Page 123 of Always Us

“Like a guest house?”

“Yes. Except the person living there wouldn’t just be a guest. It would be more of a permanent residence if this person agrees to it.” Jade smiles. “We want you to live there, Grace. We want to build you your own house next to ours. You can plant a flower garden, a vegetable garden, whatever you want.”

She pats Jade’s hand. “Oh, honey, I can’t live there. I have my own house. Several houses.”

“Those can be your vacation homes. You can visit them whenever you want. Grace, you said that you and Arlin always wanted to live on that land.”

“Well, yes, but that was different. That was when Arlin was alive. We had our dream for what we’d do with that land, and now that dream belongs to you and Garret. It’s part of your new life together. If I lived there, I’d just be in the way.”

“You wouldn’t be in the way,” Jade says. “If anything, I’ll be the one getting in your way. If you live that close, you know I’ll be stopping over all the time.”

“We have four acres, Grace,” I say. “We have plenty of room. If you want more privacy, we’ll put the guest house farther over on the property. It doesn’t have to be right next to ours.”

“It’s very kind of both of you to offer this to me, but I don’t feel right about it. I gave that land to the two of you. I don’t want to take up space on it. You should use it however you see fit.”

“This is how we want to use it,” Jade says. “We’re still going to build the guest house, so if you don’t want to live there, it’ll just have to sit empty. But you at least have to come stay for a few weeks throughout the year or spend the summers with us.”

Grace smiles, then sips her coffee. “Give me some time to think about it. You’re not building right away, are you?”

“No, probably in a year or two.”

“Then I have plenty of time to decide.” She goes back to eating her ice cream.

“There’s another reason I’d like you to live there. It’s kind of a selfish one but I’ll say it anyway.” Jade hesitates. I can tell she’s nervous so I reach over and hold her hand. “I was hoping maybe you could help out when Garret and I have a baby.”

Grace’s eyes widen. “Jade, are you—”

“I’m not pregnant. But maybe in a few years.” Jade glances at me and smiles, then looks back at Grace. “And I’ll need help when the baby comes. Since you’re a mom, I was hoping you could teach me some things.”

“Of course I will.” She rubs Jade’s arm. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

“I’m going to need you for a really long time. I’m not very good with babies.”

“She thinks she’s not, but she is,” I say to Grace. “She’s really good with Sara’s baby.”

Jade turns to me. “No, I’m not. You’re the one who’s good with him.” She turns back to Grace. “You should see Garret with Caleb. He always makes Caleb laugh. The kid never cries when Garret’s around.”

Grace smiles at us. “You two will make wonderful parents. And you will be a wonderful mother, Jade.”

Jade looks down at her plate. I know she’s uncomfortable talking about this, so I’m surprised she even brought it up. But if she’s telling other people about us having kids, then I know she’s committed to this, which makes me even happier.

We head home after dinner because it’s getting late and we have a long drive back. Grace seemed better than the last time we saw her, but she still seems lonely. I hope she decides to live on our property. It’d be good for her and it would mean a lot to Jade to have her there. I’d like it, too. Grace is becoming more and more like a grandmother to me. She’s so different than my own grandmother. She’s warm and caring and actually listens when I talk. And I can tell her stuff and not have her judge or criticize me the way my own grandmother does.

When we get home, I check the house like I always do. I look for signs of a break-in, like an open window, misplaced furniture, a pillow that isn’t where we left it, and any other signs that someone might’ve been in the house. I don’t need to do this anymore, but I still do. I probably always will.

Tuesday morning I go to my first final. Jade stayed home because her first final isn’t until this afternoon. When I left, she was putting up more Christmas lights. Our whole place is covered in them. Every window, the bedroom ceiling, the two Christmas trees, the potted plants, the top of the dresser. Jade puts them everywhere and I love it. It gives the place a warm festive glow, and best of all, it makes Jade happy.

We won’t have much time to enjoy the lights because this Saturday we go back to Connecticut, this time for Christmas. We’re staying for a week. We considered staying a little longer than that but we wanted to leave before the big meeting started. Every year, the organization has their big end-of-the-year meeting. It lasts for the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s. Members fly in from all over. Even though I supposedly don’t have to worry about them anymore, I don’t want to stick around and risk running into them.

When we return from the holiday, Jade and I plan to stay home and relax for the rest of the winter break. We need some time to de-stress after all the shit that happened this past semester. But we did make plans for New Year’s. We’re driving down to LA to see Sean. We’ll see Harper, too, but we haven’t figured out when. With the two of them broken up, we have to split our time between them.

My morning final turns out to be easier than I thought it would be. Afterward, I go to the library to study, then eat lunch and take another final in the afternoon. I have five finals and they’re all crammed into Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Jade’s last final is Thursday, too. On Friday, I’m sure we’ll collapse from exhaustion. It’s only Tuesday and I’m already exhausted.

After my afternoon final, I walk to my car, feeling like my brain’s fried. I hate finals.

“Garret.” I turn and see Kiefer standing next to me. He must’ve snuck out from behind a tree or something. His hair’s a mess and it looks like he hasn’t shaved for a few days.

“What are you doing here, Kiefer? I told you I couldn’t meet with you.” I keep walking, heading to the parking lot.

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