ask, pretending to have no knowledge of the blanket I had sex on last night.
"There." She points to it. "Why would Walter leave a nice blanket like that just sitting on the dirty ground?"
"Maybe Tyler did it. He likes to sleep out there sometimes."
"He does?" she asks, turning to me.
He doesn't, but I didn't know else what to say to explain the blanket.
"He doesn't do it a lot but if it's a nice night, he does."
"It's supposed to rain any minute now. That blanket's going to get soaked. I need to go get it and bring it inside." She walks to the door.
"Wait! I'll get it." I don't want her picking up the blanket I had sex on. There's just something not right about that. "Why don't you make breakfast?"
"I already did. I made us pancakes."
"Would you mind making some eggs too? I'm starving this morning."
"I suppose I could. Hurry up and get ready. The eggs won't take long."
When she's gone I change clothes, then run out to Walter's back yard and get the blanket. The garage door opens just as I'm walking around to the front of the house.
Tyler sees me and smiles. "Morning, Beautiful."
"Morning." I smile back as I go up to him in the garage. "I got something for you." I hand him the blanket.
"I was hoping for something else." He pulls me toward him and kisses me.
"We're gonna get caught," I say over his lips.
"We might. We might not. Either way, I'm still going to kiss you."
We kiss again, then I back away. "I'd love to stay but Grams is making breakfast. I told her I'd be right back."
"You should invite us over," he says, setting the blanket down.
"For breakfast?"
"Or lunch. Whatever. We've gotta get those two in the same room so they can end this silent treatment. It's driving Pops crazy. He's not sleeping."
"Yeah, okay. I'll figure something out. Lunch is probably better. I'll tell her I invited you guys over last week and forgot to mention it."
"Good idea. Then it won't seem like a setup, although I'm sure she'll know you're lying. She may not even show up if she knows Pops will be there."
"I'll make sure she shows up." I give him a quick kiss. "I need to get home and figure out something for lunch. Let's plan on noon. Tell Walter about it. See ya later."
When I get back, Grams has breakfast waiting.
"I have to get going," she says, hurrying to take her apron off. "I forgot I'm in charge of the coffee hour at church this morning."
"When will you be back?"
"Just after eleven. No, wait, I told Ethel I'd help plan the food for the fall craft fair. It's only a few weeks away and we're meeting after church today to discuss it."
"How long with that take?"
"Maybe an hour. Why do you ask?"
Maybe I shouldn't tell her. If I tell her she might not show up, but if I don't tell her and she finds Tyler and Walter here at noon she'll be furious with me. "I'm hosting lunch here today."
"Oh. Are you having that young man over? The fireman?"
"Keith? No. We're not going out again."
"I thought you liked him."
"I do, but more as a friend than someone I'd want to date. There just wasn't a connection there."
"Sometimes that takes time."
"You knew grandpa was the one right away. And he used to say the same thing about you."
She smooths her hair. "Well, yes, but that doesn't always happen. Your mother wasn't immediately drawn to your father. It took time for their relationship to develop."
"And their marriage didn't work out. Maybe if she'd felt that spark right away, they'd still be together."
"Perhaps, but I think they had bigger issues than that." She walks over to me. "Faith, I don't think it's wise to rule out a young man just because you don't feel something right away."
"But what if I did?"
Her brows draw together. "Have you met someone new?"
"I'm just talking hypothetically. Going out with Keith just got me thinking about relationships and how feeling that spark is important. If you don't have that, then the relationship just kind of fizzles out."
"Relationships are about more than just attraction, Faith."
"I'm not talking about attraction. I'm talking about excitement. That feeling that you can't wait to see the person. The way your heart races when the person walks in a room."
She cocks her head. "Did you have that with Tom?"
"A little, but not as much as I should have. I was attracted to how Tom