“And?” I asked, not knowing where she was going with this. Soon they were all going to know, it wasn’t going to be a secret.
“And!” she shrieked incredulously, hurting my ears with her awful pitch. “You and I are supposed to be together!” she shrieked again, painfully.
“That’s never going to happen,” I told her bluntly, “You fooled me once into hurting Mickey but I’ll never let it happen again. Mickey and I are finally together and happy, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.” I stood my ground, not letting her bully me or ruin this.
“Either you break up with her and complete the list like everyone thinks you’re doing or I’ll tell everyone the truth and ruin you. You’ll never be part of us again,” she threatened but it was just music to my ears.
“Good! Tell everyone!” I shouted at her happily, it would save me the trouble. I lowered my voice, not wanting Mickey to hear, “I don’t want to be part of your stupid group, I never did.” Gert stomped her foot like a child and shrieked, her face all contorted in anger. I’d never seen her look so hideous before but this was her true face and I wouldn’t forget it, like I had all those years ago.
“Then I’ll make it my personal mission to make her miserable and ruin your relationship with her,” she sneered. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut, the thought of all the nasty things Gert would do to Mickey because of me, hurt me at my core. I didn’t want any of that, but I’d promised Mickey I’d never leave her again and I was going to keep that promise, we’d get through whatever Gert had planned together.
“If you do anything to her!” I shouted, getting in her face, my anger boiling over. She glared at me, a smirk forming on her lips.
“You’ll do what?” she baited me, her nose high in the air. I remained silent, knowing she had me there, I was helpless.
“Exactly.” She grinned, “You’ve been warned James, I expect this thing between you two to end now,” she said and walked back into the house, leaving me outside shaking in my fury. I was not going to lose Mickey again, that wasn’t an option.
The next day, I tried to act normal around Mickey but it was hard with such a big secret hanging over my head, especially with Gert keeping close and watching our every move. But I wasn’t about to let Gert win. I was so relieved we were going away for the weekend together and we’d be away from everyone at school and Gert. The drive to her Gran’s was long but surprisingly, Mickey only had to stop twice and it felt like it went by fast, as we listened to music and sang along off-key, laughing all the while. I wished I could have driven Mickey but I was still waiting to get my licence back, I’d have it soon and I really couldn’t wait.
“Just a warning, Gran is sick,” Mickey said, ending the cheery mood we’d been in. My breath got stuck in my chest, I guess there was lots we hadn’t had time to talk about yet. “She’s still full of life but she has lung cancer and she’s a little slower than she used to be.” I reached out and gave her thigh a squeeze, this was awful to hear.
“I’m sorry, babe,” I said getting her to look over to me with a smile on her pretty face. I’d never called her anything like that before but it felt so right. I only wanted to call her by terms of endearment and get that small blush I loved so much to creep over her cheeks.
“She’s tough,” she said, trying to brush her fear away, but I could tell she was in fact, quite scared. I kept my hand on her leg, rubbing it soothingly.
“Well, I’ll always be here for you, babe,” I told her.
“I know,” she nodded simply, her cheeks adorably pink.
We arrived at Gran’s cute, yellow, two story house. It was adorable with its white door and shutters, complete with a white picket fence. Her house was perfect, I’d always loved it and felt completely at home here. We went in through the heavy wooden Dutch door and were greeted by Gran in all her spryness.
“James, my dear!” she cooed, giving me a big hug. I carefully hugged her frail body back, just as happy to see her. “I am so happy to have you here, I’ve missed you,” she continued, kissing both my cheeks.
“I missed you too, Gran,” I told her, meaning every word. She let go of me to hug Mickey.
“I’m just so happy I lived to see this day.” She chuckled.
“Gran!” Mickey scolded, making both Gran and I laugh. Mickey and Gran went straight to baking, leaving me to sit, watch, and sample batters and frostings. This was the life and it couldn’t get better. While the goodies baked in the oven, we all sat drinking tea and playing cards, it was nice to have a chance to do this again, even if I was rusty and kept losing. Mickey opened the over door and the smell of freshly baked blondies hit me.
“That smells amazing,” I told her, salivating from the smell.
“Let’s hope it tastes just as good,” she said in her sing song voice.
“I know it will.” I smiled, excited to chow down on her delicious treats. The wait for them to cool was excruciating but well worth it, they were terrific! Warm, sweet and gooey, with just a hint of vanilla and orange, my favourite. I moaned in delight as I ate my blondie.
“I am one lucky guy,” I told her. She blushed while Gran merely laughed. “Just don’t let me get
