Page 54 of Not Dating Material

“Maybe with some tea,” I suggest, trying not to laugh.

“Excellent idea.”

“Need help up the stairs?”

“I’m seventy-nine. I’m not dead.”

“Noted.” I open the front door for her because while she’s capable, it’s too ingrained in me not to. Dad taught me how to be polite, which was a skill he had to learn early on as a cash-strapped teen dad. “What tea do you like?” I ask as I follow her down the hall.

“My lost boys usually keep some Twinings on hand for me.”

I rummage around in the pantry while Agatha plonks a heavy bag on the counter.

“What’s all that?”

“Thought we could get to know each other while we whip up some dinner for the others.”

“You do that often?”

She shrugs and rounds the island to get the water ready. “Usually, I’ll batch up some things at home and drop them in the freezer a few times a week. My boys have got to eat.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“Well, the lads in this house could use some kindness. It doesn’t cost me anything.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.”

I make her tea while Agatha unloads her cloth bag onto the counter. I’m trying to pick what we’ll be cooking based on the ingredients, but I’m stumped.

“Any guesses?” she asks.

I hand her cup over. “None.”

“Creamy vegetarian pot pie.”

“That actually sounds delicious.”

“That’s because it is.”

“That you, Aggy?” Xander calls a second before he steps into the kitchen. “Oh, and Molly?”

Movement catches the corner of my eye, but before I can turn to her fully, Agatha drops her hand.

“Yes, sweet boy. Just me. And your new roommate. I’m interrogating him.”

Xander’s smile trembles across his lips. “Be nice. We like him.”

“I am, I am. In fact, we’re cooking together, aren’t we, sweet pea?”

It takes me a beat to realize that I’m sweet pea. “Ah, yep, sure are.”

“Vegetarian pot pie.” The pointed way she says it, and the way it makes Xander’s eyes light up, puts me on guard. They share a look before Xander turns away.

“You two have fun, then.”

He leaves, and I turn slowly to the old lady fussing beside me. “What was that?”

“Don’t know what you mean. Chop those mushrooms, would you?”

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