Chapter 301
“Get out!” Lyman Etheridge barked.
Mitchell Lloyd looked like he wanted to say something else, but when he saw the murderous glint in Lyman’s eyes, his expression faltered. He hesitated for a
moment, then stalked off, sulking.
“Honey, come inside. Dinner’s ready,” Effie Bagnold called to Lyman.
“Just a minute,” he replied, not moving.
Effie hurried after him, concern etched on her face. “What’s wrong?”
Seeing her peeking around the door, worry written all over her, Lyman couldn’t help but smile. The edge softened from his features.
He reached out, intending to pinch her cheek, but then paused. The memory of touching Mitchell was still fresh. His hand felt tainted.
He pulled back. “I forgot to buy soy sauce.”
“Oh, right!” Effie laughed, suddenly remembering.
“There’s a little store downstairs, but Grandma doesn’t get along with the woman who runs it,” she explained carefully. “So if you go out the building’s main gate and turn left, walk about a hundred yards, you’ll see Grandma Shera’s Grocery. That’s Grandma’s friend—her shop’s where we usually go.”
Lyman nodded. “Got it.”
He listened to every word before heading down. He left the building and really did walk to Grandma Shera’s Grocery, just as Effie had described, to pick up the soy
sauce.
Standing on the balcony, Effie watched Lyman’s figure disappear down the street. Her thoughts drifted back to the last time she’d brought Mitchell over to visit her grandmother.
They’d run out of salt that day, and she’d tried to explain the whole “don’t buy from the downstairs shop” situation. But before she could even finish, Mitchell had cut her off, exasperated. “It’s just a bag of salt,” he’d complained. “Why make it so complicated?”
He’d rolled his eyes and muttered about old women holding grudges over nothing. “Are they really still arguing over something so petty?” he’d scoffed.
In a way, he wasn’t wrong. There was no deep feud between Grandma and the downstairs neighbor, just a preference for buying from Grandma Shera. Once, when Shera’s family was out for a wedding and the shop was closed, Grandma had tried to buy from the downstairs store. The woman there had made a snide comment: “If you’re not a regular, don’t expect us to serve you next time.”
Grandma left fuming. That evening, she’d rather sweeten the soup than buy salt from them.
After that, the two grandmothers barely exchanged greetings. It was all trivial, silly old-lady drama, but what else did Grandma have left to care about? At her age, she clung to these tiny grievances.
If Mitchell couldn’t even respect something like this, how could she expect him to respect anything else?
In the end, Effie had gone to buy the salt herself, while Mitchell lounged on the couch, playing video games. When she returned, he made a snide comment about how much effort she’d wasted for a bag of salt, saying it would’ve been faster to order takeout.
Lost in thought, Effie was startled from her reverie by someone waving below. She looked down and saw Lyman, already on his way back with the soy sauce, smiling up at her, hand raised in greeting.
The last rays of sunlight brushed his face, making him look like a young hero returning home in triumph. In that moment, Effie’s heart skipped. She couldn’t help but wave back, warmth blooming in her chest. The two of them grinned and waved with all the enthusiasm of long-lost lovers reunited.
Only when Lyman started up the stairs did Effie finally turn away.
She spun around—and saw her grandmother, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Noticing Effie’s gaze, Grandma turned away, dabbing at her eyes and pretending nothing was wrong.
Once, she and Grandpa had been like that too…
“Grandma?”
Effie hurried over, gently supporting her grandmother’s shoulders. “Are you alright?” she asked softly.
Grandma shook her head, her voice trembling as she replied, “I’m fine, darling. I just… I was thinking about your grandpa.”