Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,67
going to take these dishes downstairs and help clean up,” Ben stood and picked up the tray. “When I get back I’m going to help you with that shower – no arguments! We don’t have grab bars up here and we are not taking any chances when you’re this close to being well.”
“Fine,” Thom sighed. “Just hurry, okay?”
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
Mindy was in the kitchen finishing up the dishes when Ben got downstairs. “Hey, Ben,” she greeted him. “Just put those on the table and I’ll take care of them.”
“No, you did all the rest, I’ll take care of these.”
“I am so not going to argue with you.” She stepped away from the sink, drying her hands as Ben slid in to take her place. “Want a beer?”
“Nah, I’m going back upstairs when I finish these. There’s no grab bar up there and I want to make sure Thom doesn’t fall in the shower.”
“Yeah, right,” Mindy smirked as she popped the top off a beer and leaned against the counter and watched Ben load the dishwasher.
“You’re awful young to have such a dirty mind.”
“Dude, I’m the same age you are. The only reason you finished school first is because I had to go part time for a while.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, I had to work. There’s six of us, and I didn’t want to finish school with a load of debt.”
Ben closed the dishwasher and turned to face his cousin. “You really are scary smart, you know?”
Mindy shrugged and took a sip of the beer. “Don’t forget my loads of common sense.”
“That, too. So, what are you going to do when you graduate? You’re graduating this semester, right?”
“Yeah. Don’t know yet. It’s not a good time right now, especially since I don’t really want to go far. What I really want to do is get involved in planning, working with towns like Cable’s Bend to come up with solutions to problems like flooding and traffic and sustainable growth. But that’s just not going to happen anytime soon.”
“So…?”
“So, look.” Mindy started picking at the label on the bottle she was holding. “I’m thinking, with the winery, brewery, whatever going in, maybe there’ll be something I can do? Some kind of job for me?”
“Seriously?”
Mindy nodded, her face tight.
“God, yes. I mean, it’s not my place to say yet, but I can’t imagine that there wouldn’t be. You know we’re going to have a sit-down tomorrow morning – we’ll figure it out.”
“Oh, thank God. I was hoping.”
“I’m going to offer my friend Doug a job, too. I think the three of us would make a kick-ass team to get this started.”
“I don’t know anything about brewing beer, though.”
“But you’re more organized than the rest of us put together, and you’ll learn anything you need to. Doug and I will teach you.”
“Thanks. I won’t let you down, Ben.”
“I know. We’ve got a long way to go, though. Let’s get through tomorrow and see where we are.”
“How are you really feeling? Honestly?” Ben asked as he ran soapy hands across Thom’s shoulders and down his back, kneading the tight muscles between his shoulder blades.
“Mainly frustrated because I still can’t do anything with my right arm.”
“Does it hurt?”
“No, but it feels weak. I know it will be, and I’m sure Alex will come up with new ways to torture me.”
Ben snorted.
“But mostly I’m frustrated and antsy, because I can tell I’m almost there. I want to throw down that cane and go back to normal, and I have to keep reminding myself that I can’t.”
“And there’s at least three people who would tackle you before you made it to the front door.” Ben finished rinsing them off and reached around Thom to turn off the water.
“Yeah. One less when Granddad leaves.”
Ben pulled a towel off the rack and handed it to Thom before grabbing his own and rubbing it over his face and hair. “I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.”
“About Granddad?”
“About our full house.” Ben wrapped his towel around his waist before taking Thom’s and using it to dry Thom’s back where he couldn’t reach.
“Does it bother you?” Thom asked.
“No. I thought it might bother you.”
Thom thought about it for a minute. “It might have, once. Now – I don’t know if I like it or I’m just used to it. But it doesn’t bother me.”
“I wanted to talk about it before we all sit down tomorrow and make sure we were on the same