grandpa. I forgot to get you some coffee. Let me make some quick." I walked over to the coffeemaker and saw that the grounds were in, the water poured, but the switch was off. Grandpa must have tried to get that going before the eggs. I clicked the on button, and the gurgling machine began its work.

I patted Grandpa on the back and kissed his cheek as I collected his dishes. "Thank you for trying to start breakfast for us," I whispered.

He smiled, and I felt like he was back among us. His eyes seemed clearer, more focused. That was a good thing. I was hop-ing that whatever destination Jason had planned to take us to was going to make Grandpa happy, just like the sailboat had. After the morning's beginning, we sure did need something to help us start over.

I shooed Lena off to her room to change and walked Grandpa down the hall to help him pick out some clothes for the day. He sat down in the desk chair as I laid out clean boxers, T-shirt, socks, pants, polo shirt, and sweater on the bed in the order he would need to put them on.

"You get dressed, Grandpa. If you need help, just yell for me."

"
Grazie, cara mia,
" he mumbled.

"You're welcome," I said, softly closing the door and praying k ant>

***

"So, we just have about half an hour," Jason said, cutting the engine of the Audi in the driveway of his mom's listing in Magnolia. Parked in front of him was a green truck with a landscaping logo emblazoned on the doors.

Holly leaned forward from the back seat, her eyes wide. "What is this place?"

Jason counted that amazed look as a victory. Not saying anything, he hopped out of the car, leaving the door open for Holly and Lena. Then he pulled the handle of the passenger side and reached out a hand to Aldo. "Come on," he reassured with a smile. "We're going to see something really neat, Mr. Santucci. Let me help you out."

"Aldo," he said, accepting Jason's offer. "My name is Aldo."

"Sure, Aldo." Once the old guy's feet were firmly on the ground, Jason shut the door and led the way up the front steps. Though he had the combination for the key safe for the realtors, he found the front door unlocked. Probably his mom had been by to get the gardeners started on the work in the backyard.

"This is the biggest house I've ever seen," said Lena in a breathy voice. "This is like a mansion."

They stepped into the foyer and Holly paused, marveling at the huge chandelier glittering above the white-carpeted dual staircase.

"Pretty cool, huh? My mom's selling this house for someone."

"Why are we here again?"

"You'll see in a second," Jason said, leading them deeper into the home.

Holly walked slowly, pacing her stride to Aldo's shuffling steps while Lena ran ahead of the pack, shrieking at each new room they passed through. Jason couldn't help smiling at her obvious delight. She was a funny kid—and maybe it was because she was only nine—but she had a sense of excitement that he rarely saw in Holly anymore. Maybe it was the freedom of being the one looked after instead of the one in charge. He glanced over at Holly, her hand in her grandfather's, her eyes focused on his feet, making sure he wouldn't fall.

"Can we watch a movie in here?" Lena said, standing in front of a giant screen flanked by a wall of built-in equipment and surrounded by leather chairs that seemed meant for a Hollywood screening room. It was a nice media center, for sure.

"Nope, we're headed outside."

"You doing okay, Grandpa?" Holly asked, rubbing her hand on Aldo's back. He nodded, and so they all continued, following Jason through a sunroom and at last stepping out onto the patio, with its vista of the upcoming grounds.

Holly sucked in a breath. "There's a garden?"

"A very specia kA vp hl one," Jason said.

"He used to garden," she whispered to him.

"I know. You showed me the list, remember?"

Holly displayed a smile of such gratitude that Jason felt his heart squeeze in his chest just a little, his stomach tense. He loved that light in her face, never wanted that to go away.

Aldo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, pure pleasure filling his face. "So sweet," he said.

"Yeah, smells like summer!" proclaimed Lena, twirling in a circle on the flagstones. The sound of lawnmowers rose above the birds.

Jason breathed in the scent of the freshly cut grass—so pure and reminiscent of an afternoon nap in the sun. It always calmed him. And he needed calming. His big reveal was next. He only hoped that Holly would appreciate what he'd found in the greenhouse and that it would make some kind of difference to Aldo. A difference that would mean something to Holly.

"This way," he called out to Lena, who was running from rosebush to rosebush sniffing at the tight, unopened buds. They passed the two landscapers, and then the sound of their mowers faded slightly as Jason and his guests turned down the secret path and the greenhouse came into view.

Holly looked at him quizzically, her blue eyes pale against the navy of her sweatshirt and the deep green of the grass and the hedges lining the pathway.

"You'll see," he said, patting her on the shoulder, resisting the temptation to wrap his arm around her waist.

"Cool!" shouted Lena, trying to peer in through the glass. "Can we go in there?"

Aldo stood on the threshold. One hand up on the glass.

"I wanted you to see this, Aldo. I heard you were quite a gardener when you were younger," Jason said, pushing open the door and ushering everyone inside.

The warm air was laced with the scent of rich dirt and the brightness of growing things.

"This is awesome!" Lena skipped down the row of plants, reading the tags.

Aldo, meanwhile, stood motionless next to Holly in the doorway.

"
Giardino,
" Aldo mumbled.

"Yes, Grandpa. See all the vegetables!" Holly took his hand and led him to the caged tomato plants in front of them. Jason knew he should have looked away, just let the two of them have their moment, but he couldn't.

Aldo reached out a wrinkled hand toward a cherry tomato gleaming on the vine.

Holly glanced back toward Jason. "Is it okay?"

"Sure," he said.

"Go ahead, Grandpa," Holly said, patting him on the arm.

Aldo twisted the fruit, and it came away from its stem—perfect, orange-red, ripe. He rubbed it on the chest of his sweater and then popped it into his mouth. The lines around his eyes deepened with his smile as he chewed.

"Good?"

He nodded, and then he lifted his hand to his nose.

"Tomato vine smell?" Holly asked, watching him sniff.

"Like my garden," Aldo said.

"Yes," Holly said. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Just like that big garden you had with Grandma. You had so many tomatoes. Do you remember that house on the hill? Your backyard was filled with your rows of vegetables."

He didn't answer, but the smile on his face wouldn't fade. She moved him toward another caged plant, and Aldo reached out for a small roma tomato this time.

"You won't eat that in one bite," Holly said with a little laugh.

"
Si.
" Aldo, after polishing the tomato on his sweater, slipped it into his pocket.

"Grandpa! There's lettuce down here!" Lena came running up the aisle toward them, grabbing for Aldo's hand. "Five different kinds."

"Go," Holly said, waving him on. "Lena, take it slow, please."

Lena pulled Aldo gently toward her find.

"Jason, this is amazing. Thank you," Holly said, taking a seat on the bench near the door. "I can't believe you remembered something from the list. I guess I didn't expect you to pay attention when I showed it to you."

"Of course I was paying attention. This is important."

"Well, thanks." She gave him a little smile. "I think the garden is actually helping. Check them out." She gestured toward Lena breaking off little bits of lettuce and letting Grandpa Aldo nibble them.

"Did I mention lunch is included with the tour?" Jason said, laughing.