Cheek To Cheek

Intro

Nobody could hear the long and over dramatic sigh that came out of Chris as he threw his last remaining cards on the table. It was already so noisy in the room from the loud chatter of the family to Scott's boisterous singing while he did his victory dance. Chris rolled his eyes and shouted, "Scott's a lousy cheater!"

"Bro, how do you even cheat at uno?" Scott stopped to look at him.

"I think Uncle Scotty's a cheater too!" Stella echoed her uncle which only got her scooped up by Scott and tickled, adding to the loudness in the living room.

Chris loved these Sundays when he just got to hang out in his mother's living room with his entire family around. There was nowhere that he felt more content and at home than this. He looked out the window and saw the sun was just starting to set and he told the family, "Alright guys, well I have go so I can mow Helen's lawn for her before it gets dark."

"Who's Helen and why are you mowing her yard?" Shanna asked her older brother.

"You know who Helen is," Lisa piped in. "She's that sweet old lady who lives down the road from Chris."

"Oh yeah, I always kind of forget you have neighbors because there's barely any houses on that road," Shanna replied while she stacked up the cards and slid them back in the box.

Chris nodded and told her, "Well when I would be out walking Dodger, I'd see her son out there mowing her lawn or doing yard work for her and we'd often stop and talk and then I got to meet Helen and she's just such a sweet person."

Scott wanted to know, "Why isn't her son mowing her lawn anymore?"

Chris reached up and scratched at his beard, explaining, "He had cancer and passed away two months ago so I offered to mow it for her."

"I forgot that her son had passed away," Carly sympathized. "Isn't she the one with that bitchy daughter-in-law and granddaughter?"

While he was slipping on his sneakers, Chris nodded and informed them, "Yeah and she doesn't see them hardly at all. But she has another granddaughter, Charlie, who is really close with her and she talks about all the time."

"Well I think it's very sweet that you take the time to do that for her, honey," Lisa came over to hug her son goodbye and kiss his cheek. "And you tell Helen hi from all of us and that I'll be over to see her this week."

He promised his mother he would and hugged the rest of his family goodbye before driving back to his neighbors house and parking his expensive car in the driveway of the old and well loved home. Chris greeted Helen before he got to work mowing the lawn but when he was done and went inside to wash his hands, he found the kind grey haired woman telling him, "Now you come sit down and take a break! I made some angel food cake and coffee."

"Well how can I say no to that?" Chris chuckled while he walked into the quaint living room and sat down in the wingback chair across from Helen.

"Now," Helen started after she handed him a huge slice of cake and poured him some coffee in a crisp white mug. "Tell me how you are! You got back from your new hollywood picture right? The Captain one yes?"

"Yeah Avengers Endgame," He chuckled from her description of the movie that had just become the highest grossing movie of all time which Helen knew nothing about other than that her neighbor was in it. "We're done with the movie premieres and the press tour so now I get a break so I'll get to be home for a while which I'm really happy about."

"I'm sure Dodger and your mother will be happy about that," The wrinkles around Helen's eyes moved as she smiled widely.

"Oh for sure," Chris chuckled.

"Maybe now you can take some time and start looking for a wife," Helen smiled as she sipped her coffee.

Another snicker came out of Chris before he took a big bite of the cake and then looked up at Helen, telling her, "You're worse than my mother!"

"Well of course I am, I'm a grandmother!" She retorted, making him burst with loud laughter. "Besides you're a handsome sweet boy Chris and you need a wife. My Harold always used to say that it was never good for men to be single, that they needed a good wife to take care of them. That's probably why he died first because he knew that he'd be lost without me!"

This comment made Chris tip his head back and slap a hand to his chest, cracking up from the sassy woman's comments that were always so matter-of-fact. He didn't totally disagree though and said, "You know, I like my life and I like being independent but I do want a wife and a family. I really want kids and I want the traditions and the pumpkin carving and the first day of school and anniversaries and things like that. I guess I'm just picky and haven't found the right person for me yet."

"You know I do have a very wonderful granddaughter..." Helen smiled at him. "Charlie is quite a catch. She's very sweet and funny and not to mention pretty!"

"You trying to play matchmaker here, Helen?" His blue eyes twinkled with delight.

She just shrugged before drinking her coffee, "All I'm saying is Charlie is a very special girl and I think you're a pretty special fella."

He smiled at her, putting his empty plate down and telling her, "Well right now you're the only girlfriend for me, Helen."

Chris made Helen laugh from his comment and she gave him a warm hug before he headed back to his own home to let Dodger out. While Chris stood in the backyard, throwing a tennis ball for his dog to fetch, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to Helen's words. It did make him wonder what Helen's granddaughter was like and if she in any way resembled the fiery and kind older woman. He also thought about how kind and friendly Helen's son had been and it made him think that maybe he wouldn't mind running into this Charlie sometime...