The Art of Grieving

Chapter 4

Monday morning I was putting together a basket of different fruits when the door chimed. I looked up and saw Andrew walking in. 

"Hey," he greeted me. He shoved his hands in his pockets and awkwardly stood in front of me. 

"What's up?" I asked, putting the last apple into the basket and wiping my hands off on my apron. 

"I feel weird asking this, but my grandma really appreciated the basket and was wondering if she could thank you in person?" He said, not looking me directly in the eye. His cheeks turned a bright shade of pink and I had the sudden urge to pinch them. 

"Of course! I can bring her some muffins too, if she wants," I suggested. 

Andrew finally looked me in the eyes and gave me a grateful smile. "She'd love that."

"I could go over now," I said. "I don't have any deliveries today and Anthony is here anyways."

Anthony was one of my co-workers. He was retired but didn't like just staying at home all day so he worked here occasionally. 

"Uh yeah that would work," Andrew said. "I can drive you."

"Perfect, I walked to work today anyways. Let me just go grab some muffins."

I left Andrew in the front while I went back to the kitchen to grab some muffins. Anthony was just taking some out of the oven. 

"Do you care if I take some of these?" I asked. 

Anthony smiled at me. "Of course not. You taking off?"

"I've got a personal delivery to do," I informed him. 

Anthony put together some muffins into a basket and handed them to me. "Have fun."

I said goodbye to him and walked back out front. Andrew was looking at one of our catalogs and looked up when I walked out. 

"You ready?" He asked me. 

I raised up the muffins. "Super ready."

He rolled his eyes at me and walked out, not even holding the door open for me. Slightly rude, but whatever. 

We got into his car and I realized that the inside was completely clean. 

"I'm surprised you're letting me in your car," I half-heartily joked. 

Andrew gave me a side glare. "If you had even an ounce of alcohol in your system you'd be walking."

I tried to give him a smile, but his face stayed straight as he drove down the different roads. 

We came up to the familiar house and both got out. 

"This place is so beautiful," I said as we walked up the sidewalk. 

"I used to love staying here during summers," Andrew told me. 

Andrew didn't even both knocking on the door and just walked right in. 

"Nana!" He yelled into the seemingly empty house. 

The inside was as pretty as the outside. It was completely white everywhere. White walls, white furniture, and white floors. There wasn't a spot of dust anywhere. I was almost afraid to even touch anything. 

A woman walked out from a room and smiled brightly at Andrew. She was much shorter than Andrew and he had to bend down to hug her. It was absolutely adorable. 

The woman held Andrew's face in her hands. "Where have you been, young man?"

She finally noticed me and let go of Drew's face.