He can be a really sweet guy when he wants to be. It makes me wish we could date so I could see more of that side of him.
The door swings open and Walter appears, wearing a robe.
"Good evening, Faith." He sits next to me on the swing.
"Hi." I smile at him. "What are you doing out here in your pajamas?"
"My grandson sent me out here. Said I was to keep an eye on you. He didn't want you leaving."
"I wasn't planning to. Were you sleeping?"
"No. I was just watching TV. I'll go to bed soon."
I feel awkward being here with him after what Grams did. I feel like I should apologize, but really Grams should be the one to do that.
"How is your grandmother doing?" he asks.
"She's okay. She spent the day cleaning out the guest room."
"That woman never takes a break. She even offered to clean and organize my house."
"She did? What'd you tell her?"
"I told her no. I'm not having her do all that work. Besides, I don't mind the mess. It's not nearly as bad as it was. Tyler really cleaned the place up after my wife died. I lost count of how many trips he made to the dump."
"Was he staying with you back then?"
"Just for a couple months. He was between jobs and came here to help me out. His mother came too but only for a week. She had to get back to her job."
"I didn't know he did that. He never mentioned it."
"My wife had been sick for awhile. She was in and out of the hospital. I couldn't keep up with the house and things got to be a mess. There were boxes of medical supplies stacked up. Equipment everywhere. I was trying to care for her at home but it got to be too much so she ended up in hospice. After she passed I could barely get out of bed, let alone clean the house. I don't know what I would've done if Tyler hadn't shown up. He got the house back in shape and somehow managed to get me back on my feet. He's a good boy. Has a good heart."
"Did you see him much when he was a kid?"
"I did, but I wish I'd seen him more. His mother lived too far away for me to see him as much as I would've liked. He'd always spend a couple weeks with us in the summer. And he stayed here for a month after he quit school."
"Did you get mad at him for quitting?"
"Not at all. What good would it do? I could tell he already felt bad about it. Like he let us all down. But he couldn't make himself go back. He didn't think he was smart enough. It was a difficult time for him. He's had it rough ever since." Walter nudges my arm. "But then you showed up and I got my old grandson back."
"What do you mean?'
"He's smiling, joking around. I even heard him singing along to the radio the other day."
"He didn't do that before?"
"When he was younger he did, but he wasn't the same after quitting high school. He became withdrawn, depressed. He'd jumped from one job to the next. He always managed to find work and support himself but he didn't seem happy. Until you came along." Walter smiles. "I hope he can find more people like you. He needs that in his life."
"Do you know when he's leaving?"
Walter shrugs. "It's hard to say. He really wants to finish that car. I think it's almost done. I went out yesterday and looked at it and he doesn't have much left to do."
"Meaning he could be gone next week?"
"I think he might wait until he finds a job. That could take a couple weeks. Why do you ask?"
"Because I'll miss him," I mutter under my breath.
Walter's hard of hearing so I assume he didn't hear me, but then he leans over and whispers, "He's gonna miss you too." He gets up.
"You're leaving?"
"I don't need to keep watching you. I'm pretty sure you'll stay." He winks at me. "Goodnight, Faith."
"Goodnight, Walter." I watch as he goes in the house.
Moments later, Tyler walks out holding a plate with two toaster pastries on it.
"Two? I just ate dinner. I can only eat one."
"The other one's for me," he says, sitting beside me. "So what'd you and Pops talk about?"
"Did you really send him out here so I wouldn't leave?"