Chapter 221 Trouble with Friends
The next morning, Andrea woke up to find herself alone. She bolted upright in bed, remembering that she and Case were having an issue—over something she couldn’t identify—and now he was gone.
“Good grief,” she murmured, running her hands down her face. She hoped he was just downstairs, but when she picked up her phone, she saw a text from him that told her he wasn’t.
“Hey, beautiful. Just went out to buy a few last minute gifts. I’ll be back soon. Love you.”
Andrea let out a deep breath. At least he seemed to be back to his normal disposition. Perhaps he had woken up realizing he had been acting silly the day before. She decided it was best if they both just let it go, even though she had no idea what it was that had made him act that way.
She took a shower and headed downstairs. Grandpa Jack was sitting in the parlor, reading a paper, and she could hear her mom in the kitchen singing Christmas carols as she worked on her cookies. Leslie would be there soon, she supposed. “Hi, Grandpa,” she said, going over to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Oh, hey there, dear. How are you today?” he asked, smiling up at her.
“Good. What are you reading?”
“Just catching up with the football scores. How are you?”
Rather than pointing out that he’d just asked that, she said again, “I’m good, Grandpa.”
“Did you get Case a nice present for Christmas?”
“I hope so. Buying presents has never been one of my strong suits.”
He laughed. “I always loved it when you would paint me a picture or color something for me. Those were the best.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think I could get away with that now,” she said, thinking her artistic skills had sorted of reached their peak around six or seven. She took a seat on the couch near the recliner he was sitting in. It was his special chair that moved so that he could get in and out of it without having to exert much effort.
“That’s okay. I’m sure that he’ll love it, no matter what. Are the two of you ready for the wedding? This year will fly by, you know.”
“We’re ready. What about you? Are you excited to see your granddaughter get married?”
“Of course I am. It’ll be the highlight of the decade for this old man. Supposin’ I stick around that long.” He laughed, but it was more than a little alarming for Andrea to hear him talk that way, especially after the scare he’d given them last Christmas.
“You’d better be around, Grandpa Jack,” Andrea. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Oh, you’d manage, Andy girl. I know you would. It’d be different for you, but the last thing I’d want is for anyone to be sad when I go. I’ve lived a long, happy life. And I’m ready to go see your grandmother and the rest of my family as soon as the Good Lord calls me home. And no need to shed a tear for this old man.”
Andrea wasn’t sure what to say. She knew he was ready to go home, but that didn’t mean she was ready to let him go. “I need you, Grandpa. I’m not ready for you to leave.”
He chuckled. “You got Case to take care of you now, honey. You don’t need this old man.”
Andrea opened her mouth to say that just because she had Case that didn’t mean she didn’t need her grandpa anymore when the doorbell rang. “Hold that thought,” she said to him, and he laughed again.
She assumed it was a package or one of her mother’s friends, but when she opened the door to find Malcolm standing there, a despondent look on his face, she was immediately concerned. “Malcolm? What’s wrong?”
“Hi, Andrea. I’m sorry to bother you. But… I was hoping you’d have a few minutes to talk.” He ran a hand through his bangs, which were poking out from his stocking cap. “Something’s happened, and I didn’t know who else I could talk to about it.”
“Sure,” she said. “Do you want to come in?”
“Actually, I’d feel better if we could go for a walk, if you don’t mind.”
Andrea figured that was because he didn’t want her mom or anyone else hearing what he had to say. He looked really upset. “Absolutely. Let me get my coat and boots. You wanna wait in here?”
“Sure.” Malcolm gave her a half smile and came in.
Andrea headed to the closet in the hall to get her snow boots. Her coat was by the door. Her mom was in the dining room. “Hey, I’m going to take a walk with Malcolm.”
“Okay. Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know.” For Malcolm’s sake, she didn’t say more. “If Case comes back while I’m gone, can you tell him to text me, and I’ll come back?” She didn’t want to try to explain to Case what was going on through a text since Malcolm was clearly guarding his privacy for some reason.
“Sure, honey. Be careful.”
“Yep.” She had on her boots now and didn’t bother to remind her mother that they were not even going to leave the property; it was like her mother to tell her to be careful no matter where she was going or what she was doing.
Andrea went back to the living room and got her coat. “See you in a bit, Grandpa!” she called into the parlor.
“Be careful on the ice, Andy. Sometimes you can’t see it under the snow!”
“Right!” she called back. “I will!” It wasn’t as if she hadn’t grown up here, but she appreciated that her family was always looking out for her. “All right, Malcolm. Ready?”
He nodded, and they headed out toward the woods in silence, and Andrea figured whatever he had to tell her, it was important. It wasn’t like him to be so quiet. She just hoped it was something she could help with.
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