Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“So, you make sure he’s warm, and you suffer?”
“I sleep on the floor of his room. In the daytime, I bring the heater out here so we are warmer. It’s rare when it’s off longer.” I lifted one shoulder. “I can’t afford to go to a hotel, so we do the best we can.”
He shook his head but didn’t respond. I knew he couldn’t imagine living the way we did, but AJ and I were fine. We did the best we could with what we had, and we were happy. One day, we’d have more. I was working toward it. I headed to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee to brew. Asher followed, sitting at the table.
AJ came into the kitchen, and I smiled at him. “Time to cut your hair.”
He rolled his eyes, always hating to have his unruly locks trimmed, but I had an ace up my sleeve. “I’ll cut Asher’s first if you want.”
They both stared at me. “Um,” Asher said, for the first time sounding hesitant. “Cut my hair?”
“It’s beginning to hang in your eyes.”
“I can see my barber in a couple of days.”
I held up my scissors. “But I have time now.” I pulled a chair in front of me and patted the seat. “It’ll only take a minute.”
He sat down, and I unfurled the cape, draping it around his shoulders. I spritzed the water on his hair and combed it. Standing in front of him, I pursed my lips. He looked decidedly nervous, which I found amusing. Asher was never nervous.
“Have you cut any hair aside from AJ’s?” he asked.
I tilted my head. “I watched lots of YouTube.”
He swallowed, and I had to laugh. “I took a course. You’ll be fine.”
I was done in five minutes, tidying up the ends and trimming the front. As a joke, I pretended to make a mistake, widening my eyes and looking at my closed hand. “Well, thank goodness it grows back,” I muttered, my voice horrified.
“Oh God, how bad?” Asher groaned.
I began to laugh as I uncurled my fingers and showed him there was nothing there. “Gotcha.”
AJ began to chuckle, and Asher narrowed his eyes. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Promises, promises.”
I handed him the mirror. “See for yourself.”
He glanced at his reflection, brushing at his temples. “Once again, I’m impressed, Rosie.”
I could only smirk.
AJ sat down once Asher stood, and his took a little longer. But it looked much better, and it didn’t take me too long. Afterward, they insisted popcorn had to be their reward. We ate it as we played a game of Trouble, AJ winning the game soundly.
Asher and AJ picked the dinner menu, and more Chinese food arrived. Way more than we could eat, but I knew Asher did that deliberately, wanting my fridge full. We ate in the living room, the food spread out on the coffee table. Watching Asher try to teach AJ how to use chopsticks was funny.
He leaned over AJ, showing him with his fingers how to hold them. “Like this, bud. Put your fingers like this. Yes. Now, the other chopstick here. Great. You got it. Pick up a piece of chicken,” he encouraged.
The chicken got away, and Asher laughed. “Again.”
They practiced as I ate, happy just to see them together. Asher was endlessly patient with AJ, and in the end, he was able to pick up a piece of the teriyaki chicken and eat it. Rice was a grain at a time, and the noodles ended up being wound around the chopsticks like spaghetti, but they had fun. AJ’s face and fingers were a mess, so when he finished his meal, I sent him to wash up.
Asher filled his plate again, relaxing against the sofa. “Thank you,” I said quietly.
“For?” he asked, popping a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewing.
“For your patience with him.”
Asher shook his head. “He’s easy to be patient with. He makes me smile.” He paused, chewing a mouthful of noodles. “I think he and Bonnie would get along well. I’m sure Suzy will be demanding an intro soon enough.”
I smiled, knowing he was probably correct. If she was like her brother, patience wouldn’t be a strong suit.
We ate in silence for a few moments, and he set down his plate. “I don’t want to leave you tomorrow.”
“We have to go back to normal life,” I replied. “The holidays are over. AJ goes back to school, I go back to work, you go back to giving away money.”
He nodded. “But I can see you, right? Besides a date?”
“If you want to,” I said cautiously. “I know the holidays are lonely and people do odd things, so if you go back—”
He cut me off with one word. “No.” He shook his head, his gaze fierce, his voice firm. “This was not just me being lonely. We are not ending, Rosie. This is simply the start. We’ll adjust and figure things out. But you and AJ are part of me now. Don’t think for one moment you were nothing but a temporary panacea. You are so much more. Tell me you know that.”