Page 57 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
There was always a chance, though, so he checked for Elaine’s car when he pulled up at Mike’s house. Her usual parking spot was empty and the curtains were drawn on Mike’s windows. Maybe Mike was at Elaine’s house...
Finn took the steps two at a time and after a brief hesitation, knocked on the door. He heard shuffling inside and tried the doorknob. It was unlocked so he pushed the door open. Mike stopped halfway across the room, Buddy held against his chest. The kitten peeked out over Mike’s big hand, but for once, Finn was immune to that crazy cuteness. His grandfather’s usually neat hair was practically standing up and his eyes were red-rimmed, as if he hadn’t slept. If Finn needed any other indicator that something was wrong, there was a Jameson bottle next to his grandfather’s favorite chair. Mike never drank alone, but it appeared that had been exactly what he’d been doing last night.
“What the hell?” he asked as he closed the door behind him. “Why isn’t your phone on?”
“I needed some time.”
Mike turned and slowly moved back to his chair. Once he was seated, Buddy scrambled up the back cushion to the top, behind Mike’s head. Finn knelt next to the chair. “What happened, Grandpa?”
Mike moistened his dry lips, then said simply, “Elaine.”
“Did you guys break up?”
Mike met his eyes and Finn was rocked by the depth of pain he saw there. “Cancer. She has cancer.”
“Damn.” The word came out softly. “I’m so sorry.”
Mike just shook his head and then settled it back against the cushions, staring at the opposite wall.
“Do you have any details?”
“Not a lot.”
His grandmother, Mike’s wife, had died of breast cancer. Losing his beloved Annie had ruined Mike, and then he’d lost his nephew, Dylan’s father, not long after. A double whammy it had taken Mike years to recover from.
Finn put a hand on his grandfather’s knee. “What kind of cancer? Do you know?”
“Esophageal.”
“How’s Elaine taking it?”
“Better than I am,” Mike said. “I need...time...to get used to this.”
“I’d tell you that you need to be strong to help her through this, but you know that.”
“That’s exactly why I did my drinking last night. I got it over with and now I can focus on the inevitable.”
“Are you sure it’s inevitable?”
“I haven’t had a good batting record so far when it comes to dread diseases.”
Finn got to his feet, clearing the thickness from his throat before saying, “Do you want me to hang with you here for a while?”
“Somebody needs to run the store.”
“Lola’s there. Cal and Karl—not that they’re employees, but they’ve been there for so long, I think they could run the place without either one of us.”
Mike smiled weakly. “I’m not one for feeling sorry for myself,” he said gruffly.
“No shit. Or for letting me or Dylan feel sorry for ourselves.” Finn took a seat in the recliner. “But sometimes it’s okay to grieve.”
Buddy caught sight of Finn in the adjoining recliner and poised himself at the edge of his chair, wiggling his rear end as he prepared to leap up onto Finn’s lap. Mike reached behind him to scoop the kitten into one palm and stop the disaster before it happened. “Not yet, little guy.”
The kitten walked up Mike’s shirt and settled on his shoulder, tucking his little head against Mike’s neck. The old man’s expression relaxed an iota.
Finn leaned forward, loosely clasping his hands between his thighs. “I...uh...was thinking. I’m not home as much as I used to be, what with night classes and stuff. Maybe Buddy should just, you know, move in here.”
Mike gave Finn a sharp look. “Then your house will be as lonely as this one is.”
