Page 9 of What's the time, Mr. Wolfe
Grandma didn’t cope well with the window replacements and since it was soon to be December, neither did I. Monica and I decided it might be better for Grandma to go into respite for a few days. I’d never given her up and the guilt wracked my body when I took her to a local home. She was confused and upset, tearful, and angry with me. She soon settled with a cup of tea and a biscuit handed to her by a chap she’d named Louis and who she thought was her son. I’d never known her to have children, other than my father, and Louis wasn’t a particularly Spanish name.
Grandma had reverted to speaking mostly in Spanish as she got older. More so when her dementia took hold. It was as if she’d forgotten to speak English. She’d been in England for years and years, but never losther accent. I was grateful that Louis had a basic command of the language and he soon had Grandma settled.
I, however, bawled all the way home.
Monica led me back into the house and all works stopped while the window fitters looked to see if I was okay. No one snickered or looked embarrassed. In fact, the work supervisor, Derek, came and wrapped an arm around me.
“Horrible, love, aint it?” he said, his gruff London accent comforting me. I nodded and snotted into his t-shirt. “You did the right thing, and when she comes home and it’s all nice and snug, she’ll love it.”
I doubted she would even know the windows had been changed, but I appreciated his comfort. I untangled myself from his arms and headed into the kitchen. I made two pots of tea and handed out mugs to the window fitters before settling down and cupping a mug in my own hands.
“I heard you were crying.”
I spat my tea across the table and stood. “What?”
“I heard you were crying. I wanted to see if you were okay,” Mr. Wolfe said.
He’d approached so silently I hadn’t heard him.
“Why are you sneaking up on me?”
“The front door was open, and I wasn’t sneaking, but next time I’ll be sure to stomp. I wanted to see ifyou were okay. As I said, I heard you had been crying.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You have big ears if you heard me crying from your office,” I said, challenging him.
“I have exceptional hearing and I was outside letting you have some time to settle before I made an appearance, seeing as I rile you so much.”
“Do you check up on all your tenants?”
“No, I have a management team for that.”
“Why me, then?” I asked.
“Because I want to, Ruby.” He gazed intently at me, and I could feel those butterflies in my stomach flap their wings erratically.
“Tea?” I asked, holding my mug aloft. I didn’t want to offer him tea, I wanted him to leave, but it was the first word that left my lips.
“Coffee would be nice. There is a nice café locally if you’d like to escape the noise.”
I placed my mug down and grabbed my red hoodie to pull on. I was aware my t-shirt rose slightly as I struggled into it. I just hoped he wasn’t.
“Lead the way,” I said, and then promptly walked past him. I heard the deep chuckle that had filtered through in my dreams. I smiled, thankful I had my back to him.
As I left the house and turned out of the gate, hegrabbed my arm and pulled me to the kerb and to the side of his car. A large black car with darkened windows. I had no idea of the make, but it was super shiny and way out of place on my London street. I imagined curtain twitchers were desperate to know the occupant of the car.
“People will talk,” I said, as he opened the rear door and ushered me in.
“Let them.”
He slid in beside me and I shuffled to the furthest corner. The car was so plush and large that my feet didn’t reach the carpet. I sat, giggling, and swinging my legs. That was until I saw him smile at me, then swipe his red tongue over those perfect teeth.
All the better to eat you with,shot straight to my mind. I coloured; my cheeks burned at the memory. He frowned. “Did you say something?”
“Nothing. Now, why don’t we fuck the environment up further by driving this gas guzzler the short distance I assume it will take to reach the café?”
“It’s electric,” he replied, then sat back in his seat and laughed. He made eye contact with the driver, and the driver simply nodded. I wondered how he knew where to take us since no instruction had been given.
