her. I expected her to be eating and happy to be rid of me, but what I saw cracked my chest in two and left me feeling like a douche bag.
She was crying and not eating and Josie was sitting next to her rubbing her back. She was having to console her because I was the jerk who made her cry. Back to square one, or negative eight hundred.
I felt like crap the rest of the day and drove home with a silent Troy in tow. I dropped him off and he turned and spoke into the open window.
“W hat are you gonna do?” He asked.
“I don’t know, but I need to do something.”
“Ain’t that the truth. Let her breathe a little bit and get to where she misses you.”
“What if she never gets there? ”
He chuckled at me as he re-shouldered his backpack.
“From what Josie says, she thinks it’s her fault. She ran you off. She’s pissed at herself. She’ll get there.”
“Thanks man.” We bumped fists and he went into his house.
I decided to go to the one person that I felt completely comfortable talking to.
Gram, as she wanted me to call her now, was quiet today. She listened to me moan and groan about Remi, but she didn’t crack jokes or say anything until I was done. She stayed silent for so long that I looked at her closer to see if she had fallen asleep.
“Get that stool Cooper and pull it up right in front of me.” She pointed to a small squatty stool and I obeyed.
When I sat in front of her she pinched the front of my KISS t shirt and rolled her eyes.
“Let me tell you about girls like Remi. They are precious as rubies, but rubies are expensive. You have to work hard to earn a ruby. But once you do, once you’ve shown her that you recognize her as the gem that she is, she’ll never forget it. And more importantly, she’ll see that she’s a ruby. But you’ve got to do most of the work. But the reward is her love. You understand me Cooper honey?”
“I’ve tried Gram. She threw it in my face and acted like I had some kind of ulterior motive.”
She chuckled her little grandma chuckle and squeezed my cheeks.
“Oh my boy, it’s gonna take more than a couple of days to show her. But the last thing you ever want to do is walk away from her. When you do, she buries her heart deeper and next time it’s harder to find. You know, your grandfather and I were married forty two years. Know why?”
“Why?” I was absolutely entranced by her sage wisdom.
“Because he never ever walked away. I knew that no matter what I did, he was going to be there waiting and loving me. He made me see that I was worth the effort.”
“Ok, I can do that.”
“Are you sure? You’re so young to be so committed to one girl.”
“How old were you and grandpa when you first started dating or whatever.”
She giggled again. “Well, we were fourteen. But that was a very different time.”
I hugged her goodbye and went home. Eric and I ate dinner together and then we watched some kind of show where people get caught acting stupid on video. It was pretty funny and I was kinda starting to like Eric. He said my mom had called and not to worry about calling her tonight because she was working
She was crying and not eating and Josie was sitting next to her rubbing her back. She was having to console her because I was the jerk who made her cry. Back to square one, or negative eight hundred.
I felt like crap the rest of the day and drove home with a silent Troy in tow. I dropped him off and he turned and spoke into the open window.
“W hat are you gonna do?” He asked.
“I don’t know, but I need to do something.”
“Ain’t that the truth. Let her breathe a little bit and get to where she misses you.”
“What if she never gets there? ”
He chuckled at me as he re-shouldered his backpack.
“From what Josie says, she thinks it’s her fault. She ran you off. She’s pissed at herself. She’ll get there.”
“Thanks man.” We bumped fists and he went into his house.
I decided to go to the one person that I felt completely comfortable talking to.
Gram, as she wanted me to call her now, was quiet today. She listened to me moan and groan about Remi, but she didn’t crack jokes or say anything until I was done. She stayed silent for so long that I looked at her closer to see if she had fallen asleep.
“Get that stool Cooper and pull it up right in front of me.” She pointed to a small squatty stool and I obeyed.
When I sat in front of her she pinched the front of my KISS t shirt and rolled her eyes.
“Let me tell you about girls like Remi. They are precious as rubies, but rubies are expensive. You have to work hard to earn a ruby. But once you do, once you’ve shown her that you recognize her as the gem that she is, she’ll never forget it. And more importantly, she’ll see that she’s a ruby. But you’ve got to do most of the work. But the reward is her love. You understand me Cooper honey?”
“I’ve tried Gram. She threw it in my face and acted like I had some kind of ulterior motive.”
She chuckled her little grandma chuckle and squeezed my cheeks.
“Oh my boy, it’s gonna take more than a couple of days to show her. But the last thing you ever want to do is walk away from her. When you do, she buries her heart deeper and next time it’s harder to find. You know, your grandfather and I were married forty two years. Know why?”
“Why?” I was absolutely entranced by her sage wisdom.
“Because he never ever walked away. I knew that no matter what I did, he was going to be there waiting and loving me. He made me see that I was worth the effort.”
“Ok, I can do that.”
“Are you sure? You’re so young to be so committed to one girl.”
“How old were you and grandpa when you first started dating or whatever.”
She giggled again. “Well, we were fourteen. But that was a very different time.”
I hugged her goodbye and went home. Eric and I ate dinner together and then we watched some kind of show where people get caught acting stupid on video. It was pretty funny and I was kinda starting to like Eric. He said my mom had called and not to worry about calling her tonight because she was working
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