Chapter Ten

Quinn

I returned to an empty house, waving the white paper bag of freshly baked bagels and cream cheese like a pathetic carbohydrate flag. Ashton was gone. No note or anything. The day nurse, Constance, told me she saw a girl leaving on my bike.

What was so important that Ashton couldn’t wait until I returned? She had to be desperate to ride that old wobbly bike. I tried calling her cell phone several times but it went to voice mail.

I went inside to take a shower and refortify with a cup of strong, black coffee when my cell phone buzzed. Hoping it was Ashton returning my call I quickly answered.

“Quinn!” Mr. Albertson bellowed. “How did the dinner go last night?”

“We missed you,” I answered. “But everything went well. Thank you for treating us to such a lovely meal. The grouper was spectacular, as usual. You would have loved the special preparation in Cajun cream sauce. Just the right amount of kick.”

Ashton and I had done a little less business and more catching up, I thought with a tad of guilt. Especially since my boss had foot the bill for our dinner. One more reason why I cared so deeply for and respected Albertson. What a standup guy. Unlike me, who women seemed to flee from like their long, silken blonde hair was on fire.

“I’m sure you two had a lot to talk about.” He paused for a second. “I would like to see those plans today. Can we met at the office around two o’clock?”

“Sure, I’ll see you then,” I said disconnecting the call. That would be if I could get Ashton to respond to my calls and texts.

We couldn’t finalize the deal if I had nothing to show him. And how the hell would I explain that? Jeez, Mr. Albertson, I fucked her brains out and she ran away the next morning? My boss was so perceptive he’d probably know within the first few seconds we’d consummated our budding relationship. Ashton and I never did get around to business last night. Too much Cabernet. I remembered the things we did do last night and it brought a smile to my face. Having Ashton back in my bed was nothing but pure bliss. What had I done to screw that up again? What could have happened in the last twenty minutes to cause her to leave me?

I thought about our conversation. I had told her what really happened the night we had sex and her brother had caught us. Well, I didn’t tell her everything, but enough for her to know why I had to leave without saying goodbye. I thought we were good after having that talk. I replayed our conversation over in my mind trying to figure out anything that may have hurt her. It couldn’t be because I’d found out I was the only man she’d ever slept with? Maybe Ashton decided not to completely forgive me after all? But that would be the worst possibility of all.

I called and left her a final voice mail telling her that we had a meeting with Albertson at my office this afternoon to go over the plans. If she didn’t answer my calls within the next couple of hours, I was going to come to her hotel room. She couldn’t get away with avoiding me. I knew it was a quasi-threat but I didn’t care. After our night together, she owed me more face time. I knew this deal was important to Ashton and she wouldn’t just let it fall to the wayside.

“Quinn!” I was jolted out of my ruminations by the frail voice of my Nanna calling from her house.

“Nanna, what are you doing out of bed?” I took in her appearance. She was dressed in her best nightgown and her hair was brushed. She’d played up her trademark blue eyes with shadow and mascara and red lipstick completed her look. If he didn’t know any better, I’d swear she was meeting her best girlfriend for a leisurely lunch on the pier. But I did know better. Nanna held up a brown lunch bag.

“I need you to run to your father’s office for me, my dear,” she called as she gave the bag a gentle shake. “Whatever will I do with that man? He forgot his lunch again. And I made his favorite tuna salad sandwich.”

Nanna had been diagnosed with early onset dementia going on ten years now. But she’d really started to go downhill in the last few months. Because of her backward slide, I’d hired the best in-home, twenty-four-seven nurse money could buy to help her. I couldn’t be around as much as I wanted with the demands of the job. This way, I could rest easy during my long hours that she was cared for. Trudy, her caretaker, truly seemed to care about her as a woman in addition to a patient. But Nanna’s kind heart and sparkling wit hadn’t faded with her memory.

Now, even though she used my name, she confused me with her son, my father. She still thought her beloved husband was alive.

I gently took her hand and led her to the couch. “Nanna, I’ll take care of father’s lunch. I can drop it off on the way to school.”

When the dementia was early on, we would try and correct her. Bring her back to the reality.

But as the dementia escalated, she became more and more agitated when anyone corrected her. Sometimes, it was best to just allow her to remain tightly locked in her alternate world where the past had stood still. The doctor recommended we just play along so as not to upset her. She eventually would find her way back to brief glimmers of lucidity.

These days it was taking longer and longer for her to get there. It brought tears to my eyes to see my grandmother start to wither away. I didn’t think it would be much longer before her brain was completely destroyed by dementia. And I’d lose her, too, just like I’d lost Papa.

I kept hold of her hand, trying to rub some warmth into it. Her thin skin remained littered with blue veins. “I’m sure Dad will be happy to have your delicious tuna salad. It always was his most favorite.” The compliment seemed to placate her.

She gave me a frail hug. “You’ve always been the best son, Chip. I know I’ll never have to worry about you. You’ve made me and your father so proud. He told me so just this morning.”

Tears pricking my eyes, I glanced at my watch. I would have to spend a little more time with Nanna before I could track Ashton down. But I would find her and get her to open up about the disappearing act. The last thing I needed was for Ashton to slip through my fingers again.