Page 60 of Awaiting
“Have you ever cut grass before?”
“Just because I haven’t done something before doesn’t mean Ican’tdo it, Bexley.”
“Alex, you don’t have to–”
“Please, stop,” Alex told her softly as she placed her hands on Bexley’s shoulders. “I’m not here because I expect you to show me a good time. I’m here because I wanted to spend time with you, Bexley, where you grew up, and to get to know the people in your life. I can mow the grass if you show me where the mower is. I am certain I can figure it out. I can make tea. And I can help you pack. Please let me. Let me be Alex this weekend, not a Princess.”
Bexley stared into those green eyes and thought about letting herself fall into them for a minute. That would be so nice, just falling into those kind eyes and letting Alex take care of all the hard stuff while they were here.
“I don’t like lemon in my tea!” her grandmother yelled from the living room.
“My kind of woman,” Alex said to Bexley, offering her a wink.
Then, she dropped her hands from Bexley’s shoulders, and Bexley sighed in disappointment.
“Lawn mower is in the garage,” Bexley told her. “I have no idea if it has gas in it.”
“Gas?”
“Oh, wow,” Bexley said.
???
They packed as much as they could that afternoon and evening, and once they were sure Bexley’s grandmother was asleep, they left for Bexley’s house, which was just down the road. Alex had insisted on leaving one of her guards there just in case Grandma got up and attempted to cook or, heaven forbid, did something else that would be dangerous. Bexley was exhausted. She was certain Alex had to be, too.
“So, this isyourroom,” she said, pointing to the full bed against the wall.
“It’s nice.”
“No, it’snot.” Bexley chuckled. “But it’s this room or the sofa.”
“Bex, it’s great. I’m tired. I’ll fall right asleep.”
“Okay. Well, if you’re up before me, feel free to make yourself at home. I’ll order food to be delivered tomorrow morning before I go to bed. Eggs and bacon okay with you?”
“Whatever you want is fine with me,” Alex replied.
“Bathroom is just through there. It’s yours. I have one in my room.” Bexley pointed down the hall. “And towels should be in there, but if you need more, the linen closet is–”
“Bex?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to go to a hockey game tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry. What?” Bexley asked.
“I know baseball is your favorite sport, but it’s not in season. Alice said you like hockey, too. I looked it up on the way over here. There’s an amateur team that plays tomorrow afternoon. I thought we could go after we drop off your grandmother.”
“I don’t know how long that’s going to take. There’s more paperwork and…”
“It’s okay if we don’t, but I got tickets just in case.”
“Wait. You can’t go to a hockey game.”
“I can’t? Is there a law against it?”
“No, but you’re…you.” Bexley motioned to Alex with an open palm.