Chapter Six
Joanna was bored. Like, climbing the walls bored. Why had she thought Halikarnassus was a good idea?
She hadn’t. But Granny was a good idea, and Granny needed her.
Sort of.
Granny liked spending time with her, and it was mutual. But Granny did not need her. She was feeling much better and now spent more time out of bed than in it. She had friends dropping by every hour, it seemed, and enough food to feed a whole army of broken-legged grannies. Every time Joanna thought of something Granny might need, a neighbor rang the doorbell, delivering just that thing. Joanna was starting to think she was telepathic.
Or maybe Granny just had some really thoughtful friends.
“What’s on your agenda for today?”
Joanna placed a mug of coffee in front of Granny, then curled up in the corner of the sofa with her own. “I thought I was taking care of you.”
“Hmm.” Granny took a sip of her coffee.
“Why, you think I’m not doing a good job?” That was not her heart plummeting to the soles of her feet, and that was not her hackles hitting the ceiling. Not at all.
Granny reached across the table for Joanna’s hand and squeezed. Heart and hackles retreated.
“I love having you here and you know it,” Granny said. “I wish you would stay, not that I would ever pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.”
“Not at all.” Joanna smiled into her mug. At least Granny wasn’t passive-aggressive.
“I wish you would stay for the coffee alone,” Granny said. She took a sip from her mug and smiled. “I had no idea my coffeemaker could do such a thing.”
Joanna decided now was not the time to tell Granny that she had done the reverse Folgers switch, and that, while Joanna was here, she would never again drink off-brand budget coffee. Because the coffee Joanna had bought came in a bag, not a giant bucket, and it cost money. Which wasn’t fair because it was Granny’s money, but also she knew Granny would enjoy it, which was how she justified the expense. Granny needed a treat. And if Joanna was not forced to drink weak dirt masquerading as ground coffee, well, so be it.
“Do you need me to do something? Is that why you’re asking?” Joanna would jump through fire for Granny. But first she would make sure that she really needed to jump through fire.
“That’s the thing, sweetheart, there’s nothing I can think of. I have food, I have visitors, I have painkillers. What else does a girl need?”
Joanna thought about that for a minute. Probably nothing. Well, coffee. But Granny had coffee. Sex. But no. Not Granny. At least not in Joanna’s imagination.
“I just don’t want you to get bored, that’s all.”
Joanna leaned her head on the back of the couch. Getting bored was the main thing to do in Halikarnassus. Halikarnassus: Come for the Family, Stay for the Mind-Numbing Boredom. Joanna really didn’t know how she could avoid being bored.
But that was not what Granny meant. Granny meant she didn’t want Joanna getting bored so that Joanna took off again.
Besides, after the chaos of the past couple of years, getting bored would be a nice change of pace.
It would be good for her to be bored.
Great.
Bored.
No problem.
Lots of time for self-reflection and stuff.
And Granny.
Self-reflection and Granny.
So fun.
“Oh, there is one thing,” Granny said, and Joanna nearly levitated off the living room couch with purpose and action. “I need a book.”
Joanna eyed the floor-to-ceiling bookcases covering one of the walls she was about to climb.
“I see that look. I mean I need one specific book. For my book club.”
“Okay. Do you want me to order it for you?”
“I do know how to use the Internet, you know. But I would like to start it today. The meeting is next week.”
“Ah.” Joanna tried to remember where the nearest bookstore was. Or if it was even still there. It had been ten years. Or the e-book. She didn’t think Granny was the type to do e-books, but she also didn’t think Granny was the type to go all stupid for running shorts.
“Liam reserved it for me at the library. If you could pick it up, that would be a big help.”
Speaking of running shorts.
Ugh, the library.
The last time Joanna went to the Halikarnassus Free Public Library, Mrs. Pratt glared at her so hard she had Trina check the back of her head to make sure there wasn’t a hole there. So what if, the week before, she had been caught making out in the biographies. Everyone made out with Dan McErlean sooner or later. And wasn’t it thrilling that books made her so excited? Besides, Dan didn’t last long. That fact was lost on Mrs. Pratt, whose philosophy was “Once a Miscreant, Always a Miscreant.” She had a cross stitch sampler saying just that in her office. Or so Joanna had heard.
The idea of going to that musty old building full of crabby old people was not inspiring Joanna to do any great favors for Granny. Maybe she could get her an e-reader.
Or maybe she could suck it up and do one favor for Granny, who had taken care of her through all of her miscreant days and asked for little in return and who was laid up and only wanted a good book to read. Maybe the library wasn’t as bad as it used to be.
Except that nothing in Halikarnassus ever changed.
Joanna braced herself, picked up Granny’s car keys, and headed for the library.