Riley's Box

Part 59

With my plan in mind, I was soon able to spend the later part of the afternoon helping my grandmother with some gardening in the backyard. 

We cut away the weeds from the beautiful flowers that had started to bloom- daffodils, tulips and lilies. 

After that, my dad actually let me use the lawnmower for the first time. It wasn't too difficult, actually. 

Then again, I supposed basic, everyday tasks seemed a lot easier after you had to banish a creature from Hell back to its home. 

My grandmother appeared calmer when we were doing the gardening. Her state of tranquillity helped make me feel a little better, too. 

Up until this point, my mind had been pretty much racing non-stop with thoughts and ideas as to how we were going to stop the last shadow spirit. It was really pleasant to spend some time doing something else. 

We continued to work until my grandmother started to fidget with her white hair. 

"Grandma- are you alright?" I asked her. 

I knew that she only ever did that when she was anxious about something. 

She turned to me with a kind smile. 

"I suppose I'm a little nervous as to how this is all going to play out. I believe in you, of course I do...but I think I would be a bad grandmother if I wasn't concerned, sending you out into danger like this," she said. 

I reached out to her to take her hand in mine and then met her warm gaze. 

"Grandma, I'm going to be just fine," I assured her. "Besides, I'm not in this alone. I have the Sins. I have Jason." 

At those words of reassurance, my grandmother took a steady breath. She then nodded her head and seemed to calm down a little. 

"I get anxious at times, too. You know that...but I think everything will be alright. I'll make sure of it," I promised. 

~*~**~*~

The sun started to sink even lower in the sky after grandma and I had finished our gardening for the day, which meant that it was time for my grandmother to return home. 

I stepped forward to collect her into an affectionate hug and then bid her farewell, along with my parents. 

Quite soon after that, it was time for my mother to make up some dinner, so I went to help her by washing up the tomatoes. 

I then got to work on boiling pasta, while she cooked up the chicken and tomato sauce. 

"Now, I like to pride myself in my good judgement, so I can tell that there's something on your mind. Tell me, Riley," she said. 

"I guess I'm just a little nervous about school," I said. Well, I was partly nervous about school. That wasn't really bothering me all that much, but my mother had already found out about Otius. I needed to keep everything else secret, still. 

"I knew it," she said. 

Thank goodness. 

"But that's not all, is there?" she asked. 

It was both a good and bad thing that my mother was a sage when it came to understanding her own daughter's emotions. 

"I miss Jason," I said. 

I blurted it out but soon realised that it was true. My heart ached. I did miss him, but I knew that I would see him again soon enough and that made me smile.

 "I understand. God, I've been working so much recently that I haven't even been able to talk to you about that. Does he make you happy, Riley?" she asked me. 

"More so than anything, mom," I said. 

This was true, too. 

"And don't worry about being busy, mom. You're ambitious and I've always admired that about you. How is the business doing?" I asked, my curiosity sinking in again. 

My mother's eyes gleamed at the question. She loved an opportunity to talk about something that she was excited about. 

"Really well, actually, Riley. Thank you for asking," she said. 

I noticed that she had finished up making the pasta sauce, so it was time for me to turn the gas off on the hob. 

While my mother started to serve up the pasta, I wandered into the dining room to help my dad set up the table with cutlery. 

We placed the silver utensils down onto the burgundy table cloth, and then helped my mom carry the pasta bowls into the dining room. 

During dinnertime, I felt my mother's eyes on me. She spoke, after a few moments of chewing. 

"Riley, I know that I have a lot of responsibilities with the business, but I wanted to let you know that I never would ever not have enough time for you. If you ever need me, I'm here for you," she said. "I'll admit it," she said, with a gentle laugh, "I can be a bit of a workaholic at times...I'm trying to be around more."

"I really do appreciate it, mom," I said, with my own kind smile. 

"I know I can be pretty serious at times, but I don't want us to miss out on spending time together," she said. 

I was sure that I would have a lot more free time on my schedule, once the final shadow spirit had safely returned to Hell. 

My mom loved spending time with me, when she could. She had a tendency towards being timid around other people, but if I was there she seemed to be able to come out of her shell a little more. 

"We'll spend more time together soon, I promise," I said. 

Hoping that this would be the case, I finished off the rest of my pasta. It was delicious. 

Not only did my mother work hard when it came to her job, she was also an extremely talented cook. 

I supposed that my her mom had helped her out a lot with that. I really did miss her. 

"I'll help wash up," I said decisively. I needed some way to distract my mind. 

"Okay," my mom agreed, seeming pleased that she wasn't going to have to sort out the dishes for an evening. She needed the time to rest, anyway. 

After the dishes were all washed and clean and back in their drawers, I made my way upstairs. Then, it was time for me to go to bed. It didn't take me too long to drift off.