Him & I

Haunted

It's what you do
It's what you see
I know if I'm on to you
You must be on to me
It's where we'll go
It's where we'll be
I know if I'm on to you, on to you
On to you, you must be on to me
My haunted lungs
Ghosts in the sheets
I know if I'm haunting you
You must be haunting me
——Haunted, Beyoncé

October 31, 2018

Cait was up and out in the morning, on her way back to Utah.  She and Rae had gone shopping and she'd stopped by the previous evening to see Connor, who was excited about the Halloween party he was going to tonight. 

She'd also visited her grandmother, and was somewhat disturbed to learn that Granny had not only subscribed to NBA League Pass, but that she and her bridge club watched every Jazz game, whether Grayson played or not. And Granny was actually grumbling about his lack of playing time, while one of her friends had developed a serious crush on Ricky Rubio. Cait had needed a stiff drink when she got home from that visit.

Luke had arrived in New York sometime in the early morning hours after the Pistons played in Boston.  Cait was sorry to miss him, but after a week away, she was ready to go home.

She packed up Tyler, hugged Rae and headed to the airport, arriving back in Salt Lake City by midday. It was cold and there was snow in the forecast, which made her look forward to skiing.  She took the cat home, then ran a couple of errands before returning home to go for a run and then be on hand to hand out candy to trick or treaters.

She wished Grayson was there, for a whole host of reasons. He would have loved handing out candy to the kids, commenting on their costumes or just making them laugh. There were even a few kids dressed a Jazz players, including one dressed as Grayson himself. That kid got double candy.

But being back in Salt Lake City was also making Cait uneasy. The alarm system would be installed the next day, which meant she needed to tell Grayson about Stacy. He was going to flip shit, she had no doubt. That made her anxious.

She kept an eye on the game, as she was answering the doorbell.  But the Jazz seemed to be struggling a bit.

Alec was out again and Grayson was on the floor with two minutes left in the first and the Jazz down by six.  But they weren't playing well as a team and weren't hitting open shots.  And the Timberwolves couldn't miss. 

Grayson was working hard on defense and he had a couple of assists.  But the Jazz were down by nine at the half.

The game stayed incredibly close in the second half. But Grayson didn't see the court again. Even when Donovan pulled a hamstring, Coach Snyder elected to go with a more experienced lineup. And the Jazz lost a tight one by three.

By the time the game was over, the kids were finished and Cait managed to get a late dinner.  She was tired, she realized.  Probably the time difference.  But she was also tense.  She couldn't seem to stop looking over her shoulder, couldn't relax.  Stacy was around somewhere and it made her uneasy.

*****

Grayson arrived home in the middle of the night. He was tired, but so glad to finally be home that he wasn't sure he was ready to sleep. He made his way into the house, greeted by Tyler and then to the bedroom, where he dropped his bags, including his pretty pink backpack and quickly shed his clothes.