Lost in the Storm: by Mark Stone

Author:Mark Stone [Stone, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sunday Dinner Press
Published: 2017-07-07T23:00:00+00:00

14

“Is he giving you any trouble?” I asked as I walked into the hospital room where my grandfather was still being treated. There was a smile on my face but, as I got a look at the figure on the young nurse serving my grandfather a tray of food, and realized how reasonable a concern that was.

My grandfather was harmless, but he was from a different time, and he could be as fresh as gulf spray to the face when he saw something he liked.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” the nurse said, setting the tray down, shooting my grandfather a wink, and headed back out of the room.

As soon as she exited, I moved around to take a seat next to my grandfather’s bed. He looked to be alert. Judging by the way he watched the nurse walk away, he might have been too alert.

“Stop your perving, old man,” I said, shaking my head and plopping down next to him. “That girl’s young enough to be your granddaughter.”

“Shows what you know,” he answered, his voice weaker than I was comfortable with. “I was looking on your behalf. Young enough to be my granddaughter means just the right age for my grandson.” He nodded slightly. “You’re welcome.”

I chuckled, a little uncomfortable with the idea of my grandfather setting me up, and surveyed the selection the old man had on the tray in front of him. Looked like vegetable soup, mashed potatoes and green Jell-O with those fruit bits in it. Yep. That was either hospital or prison food. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.

“Well, I didn’t know I needed help, but thanks, I suppose,” I answered, shaking my head.

“If you don’t know, I’m not sure I can help you, son,” he answered. “You been gone twelve years, and I haven’t heard a peep about a girl who might have caught your eye.” He lifted his hands into the air. “Or a guy. You know, the times are a changing and all that. I don’t judge.”

“Shut up,” I grinned. The truth was, there had been more than a couple of girls who had caught my eye up in Chicago. Lord knows there were some who’d caught more than just my eye. I’d even dated a bit while I was up there. I never could find one to stick though and, until that happened, it seemed wrong to bring the only family I had left into the situation. When I introduced a woman to my grandfather, I wanted to make sure it was the right one.

“Any news on who set the house on fire?” he asked, digging into the soup and making a weird face as it touched his lips. My grandfather was a stickler about vegetables. He’d had his own garden since I’d been young enough to disappear behind a potted plant. This sort of thing definitely wasn’t going to satisfy him.

“I’m working on it,” I answered, turning my attention out the window. It was beautiful day today, just like every day had been since I’d gotten here.

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