His Grandfather's Watch by N.R. Walker

Author:N.R. Walker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, gay, short story, free, forbidden love
Publisher: N.R. Walker

CHAPTER 6

We'd talked and laughed all morning and by the time we’d arrived at Callum’s Gramma’s in the afternoon, neither one of us had mentioned the kisses we shared the night before. He did, however, thank me again for doing this with him.

"Callum," I replied calmly. "If you thank me again, I'll make you buy me lunch for every time you say it."

He grinned and eyed me cautiously. "Is that a challenge?"

I liked this playful side to him. "Maybe."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," he said with a laugh as we walked toward the entrance doors to the respite center.

"That's five," I said, pretending to count on my fingers. "Is that one a week for the next five weeks or lunch every day for the next five days?"

He chuckled, but as we walked inside he quieted down, his serious mood returning. His Gramma was in the common room this time, quietly flipping through a magazine. Callum smiled at one of the staff, but sat down beside his grandmother.

And by some stroke of luck or fate, or planets aligning or whatever, I was pretty sure she was having a good day. She smiled brightly. "Hello, Sweetheart."

Callum kissed her cheek and put his hand on her arm. "Hello, Gramma."

"My, you've grown."

And the grin he gave her stole my breath. It was a full blown, happy grin, like in the photos at his apartment. His eyes darted to mine, and I could see the hope and happiness shining in his eyes.

She asked how school was going, so she wasn’t really in the here and now, but at least she knew it was Callum.

Callum introduced me, so I sat down with them while they talked about things I didn't even pretend to know about. After we'd been there for about fifteen minutes, Callum took a deep breath and pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket.

"I found some photographs," he said. He pulled out the family portrait of a very young Maria with her brothers and sisters and showed it to her.

She smiled and told us she remembered how important that day was to her mother. They wore their Sunday best, did each other's hair and shined their shoes. Callum pointed to some of her sisters and brothers and asked who they are. When he pointed to the tall, dark haired boy, she called him William.

"Though his friends called him Billy," she said wistfully. "I never much cared for that name. I thought William sounded more adult."

"Did Granddaddy Hale call him Billy?"

She smiled and answered softly. "All the time."

She looked up, and I could see she was recalling memories in her mind. "They were inseparable."

Callum nodded and pulled out the small photograph of Hale and Billy that was hidden in the watch. "Is this them?"

His grandmother looked at the photograph and was silent for a long while before she nodded. Her gnarled finger touched the two smiling faces in the photo. "They were very... close. Spent all their time together. Hale would come to visit; that's how I met him.

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