Page 56 of Sugar Coated Lies
He eyes his recliner. I help him to sit on the soft chair. “Earl Grey, please.”
“Perfect.”
He spies the room. “What happened to the furniture?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.” I straighten the table. It’s not broken. “You just relax. What’s the weather look like today?” I grab the remote and change it to the channel I have memorized.
He focuses on the TV while I make his tea.
“Looks like rain later,” he calls out.
“That will be good for the lawn.” I run hot water through the coffee pot. It’s faster than heating it up on the stove and get a tea bag and mug ready.
“Does it need mowed?” He looks out the front window.
“Nope. The trailer park takes care of everything.”
I steep the tea bag into the hot water, add some honey, and give it a second to cool before carrying it over. “Here you go.” I set it on the tray table.
Grandpa reaches for it, his hands shaking from his outbursts.
I help him take a few sips.
“That’s good. You make the best tea.”
“And pie,” I tease him.
“That too.”
“How do you feel?” I ask after he takes a few more sips.
“Tired. Why am I so tired?”
“We had a busy day.”
I snatch the remote from the nearby side table and put the nature channel back on. The song stopped playing on my phone, but he hasn’t noticed.
“I think I want a nap.” He rests his head on the chair.
“You do that. I’m going to clean up a bit.” I kiss the thin hair on his head and glance behind me at Daire.
He’s in the same spot as before, still as a statue. At least his hands are at his sides now.
He watches in shock as I clean up the lamp scraps and throw them in the full trash.
“I should take this out,” I whisper to Daire.
“I’ll do it,” he whispers back, his gaze on Grandpa.
I check on Grandpa while Daire slips out the door with the trash bag. His eyes are closed, and his chest rises and falls with even breaths. Asleep.
It registers that Daire doesn’t know the trash bins are at the back of the house.
I quietly dash outside. He rounds the back of the house with the now empty trash can.
“I was coming to tell you where to put it, but you clearly figured it out.”
“It wasn’t hard.” He lets out a breath I feel he’s been holding since this ordeal started.
