Page 32 of The Wedding Driver
All her life, Tonya had been the quiet sister. The overlooked sister. The sister that sometimes people forgot was in the room.
“Your grandmother retreated inwardly like you do. I never understood it. I still don’t. She was such an incredible woman and so are you.” He paused at the bottom of the stairs, gripping his cane with his good arm, and glanced up. “How are things going between the two of you?”
She sighed. She was going to bring this topic up anyway. “It’s good, but it’s weird.” Nudging her grandpa toward the front door, she snagged her purse and the subs that she’d tossed to the floor. Knowing her grandfather, he’d be bitching that he was starving in about a half hour and it might take a while, even at urgent care.
“You’re going to have to explain what you mean by that.” He grumbled and groaned and swore under his breath while he hobbled out the door. It got worse when he climbed into the passenger seat of her vehicle.
Carefully, she backed out of the driveway and headed toward the main road. As she passed her parents’ house, and then Tayla and Gael’s, she realized she should have texted them what happened. She’d do that as soon as she got into town. It would only take fifteen or so minutes.
“I’m waiting,” her grandpa said.
“Oh. Right. Weird.” She gripped the steering wheel. Some might think her relationship with her grandfather was strange, but she cherished it. He could be judgmental about her decisions, but he was never cruel. He always supported her and gave her a shoulder to cry on when she needed it most. “He’s running hot and cold.”
“Not that I really want to know, but have the two of you—you know.” He waved his hand in a mini circle.
Her cheeks flushed.
“Because if you have, that changes everything. I know with your generation it happens much faster than back in my day, but I’m going to assume it still has an impact on the relationship.”
“Of course it does and that’s why I think he’s acting strange. I can’t tell if he regrets it. Or is running scared. Or what.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but you’re going to have to give me more details.” He shook his head. “This would be easier if I had boy grandchildren.”
“Dad told me you sucked at the sex talk when he was a teenager.” She laughed. “But without going into too much depth, he was going to leave the other morning without saying goodbye. Then he kept his distance for a little while when I showed up in the kitchen, but something switched and he got friendly. We had a nice moment. However, since then, I’ve barely talked to him. It feels like he’s avoiding me.”
“Have you asked him about it?”
“No.” She did her best to avoid all the potholes the winter caused as well as not taking the corners too tight. Luckily, there wasn’t any traffic and they made it into the village in record time. The new urgent care facility was south of town and she made the light, which was nice.
“Why don’t you call him while I’m in the exam room.”
She pulled into the parking lot and found a space close to the front door. “Because you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
“I’m a grown-ass man.”
“Never said you weren’t.” She shut the engine off. “But you have a tendency these days to be a secret keeper when it comes to your health.” She slipped from the car and raced to the passenger side, helping her grandpa into the building. She noticed he’d lost some weight. “If I let you go in alone, you won’t tell me what the doctor said.”
There wasn’t a single person in the waiting room. She helped her grandpa fill out all the forms and the nurse took his vitals and brought him back to get some X-rays, leaving her in the exam room by herself.
Quickly, she shot off a text to her family. Immediately, her cell rang.
“Hey, Dad,” she said.
“What the hell happened and why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“I thought it was best to get him to urgent care while he was agreeable. They are taking pictures now. He’s being his usual ornery self.”
“Something is going on with him,” her dad said.
“I know. He’s lost a ton of weight. We need to get him in to see his regular doctor and someone needs to go with him.”
“I’ve tried. So has your mother, but that man is as stubborn as a mule when it comes to this shit. Maybe you will have better luck.”
“I’ll work on it.” She heard the shuffling of her grandpa’s feet. “I gotta go. I’ll text you when we’re on our way home.”
The technician smiled as she pulled out a chair for her grandfather. “The nurse practitioner will be with you after she reads the images.”
“Thank you,” Tonya said.
