Page 54 of Levi

“What do you mean?” I ask, swallowing down the lump in my throat.

“She’s been nice. And that’s not your nana. At least not to me. I mean, she’s not mean. But she’s not nice. Hell, I don’t know Levi, you know our dynamic.”

I laugh. I can’t help it. Those two are water and oil, but damn sometimes they’re just a riot.

“I do. Maybe it’s just a phase. Enjoy it while you can.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t enjoy it this way; I miss it the old way,” Delilah grumbles right as my nana walks over, her eyes dazed as she sits next to Delilah on the other side before finally noticing me.

“Oh, bless,” she mumbles as she stands back up and comes over to give me a big hug, looking up at me with a smile, bringing her hands to my cheeks. “How’s my boy?”

“I’m great Nana; how are you?” I ask, looking down at her, searching for any indication that she's getting worse than the last time I was here.

But she just smiles up at me. “Oh, I’m good. You know me, just living the dream,” she says with a smile before looking back over at Delilah.

“Did you bring me more books?” she demands, and I nearly laugh. See, I don’t know what Delilah is talking about. My nana could never be entirely nice. I mean, she’s always gotta have a bit of her usual sass. It’s what makes her so special, and I love that it’s still here, even if it is the much milder version of her spicy attitude.

“Did you bring me my chocolate?” Delilah deadpans, her eyes peering over her glasses.

My nana pulls out a bag of chocolates, the special kind with the foil wrappers, and sets it on the table next to Delilah. “There. Now give me my books. I wanna meet Dalton. He sounds delicious.”

“Oh, oops. I left the book back in my room,” Delilah teases, but she only lasts a second or two before pointing to the table next to my nana’s chair. “He’s already waiting for you. I’m not that cold hearted.”

“Oh yippee,” Nana squeals. “For a second I thought I was going to have to start messing with your nail polish again.”

“That was you?!” Delilah says, wide eyed, before leaning back with a smirk. “I guess that makes us even.”

“How?”

“I bought you jeans two sizes too small to match every pair you owned and kept switching them out, so you thought you were getting a big ass. I remember you said it was your worry…and I wanted you to share your chocolate more.” Delilah shrugs while Nana grins.

“Part of me wants to ask what this is about, only another part is afraid that I don’t want to know the answer, so I think I’m just going to let this one go,” I say, and they both giggle.

“Our conversation or the books.”

“I think both?”

“Are you sure? I just got another one of hers and it’s a baseball book, but from what I hear, they do a lot more than play baseball at the field if you know what I mean.” Delilah winks.

Oh, for fuck’s sake…yet I’m intrigued.

What else are they playing if it’s not baseball? Hide and seek?

No! Change the subject!

“Don’t you want to go play bingo?” I ask, taking the seat across from them as they lean back and get comfortable, both grabbing their books and putting them in their laps, making it clear they’re already doing what they want to be doing.

But she loves bingo.

“Are you sure Nana? You always have so much fun.”

“I haven’t played bingo in so long, sweetie,” she says as she pulls the blanket from behind her on the chair, covering up and getting just a bit more comfortable. “I think one of the last times I played was with your grandfather, so I mean it’s been five? Maybe ten years since I've played.”

I swallow, the lump in my throat getting bigger as she continues talking, the hope I had when I first got here gone, replaced by fear, uncertainty, and the intense need to make it all better. But I can’t. And I know that.

* * *

“Hey, Holly,”I say as I walk back up to the main desk. She smiles but holds up her hand to wait, so I take a seat near her desk.

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