Jacob's room is tiny. It's so small that it doesn't really fit both me and him. But I sit on the floor beside his bed. He turns on his radio and we just sort of listen to a CD or two. Talking about nothing.
When it's dark outside we hear a truck. We both get up and go to the door to see Harry and Sue Clearwater helping Billy Black into his wheelchair.
"I've got it," Jake says to Harry as he greets them and his dad.
I wave at him and Sue and they smile back at me and Jacob.
I rush over to help Jake get Billy in his chair.
Billy looks at me.
"What are you doing here, Quil?" He asks,"Your Mom know you're out this late? Old Quil just went back to your place"
My ears perk up at hearing the mention of my Grandpa's name.
"I was just visiting Jake," I tell Uncle Billy,"I'll head home"
He chuckles.
"Don't let me drive you out," He says,"Stay as long as you want. As long as it's ok with Joy. I'll give Old Quil a ring, too"
"No," I say hurriedly before he can make any plans to call my mom or grandpa,"I should be getting back"
"We'll give you a ride," Sue Clearwater says to me,"It's too late for you to be walking out here by yourself"
She shares a look with her husband, Harry, who nods his head.
"Thanks," I tell them.
"See ya later, Jake," I say,"Bye Billy"
They both wave at me as I jump in the middle seat of the truck with Harry and Sue.
Harry starts the engine and we ride away.
Sue places her hand on mine and gives me a motherly smile as her husband drives.
"You feel warm, Quil," She says quietly.
Harry diverts his eyes from the road to take a glance at me.
"Yeah, I've just been exercising a lot lately," I tell her.
She smiles and nods her head.
"That's good," She says.
She looks at Harry but then looks at me again.
"You and Jake should come over more," She says,"You know Seth would love to see you boys"
She's talking about her son, Seth Clearwater. He's about two or three years younger than me. I see him at school sometimes. He's a nice kid. But I'm not going to tell Sue Clearwater that the only reason I'd go over to her place is to see her older daughter, Leah. Now she's the one that's hot and the only reason I'd want to be around any of Grandpa Quil's Tribal council members like Harry and Sue.
It doesn't take long to get to my place.
Sue gets out to let me hop down.
"Thanks for the ride!" I tell her and Harry as I say goodbye.
Grandpa Quil must have heard the truck pull up, because he's standing on the porch by the screen door.
He waves at Sue and Harry as they drive off.
I race up the steps and bound towards Grandpa.
I don't think I've ever been happier to see him in my life.
I take him by surprise and hug his waist like I'm five years old again.
He chuckles and pats my back.
He smells like old leather.
It's makes me nostalgic.
"Sorry I wasn't here when you got back from school," He says gently.
I let go of him and rub the back of my neck in embarrassment.
"S'okay," I say,"I hung out at Jake's for awhile"
He smiles.
"That's good," He says,"You two boys will need each other"
I don't know what he means by that. But sometimes Grandpa always says weird stuff that I don't really get, so I just let it roll over.
"Did you eat?" He asks me.
I shake my head no.
"I figured as much," He says,"Come on inside, I'll come up with something. Your mother's going to be late again"
I'm sad that Mom won't make it to dinner the second night in a row, but I'm just glad I have Grandpa.
As I walk past him into the house, he reaches out and touches my forehead.
"Your hot," He whispers quietly.
It's the same thing Sue said when she touched my hand in the truck.
Are adults just able to tell when you're about to get sick? Maybe that's why they keep commenting on my temperature.
"But not burning," Grandpa continues to whisper.
I realize he's talking to himself.
He smiles at me.
"It'll be time soon," He says with a nod of his head.
"Grandpa," I complain,"You're acting weird again"
He chuckles.
"We old ones have to act weird," He says to me as we both go inside,"It's the only way you young ones will finally understand"
But I still don't know what he means.
Author's Note: 1/14/2019 Thanks for reading!