Page 67 of Reunited Soulmates
“You might not be used to it but pushing a wheelchair around can be exhausting,” he explained. “And besides, I’m the man here. I can’t have you lifting the heavy loads.”
“Grandma is hardly heavy,” I pointed out, rolling my eyes.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told me easily. He bent down to Grandma and murmured, “You see that couple in green, Grandma? Can you do me a favor and lick your lips when we pass by them?”
“The couple of beans?” she echoed, confused.
I shook my head and nearly burst out in laughter. Looking at the couple, they did kind of look like beans in a pod, with both of them dressed in the same green hue.
“No, the coupled dressed in green!” Oliver whispered louder. He discreetly pointed out the couple in question and Grandma finally nodded her head in understanding.
We resumed walking and when we passed by them, Oliver greeted them stiffly, “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Coleman. Nice to see you this lovely Sunday.”
“Oh, hey, Oliver,” the man muttered in discomfort. I watched as his eyes darted to Grandma Margaret, who was looking at Oliver and licking her lips. He and his wife paled at the sight of it and they hastily excused themselves and went the other way.
I stared after them in confusion. “What was that about?”
Oliver just shrugged his broad shoulders and grinned. “You wouldn’t wanna know.”
We sat down for lunch at a seafood restaurant and I ordered the butter garlic shrimp scampi with linguini while Oliver went for a tuna steak. Grandma wanted some soup so we ordered a clam chowder for her.
“What?” she hissed. “Why would you order canned powder? Do they even serve that here?”
“No, Grandma.Clam chowder.” I pointed to the picture of a thick, creamy soup on the menu. She peered at it for a moment before nodding in understanding.
The waiter looked at us like we had gone crazy for a moment but still maintained a pleasant façade.
“We forgot her hearing aid,” Oliver explained to him.
“Oh.” The waiter nodded before bustling off to the kitchens to relay our orders.
Lunch was a mostly enjoyable affair made hilarious by the misunderstandings brought about due to Grandma leaving her hearing aid at home.
After lunch, there was still quite a bit of food left so we had the restaurant wrap it up for us to take home. At that point, I reminded Grandma that we have yet to buy the wool she wanted.
“A bull?” she repeated. “Silly girl, whatever would I want a bull for?”
“Wool,” I clarified. “Forknitting.”
“For pitting?” she shook her head. “I’ve heard of pit bulls but never thought of buying bulls andpittingthem.”
Oliver burst out in laughter while I looked up at him helplessly. “Do you now see why I’m always reminding Grandma about her hearing aid?” I smiled at him. “All our conversations sound like nonsense when she hasn’t got it on!”
“Yeah, but you have to admit that it’s pretty entertaining!”
“So, where are we getting the bull?” Grandma piped up.
We both burst out laughing at that while my grandmother looked at us in confusion. As we stood there, giggling in the middle of the mall, I realized that I really was happier here with Oliver.
If it had been Dan, he would probably have been incensed already, I mused.Oliver…he finds humor even in our most embarrassing moments. He has a great sense of humor and he’s not afraid to laugh at himself with me.
I looked up at Oliver and found his dark brown eyes shining with happiness as he glanced back at me. There was an emotion there I could not describe—one that twisted my intestines into knots and made me wonder why I was still able to stand when my knees had gone soft on me.
I shook my head and turned back to Grandma, making knitting motions with my hands.
“Oh. Wool.”
I nodded at her with a huge smile.Finally!