Page 38 of Someone to Watch Over Me

“What’s in those meds you’re taking, anyway?”

He gave a careful chuckle. “It’s a relief to finally tell you the truth.”

“Does that mean I have to tell you the truth, too?”

“Only if you want to.”

I do. I want to. “I sort of knew you were hoping for more.”

His eyes widen in surprise. “Since when?”

“Basically since you offered me a room in your house. I mean, who does that out of the goodness of their heart?”

“I did! I swear.”

Now I laugh. “I know, but in light of all these confessions, you have to admit you had a tiny bit of ulterior motive.”

“Maybe this much.” He pinches his fingers together. “But after you told me about having to live in the place where your husband was so ill and where he died, I wanted to get you out of there. That was my top priority in offering you the room.”

“It’s made such a huge difference in my ability to move on with my life to get out of that house. Not that I don’t love my parents with my whole heart.”

“I know you do—and they do, too. What the three of you did for Jim was heroic, but it took a toll on all of you. Remember the first time I met your folks, when your dad and I walked down to the river while you and your mom had dessert?”

I nod. “What about it?”

“He thanked me for what I’d done by asking you to be my roommate. He said it was a badly needed change and that he and your mom really appreciate knowing you’re with someone who’ll look out for you. Not that you need looking out for, he quickly added. But I knew what he meant. He was glad to see you were with a friend who cared.”

I can’t believe my normally taciturn dad said all that. “Wow. That’s amazing. Thank you for telling me that. Part of me has felt like I abandoned them or something when I moved out.”

“They don’t see it that way. It’s probably a relief for them to see you moving on.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.”

“I want you to know something else that I’ve already told you once, but I want to be sure you know I mean it.”

“What’s that?”

“Since you moved in, I’ve tried very hard to be respectful of what you’ve been through and what you’re continuing to deal with. I’d never want you to think that you owe me anything other than your friendship. If we were never anything more than good friends, that would be fine with me.”

“Is that right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You wouldn’t be bummed if we were only friends?”

“I’d be super bummed, but you’d never see that.”

I’m still holding his hand—or I should say he’s still holding mine. “You’ve been nothing but respectful and incredibly thoughtful and such a great friend. The lunches, the dinners, the coffee… Hell, you even took my car for gas before that snowstorm. That was way above and beyond the call of roommate duty.”

“I like doing stuff for you, and I appreciate you doing the laundry and cleaning way more than this house has ever been cleaned before you moved in.”

“That’s the least I can do in exchange for the room.”

“Not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but we make a pretty good team.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Again, no pressure, no expectations, no need to bite your bottom lip.”

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