He has on black dress pants and a white dress shirt.
"See?" Grams whispers to me. "Even Tyler dressed up."
He did, and he's so damn handsome. My heart's already pounding just seeing him there.
"You finally said his name," I say to Grams.
"Welcome, ladies," Tyler says as we walk up the steps to the porch.
"Did you do this?" I ask, motioning to the twinkle lights.
"Yeah, by order of Pops. He made me search the attic for them. And then the ones I found didn't work so I had to go to the store and buy new ones. You know how hard it is to find lights this time of year?"
"They weren't necessary," Grams says.
"But you like them?" Walter asks, coming out the door. He's dressed in a suit, and his white hair and beard look freshly trimmed, like he just went to the barber. Did he do all that for Grams? I'm pretty sure he did, which I find adorable.
"Grams," I whisper to her. "Say something!"
"They're beautiful," she says, giving him a smile.
He beams. It's clear he's desperate to win her over. He really does have a crush on her. How did I not notice this before?
"Come inside," he says to her. He holds open the door, and as she walks past him, he says, "You look very nice tonight, Cora."
"Thank you."
Tyler takes the door from him as he goes inside. I walk past Tyler and he says, "You look very nice tonight, Faith."
He says it very serious like Walter did and I laugh.
"Thank you. Although I was told I should've worn a dress. Apparently, this isn't appropriate."
He looks me up and down. "Looks good to me, although I would've liked to see you in a dress."
Is he flirting? I can't tell.
"You're kind of a tomboy," he jokes. "Climbing out of windows. Hanging out in garages."
So he wasn't flirting. He's just kidding around, like two friends would do.
"Yeah, that's me. But I do own some dresses. So why are you so dressed up?"
"Pops made me. He said I had to look presentable."
"Funny. Grams said the same thing to me. I think it's a generational thing."
We go inside and meet up with Walter and Grams in the dining room.
"I need to put this in the fridge," she says, holding up her pie.
"Right this way." Walter shows her to the kitchen.
"So are the cabinets done?” Tyler asks.
“Yeah. You should come over and see them."
“How’d they turn out?"
“Good. The color's exactly what I wanted. Now I'm thinking we should paint the walls, although I don't really want to go back and get more paint."
"Why not?"
"There was this guy there who…never mind."
"Who what? What happened?"
"There was just this guy who works at the paint counter. He asked me out and it was awkward. That's all."
"Awkward how?"
"I didn't know how to handle it. Maybe I'm out of practice. I haven't dated anyone since Tom, my ex. And we dated for years so it's been awhile since I've been asked out. This guy, the one at the hardware store, was really nice but I told him no. Then later I thought I should've told him yes."
"Why? If you don't like him, don't date him."
"I don't know if I like him. I'd have to go out with him to find out."
"If you liked him you'd know right away. You might find out later he's an ass, but when you first meet someone you should immediately know if there's something there, even if it's just a physical attraction. So did you at least have that?"
"Not really. I mean, he was attractive but I didn't really feel anything."
"Like what?"
"Like my heart racing or that excited nervous feeling that makes your stomach all fluttery."
"Does that happen every time you meet a guy you like?"
"No, but…it's hard to explain. It's like you meet the person and you just feel something. It may not work out, but like you said, there's something there."
"Chemistry."
"Yeah, I guess."
Why are we talking about other guys? This just proves Tyler only wants to be friends.
"So you're not going out with him," he confirms.
"No. Although Grams wants me to. She loved the guy. She thinks he's perfect for me. She keeps trying to send me back to the hardware store to get stuff."
"It's good you told him no. He's not the guy for you."
"How do you know? You never met him."
"You said it yourself. He doesn't make you feel anything."
Before I met Tyler, that wouldn't have mattered. I would've gone out with Brian without questioning it. But the way I