Unexpected

Chapter 7: She Has Dementia

CADE

I’d been wracking my brain since Wednesday afternoon. I usually stop into ‘Rise and Grind’ multiple times a week but I’ve found myself avoiding that place and it blows. I’m a sucker for their flat white with caramel.

How could this girl have sucked me in so easily. I loathe her and yet the ambivalence is blinding. I’ll admit that I haven’t exactly taken the time to get to know Logan but if I do know one thing it’s that she’s probably avoiding me with equal, if not more effort.

I walk into the lecture hall and scan the faces that are already present. She’s not here yet which allows me to breathe a sigh of relief. I start to set up the PowerPoint for Dr. Mathews when I catch a glimpse of flowing dirty blonde hair out of the corner of my eye.

I’ve managed to avoid her face for almost 38 hours but goddamn it as soon as I lock onto her my c**k stirs in my jeans and my brain is instantly flooded with memories of her soft lips against mine, the warmth of her skin, feeling her close to me.

What the hell is wrong with me? As badly as I want to look up at her I keep my eyes down.

Dr. Mathews clears his throat, “Alright guys. I have good news and bad news” he says capturing the attention of the class.

“The good news is that after reviewing everyone’s test scores I’ve decided to grade on a curve. The bad news is that one of you scored a 96%. Congrats to that person. Sorry to the rest of you. However, we are going to spend the next couple of classes reviewing the test and hopefully helping you guys get a better grasp on these concepts.” He says and my eyes instantly drift to Logan who is staring intently at her notebook. From this angle the lights behind her almost create a halo of light that frames her.

Shit, snap out of it man. All I can say is thank god its the weekend and I actually have plans this weekend.

LOGAN

I look my at my exam with a 96% painted red in the corner with a cheesy smiley faced drawn next to it.

I flip the paper over. It only serves as a reminder of what happened and I refuse to acknowledge it any longer. I had managed to keep my gaze away from the honey blonde hair of head at the front of the lecture hall.

“Maybe I’m approaching this class all wrong..” Kristen says glaring at the 78% that sits at the top of her exam.

“How so?” I ask angling my body toward her, resting my face in my palm.

“Clearly I’m studying with the wrong person. Why haven’t I asked you to help me?” She says flipping my exam over.

I grab it out of her hands, “I’ve offered to help, remember?” I tell her shoving the test into my notebook.

“Yeah, well I guess I’ll have to take you up on that now” she laughs. I shake my head and turn back to the front.

I glance around the student union, desperately trying to find a similar head of blonde hair that got separated from me in the crowd. My mom was in town to visit with my grandma Kay and asked to grab lunch.

I offered to take her somewhere off campus but she refused. It wasn’t that I disliked the campus food. It was actually really good but sometimes it could be stuffy and the last thing I needed was one of my flings popping out of the woodwork.

I finally spot her chatting up one of the workers, her salad and sweet tea in hand. My mom was the sweetest human being I’d ever met. Her southern accent was light and warm and when she talked with anyone it was almost as if she was trying to learn their life story in a matter of minutes.

I shoot her a smile and point to a table that I had found and quickly claimed. I sat down and popped a French fry into my mouth as I waited for her current conversation to fizzle.

She finally joined me.

“Lana has worked here for 25 years. Can you believe that?” She says twisting the cap off of her drink. I give her a confused look.

“Do you know her?” I ask opening my sandwich.

“No, just met her but her husband just lost his job so she’s been working overtime. They’ve got two kids in college. I can’t imagine..” she continues.

I chuckle, “you got all that from a few moments of conversation” I say.

“Baby, if you’re intent on getting to know someone it doesn’t take much.” She says digging into her salad. I have to physically keep myself from rolling my eyes.

After a few moments of eating I speak up, “have you heard from Noah?” I ask thinking of my sister.

“Yeah, she’s doing well. Baby Davis is doing well. I cannot believe I’ll have another grand baby is April.” She says, her face beaming with pride.

“I know, I’m so excited for them” I tell her.

“Speaking of grand babies, Hayes and Brie stayed the weekend with us last weekend. Your dad and I babysat for Jude while they went on date. He is such a rambunctious cutie pie” she says giggling.

“Just like his dad..”I laugh eating another fry.

“I tell ya, I’m so thankful for Brie. She really keeps him grounded” she says and I raise and eyebrow.

“Jude or Hayes?” I chuckle.

“Hayes!” She says as if I’ve just insulted Jude. It’s still weird to think that my brother is a dad. He’s always been this energetic goofball but once Brie locked him down he really matured and watching them become parents has been so fun. They really are great at it. I know my sister, Noah and her husband Brent will be great parents too.

“So, do you want to come with me to see grandma today?” she asks and I have to refrain from rolling my eyes.

I push my plate away and shake my head, “I’m good”. She c***s her head to the side, “why not?”

She asks and I know that I can’t avoid this conversation forever.

“Why should I? That woman has never made an effort to come around and when she did she took no interest in our lives. Why would I bother?” I say crossing my arms.

“Honey, you’re hurting. I get it..” she begins placing her hand on my arm.

“No mom, It’s bad enough that she turned her back on her only child.. but Hayes, Noah, Riley and I didn’t do anything to her. We didn’t deserve to be ignored.” I interject.

I guess I never realized how much it all affected me until I said it out loud. I think about the relationship I have with my Mimi and Pap. They’ve always loved us and loved us well. They’ve always been there for us, at every event, school function, and extra curricular game.

When Grandma Kay and Grandpa Ed started coming around I didn’t understand. I spent a lot of time when I was younger wondering why they didn’t love us like Mimi and Pap.

As a kid I thought it was something that I had done. I didn’t understand that it had nothing to do with me. I always tried extra hard to be lovable and get them to take an interest in me when they would finally come around but it was always met with coldness and distance.

Eventually I became callous to them and nothing has really changed. Once grandpa Ed passed away we saw more of grandma Kay and she was always kind but at that point I had no interest in mending any broken bridges.

“..She has dementia..” my mom says breaking the silence. When I don’t answer she continues, “Dad doesn’t think she’ll be around for much longer. Her health has declined quite a bit. Might be nice to go see her”.

I let out a sigh, “I’ll think about it” I say scraping my teeth over my bottom lip.

“Why don’t you push the rest of the kids to go see her this much?” I ask.

“..because you, my child, are the one who seems to be having the hardest time with it. Not just grandma Kay but the entire situation regarding dad and I and his parents..” she says smiling softly.

“How did you guys do it? How did you guys forgive them so easily?” I ask, a feeling on unease rising in my chest.

“It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of hurt on both sides but life is too short, honey.” My mom says and I nod slowly.