"She's quite the character and at times she tries my patience, like today. After she said that about Walter, I almost got up and left but then realized that's just Ethel. She's like a teenager sometimes, the way she talks about men. But she's also very kind and generous so I'm willing to put up with her faults."
"She's right, you know."
Grams looks at me. "Right about what?"
"About Walter. He IS very handsome. I mean, for someone your age."
She glances out the window at his house. "Just because a man is handsome doesn't mean he's allowed to get away with things."
"What things?"
"Things like…" She gets up from the table, seeming flustered. "Like playing his music too loud." She grabs the rag I was using to clean the cupboards and starts wiping the counters with it.
"That rag is dirty," I tell her. "You might want to rinse it out first."
She holds it up and sees how dirty it is. "Oh. Yes. Of course."
Normally she'd notice that without me telling her. But talking about Walter got her all flustered. I can't figure out why he gets to her so much.
"So what else?" I ask, sitting back in my chair.
"Well, let's see. I told her you'd be starting classes soon and then she asked about your mother and I told her how Beth just received that promotion at work." She gives up rinsing the dirty rag and takes a clean one from the stack. "I should send your mother some flowers to celebrate her promotion. She'd like that."
"I wasn't asking about your lunch. I was asking what else Walter does that bothers you. You said he gets away with stuff. Like what? Besides the music?"
"He's just…." She wipes the dishrag hard and fast over the counter like she's trying to scrub Walter from her thoughts. "He's intolerable. That's all there is to it. He's intolerable and all the handsomeness in the world can't make up for that." She suddenly stops wiping the counter and looks at me. "When did you first meet Walter's grandson?"
"What?" I ask, taken aback by the question, which sounded more like an accusation.
"Tyler. When did you meet him?"
"I met him when I was over talking to Walter this morning. You were there. You saw us meet."
"But you didn't meet. You didn't even introduce yourself."
"Because I didn't have a chance to. Tyler showed up and then everyone got angry and we left."
"He acted like he'd already met you." She eyes me. "Did you pay him a visit yesterday? Don't lie to me, Faith."
I hesitate. "Okay, yes. I went over and introduced myself. I know you didn't want me to but I saw him there and thought it'd be rude to not go over and introduce myself."
"After I warned you about him? Faith, I know you think I'm too old to know these things but I'm telling you, that boy is trouble."
"Why? Because he has a tattoo? And where exactly is this tattoo? I didn't see any tattoos."
"Because he's finally keeping his pants up."
"You saw him without pants?" I ask, not sure I want the answer.
"Heavens, no. He simply wasn't wearing a belt one day and his pants kept falling down and of course he wasn't wearing a shirt. He stopped over here to ask if he could borrow a flashlight and that's when I noticed it."
"Where is it?"
She points to the front of her hip. "Somewhere around there. I was trying not to look. But it was most definitely a tattoo."
"That doesn't mean he's a bad person."
"How did he act when you went over and introduced yourself? Was he polite?"
He was pretty much the opposite of that but telling Grams that will just prove her point.
"He was fine. I mean he wasn't over-the-top nice but he wasn't rude." I hope she can't tell that I'm lying.
She goes back to wiping the counters. "He'll break your heart, Faith."
"I'm not dating him. I was just being friendly."
She shakes her head in frustration. I don't know why she thinks she's such an expert in men. She never dated anyone but my grandpa.
"What was Grandpa like when you met him?" I ask, but I already know she'll tell me he was a total gentleman. If he hadn't been, she never would've dated him.
"It's not the same," she says. "Things were different back then."
"Wait—are you saying Grandpa wasn't nice to you when you met him?"
"He wasn't particularly pleasant but he had reasons for acting that way."