Page 39 of Safety Net
"I'm not taking painkillers daily." I swallowed a frustrated sigh. If I'd wanted a talking to, I'd call up Sam.
"Mostly because I wouldn't give you any," Finn noted as he picked up another of my drawings.
Henrik followed me like a shadow, sitting beside me on the couch. I scooted over, putting a cushion between us. On a typical day, I preferred an invasion of personal space. Growing up an only kid did that to me. However, this invasion demanded my attention and heart, two things that were occupied for the foreseeable future.
"I'm not interested in painkillers…anymore. Working is more than enough of a distraction." I said while I searched to find out how much wood we could get affordably. Our pockets weren't deep. So, realistically, we could only buy enough to make another coffee table.
Finn and Henrik continued to talk. Their back and forth became as non-consequential as lo-fi music. I typed up a few emails for our upcoming fundraiser. Finally, I called the one person I knew could change our financial situation in a heartbeat—if I played my cards right.
"Hey, Mini," she answered on the first ring.
"Hey, Grandma," I said.
The guys stopped talking. Henrik raised a brow, and Finn followed suit—only interested because of Henrik's interest.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
I laughed. "Nothing."
"You don't, hey, Grandma, me for nothing," she said.
"Let me talk to her after you?" Henrik asked. I shook my head and flipped him off, knowing exactly what he would say if he got her on the phone.
"I, hey, Grandma, you every time," I defended.
"No, you tell me why I shouldn't make mint chocolate or lecture me about outsourcing," she said. "I pick up this phone knowing you're going to talk my ear off about something you know nothing about."
I laughed. "Oh, come on. I'm just trying to be helpful."
"You're just trying to piss me off enough, so I'll spill the beans on our next reveal," she said. "Pain in my ass."
"I love you, too," I said with enough endearment to pierce her frozen heart. Grandma lived a long life of fighting for what was hers. She'd almost lost our family's chocolate company three times over the past few decades. She'd had three husbands and one wife and now lived unattached, with the occasional partnermoving in and out of her world. She didn't bend for anyone but made the occasional exception for me, her only grandchild…and the guys, her pseudo-grandchildren, who often got better treatment than me.
Exhibit A: Henrik calling Grandma on his own phone. She told me, "Hold on a second. I got someone else on the other line."
Henrik moved back to the kitchen. He set his phone on the island and put it on speaker so Finn could participate in the conversation.
"Morning, Grandma Hill," Henrik said.
"Morning, Henny," she said, a voice sweet enough to give someone a sugar rush. "How are you? How's school? Did you all get my care package?"
I shot daggers at a man who turned his back on me. Henrik sweet-talked my grandma, earning his way into her good graces the second they met. I didn't mind their bond; I wanted nothing more for my best friend. But his ability to capture her attention proved annoying on days like this one. These days, I want nothing more than to stay on the right track. Being this laser-focused was an oddity. I needed to seize the moment before it gave way to something else.
"I'm good. School's fun. We loved the care package," Henrik said. "Did you receive ours?"
Grandma laughed. "I did. That was unnecessary but sweet. I've missed your baking. Your new recipe for oatmeal cookies is heavenly."
"I'll send more soon." Henrik tried to shoulder-check me out of the way when I came over to grab his phone. "I've been wondering if Lincoln has checked in with you about his summer training."
Grandma tsked. "That boy talks about everything but what he does on campus. Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," I yelled over Henrik's attempt to respond. "Other than you hanging up on me to answer someone else's less important call."
"Both calls were important, Mini," Grandma promised. "But I know I'll get actual updates when Henrik calls. It's called prioritizing."
Henrik gave me a wink. I huffed a breath of disbelief and joined him at the island. If they wouldn't let me have my conversation, I'd have to settle for crashing theirs.
"So, what's going on?" Grandma asked.
