Page 58 of Chosen Road

“Of course!” Yiayia exclaimed.

Ruby looked at Vander, her face delighted. “Well, that was a whole lot easier than I expected!”

Turning back to face Yiayia, Ruby continued, and I began to see the flaw in her plan. “Vander’s house has a nanny suite on the main floor and the kitchen is huge. I think you’ll be comfortable, Yiayia, and you’re going to love cooking in that kitchen. I can’t wait to show it to you!”

Yiayia laughed. “Oh, no, koritzi mou. I not moving. I stay here.”

I knew it. I glanced back and forth between Yiayia and Ruby. Poor Ruby, she hated change and adored Yiayia.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to live alone, Yiayia. What if you fall?” Ruby argued.

Yiayia’s answer nearly made me laugh. “If I fall, I fall. You get me necklace button. If I fall, I push button. There you go.”

“Will I have to change schools?” Jace asked, his face pinched.

“No, agori mou. You’ll come in with me every day and go to school from Spuds. At the end of the year, we’ll decide on a more permanent solution.”

“Yiayia.” I needed to step in. I agreed that Yiayia shouldn’t live alone, but also knew Ruby and Vander needed space to establish their new family. Alex would lose his games room, but it was a small price to pay for Yiayia’s safety and Ruby’s happiness. “How about you move into the condo with Alex and me?”

“No, poulaki mou. I stay here in my neighborhood with my friends. Here, I know where everything is. I go to Bayview Village, how I’m going to see everyone? No. I stay here.”

“Why don’t you move in with me?” Gus’s deep, gravelly voice interrupted. “We have the nanny suite on the main floor and we’re in your neighborhood.”

I gaped at him, my anger flaring hotly. “How is that a good idea?”

“How is it not?” He challenged, levelling me with his cool, grey, gaze.

What the hell? This was not the Gus of the past year. I forcefully withdrew my legs and pushed them beneath me. He smiled at me, his eyes bright. Maybe I hadn’t broken this proud, beautiful, man after all.

Something inside me thrilled at the knowledge, but it reduced our options for the future, options I felt we sorely needed. How could he move on if my yiayia was living with him?

How could I?

Gus

“You’re a – a – a single man…” she stuttered, and I clamped down on my laughter.

I took a moment, deliberately placing my knife and fork on the side of my plate before answering. While her stuttering was endearing, her continual persistence in pushing me away was not. Not when I knew what I knew.

“I am not, in fact, a single man. I am a married man, living in our family home without my family, and there is no reason Yiayia cannot live there with me.”

“Won’t you be, going out a lot?” Amber challenged.

“No, Amber. I do not ‘go out’. Nor will I ‘go out’. Get that, at least, through your head.”

Amber’s eyes flashed and I got ready to clear the room. Amber rarely lost her temper, but when she did, she did it up right. I feared for Yiayia’s dishes.

Yiayia clapped her hands. “Okay, is settled. I move into Gus and Amber’s house with Gus. After I move, Ruby gonna sell this house. Gus gonna help, and Ruby and Vander buy what they want where they want so Jace and George gonna both be comfortable.”

Amber’s brows lowered and Vander cleared his throat loudly. I looked up and saw him nod towards Alex who was watching us with a pained look on his sweet face.

Ruby leaned behind Yiayia and tugged Amber’s blouse sharply. She spun back around toward me, her beautiful face perfectly composed. I wondered how often she did that, how often she swallowed her feelings.

“Is our house on the same bus route as Yiayia’s house?” She asked, barely meeting my eyes, and knowing the answer full well.

I played along. “Yes. I think it’ll be an easy transition for Yiayia. And, with my business, I can check in throughout the day so she won’t be alone for hours and hours at a time.”

Amber nodded and smiled tightly. Turning to Alex, in a bid to distract him, she asked, “How great will it be having Yiayia living with us?” As soon as the words left her lips, she realized her mistake and her mouth dropped open.

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