Page 129 of Always Be an Us

"He better not. Dr. Han gave me a list of foods you can eat. It's a lot of veggies, fruit, fish, and vegan meat."

I laugh at the appalled look on Grandpa's face, as I wheel him out. Several nurses call out their goodbyes as we roll down the hallway, and Grandpa answers them one by one, each by name.

"Mavis, I’ll see you at church. And Talia, you at Mahjong. And tell Hibbard that we’re still on for fishing this Sunday. Already cleared it with the doctor."

"I'll let him know," Talia calls back with a friendly wave.

Dr. Han meets us at the entrance, on his way in.

"Good man." My grandpa calls. "Thank you for everything."

"No problem." Dr. Han smiles in that friendly manner of his. "Just make sure I don't see you in here again."

"Oh trust me, doc. I'm going to try my damn hardest."

Finally, we’re outside in the early autumn air. The wheels crackle over the pavement as I wheel him into the parking lot. Rick grins at the both of us, standing in front of his truck.

"Welcome back to the real world, old man," he says to Grandpa.

"Glad to be back." Grandpa gestures with one hand and I help him out of the chair. He leans on me on the ascent, but by the time he's fully standing he carries most of his weight and detaches his hand to stand on his own two feet.

He reaches out a hand and clasps Rick's in a tight handshake. "Thank you so much, old friend, for taking care of the bar and my little girl while I was away."

"You say that like we ain't best friends," Rick jokes. "And we both know Emma is like a daughter to me."

"And you're like a brother to me."

"A much younger, much handsomer brother," Rick amends, which makes Grandpa laugh.

On the drive home, Grandpa and Rick are occupied with talking about fishing, while I make final arrangements over the phone in the backseat.

I let the window stay down, so I can enjoy the gentle wind that ruffles my hair and smooths across my face. I spend the rest of the time watching the sunset and recalling my conversation with Amelia this morning.

I went over when I knew Declan would be at work, to tell her that I was moving back home. She expressed surprise and regret that I was leaving, but I assured her that I had to.

For my own sanity.

Nevertheless, melancholy still threatens, looming on my horizon.

As we approach our cottage, I let out a breath of relief when I see that all the trash has been cleared. Yule really brought it.

The trash had piled up yesterday as we cleaned up and this morning, we put the finishing touches on the home. Rick told Yule to transfer the trash somewhere else before we got home, and the latter managed to get all twenty huge bags and the broken furniture taken out.

I'll have to get him something to thank him.

"We redecorated a little while you were gone," I utter the lie we prepared as Rick and I walk Grandpa up our porch. "It was way too crowded and so we put a bunch of stuff in storage. Also changed some of the couches. Hope you don't mind."

As Rick pulls open the door Grandpa muses on it. "Well, I suppose it would depend on how much it cha–"

"Surprise!" Screams about two dozen people standing in our living room that, even with all the furniture still there, look strangely bare without our little knick-knacks and family mementos. Still, we lit some scented candles and placed Airwicks at the corners so the home smells like eggnog and feels just as homey as ever.

Most of the guests are regulars from the restaurant but there are also a few people, like the bus driver, who know Grandpa from around town.

"Welcome home," Carly says and she skips over to hug him.

"Oh my," is all my grandpa can say as he hugs her back. His eyes get teary, and his voice trembles as he says, "Y'all organized all this for me?"

"What are you talking about?" Rick slaps his shoulder. "Of course we did."

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