In My Bed (18+)

Chapter 6

It wasn't much later when the time for Robert's afternoon nap arrived. After quick goodbyes to Gerald and Jason, I walked my last surviving grandparent back to his room.

"Will I see you next week?" Sitting down in his recliner, he stared up at me.

I tucked the blanket in around him, "Of course. You know how much I look forward to our Sunday lunches."

As I finished, I leaned over to press a kiss into his hair.

Standing, I felt his hand move to cover mine.

Robert's eyes were watching me, and he smiled, "You're a good kid, Hailey. Robbie missed out by not knowing you."

He released me with a squeeze, leaving me flustered and confused.

The mention of my father, out of the blue like that, had me scrambling to keep my composure. "Um," I pushed a piece of hair away from my face, "thanks, Grandpa."

Swallowing hard, I picked up his remote and turned on the tv to his favorite afternoon game show. When he was comfortable, I stepped away, closing the door quietly behind me.

"Robbie missed out..."

Robert Griffen, Jr. - the spoiled, only child of wealthy parents - had shacked up with my mother shortly after she'd turned eighteen, only to abandon her the instant he found out she was pregnant with me.

I'd spent the subsequent eighteen years without hearing from him or seeing him. It wasn't until the day of my graduation that I'd ever spoken to him - and he'd called to scream at my mother.

Adjusting the strap of my purse, I turned to begin the meandering walk toward the lobby.

Behind me, a voice called me out of my reverie.

"Hailey?"

My spine stiffened, and I turned, knowing who I would see.

Jason Coleman walked up to me, shrugging on a light jacket.

"Oh, hi," I nodded a greeting, continuing on my way, expecting the interaction to end there.

Instead, he appeared by my side, the woodsy fragrance of his skin invading my nostrils.

He fell into step next to me, "Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Sorry?

Glancing over, I let my confusion show, "For what?"

Jason sighed, "For bringing up your recent loss."

Oh.

"It's fine, really." I shrugged, "Honestly, I'm usually thinking about him when I'm here anyway."

"You are?"

Taking a breath, I explained, "Grandpa Curtis was the first person to notice when Robert's behavior started to... change."

"Oh?"

"They were pretty good friends by then and spent a decent amount of time together, so the confusion, the fogginess, the mood changes - he was the first to notice. He's the one who insisted on getting Robert evaluated, which led to a lot of difficult conversations about the future, but it would have been so much worse if he hadn't noticed."

"How so?"

"Robert... he doesn't have the best relationship with his son, Robbie. If we'd waited until it was too late, until he was too far gone to make decisions for himself, then Robbie would have been making all of those decisions for him."

"That's your father, right?"

I laughed, "On paper? Sure."

"What's the story there?"