Page 33 of Nerdy or Nice
"So?"
"So I asked first, but you never answered."
"Fair enough," I said. "To answer your question, the house is mine. But I do my share of traveling, and I like having Gramps around. We're good buddies, and when I'm gone, it's good to have him watching Cash. And then, there's Tango, so…" I gave a loose shrug. "It's good for peace-of-mind. Convenience, too."
Gwen nodded. "And what about your parents? How dotheyfit into this?"
"They don't."
Her expression sobered. "You don't mean they're…?"
"Dead? No. Mom lives in Vegas, and the guy who fathered me was never in the picture."
"Oh." She still looked uneasy. "That must've been rough – for youandyour mom."
"Yeah, well…" Now that I'd started, I figured it was best to toss all of it onto the table, so I continued without making her ask. "Mom was a real wild child, still is. You know, she had me at seventeen?"
"Wow," Gwen breathed. "That's so young. And what about your dad? How old washe?"
"Not much older," I said. "I barely remember the guy. LastIheard, he was somewhere out west, maybe in the Dakotas. AndMomleft when I was still in diapers."
Gwen winced. "Gosh, I'm so sorry."
I didn't want her pity. I just wanted her to know so she wouldn't wonder. "Don't be," I said. "I've had it good. My grandparents…well, you've met Gramps. And my grandma was terrific. They were the ones who raised me."
"Your grandmother…you said shewasterrific? So, I'm guessingshe's…"
"Yeah." A familiar ache squeezed at my heart. "Three years ago. Cancer. She was only sixty-one."
Gwen's eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm really sorry to hear that…for youandyour grandpa."
A sad smile tugged at my lips. "Thanks. Yeah, she was something, alright. Kept Gramps in line, too, which as you can imagine was a full-time job. Do you know, he'll be sixty-five in July?"
"Really?" Gwen looked surprised. "He doesn't look a day past fifty."
"Yeah," I chuckled. "The guy's too tough to get old."
"So, how long have the two of you been living here in the same house?"
I did the math. "It'll be two years in February. It started as favor – tome, not him – when I went to D.C. for this computer thing. I'd only had Cash for a couple of weeks, and I'd wanted to make sure he was well taken care of."
"That'ssoimportant," Gwen said, sounding so earnest I almost smiled. "If I had a dog, I'd probably find it hard to leave at all." She looked toward the Christmas tree, where the three kittens were still wreaking havoc. "Like even the kittens, they're not my own, but I'm going to be so bummed to leave them." She returned her gaze to mine. "Anyway, sothenwhat happened?"
"So by the time I get back, Cash has a new name, and Gramps and Tango feel like part of the house, which is probably just as well because Gramp's place was getting too crazy for his liking."
"Crazy how?"
"Traffic, industrialization, you name it. The old neighborhood had changed a lot since he first built the house."
Gwen smiled. "And now he's here." Her smile faded as she said, "Can I ask you something else?"
"Sure," I teased. "Why stop now?"
"I'm just wondering…does it make it hard for you to, you know, date?"
I grinned. "No. I've got the whole attic to myself, and believe it or not, Gramps is pretty good about privacy. Plus, his bedroom's on the first floor, so there's plenty of space between us."
"So…do you think the two of you will live together forever?"
