It's All Relative (5 page)

His mother gasped as she realized the time. “Oh, shoot. Sorry, honey. Sometimes I forget just how far away Colorado really is from Hawaii… I hate you being so far away.”

Kai stifled another sigh. He loved his mother, but it was entirely too early for this, and his head was killing him. Returning to his mattress, he yawned as he sat down. “Why are you still awake? It must be past midnight there?”

She let out a dreary exhale. “I just couldn’t sleep. I’ve been worrying about you. Are you all right? Is it nice there? Have you met anyone yet?”

Wondering how to answer her, Kai stared up at his ceiling. His hand traveled over his bare chest to scratch a phantom itch, and he finally let that sigh escape. He couldn’t tell his mom about his one-night stand, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t what she meant about meeting someone anyway. “It’s fine, I’m fine. But I’ve only been here a few days, Mom. I haven’t even had a chance to see Grandma yet.” He yawned into the phone again. “I was going to do that tomorrow…or, today, I guess.”

His mother sighed into the phone again, and he could easily picture her on their back porch, worrying about him as she stared out at the dark Pacific Ocean. He thought he could even hear the waves pounding in the background. It gave him a surprising twinge of homesickness. “Right, I’m getting ahead of myself. I just miss you. When do you start work?”

Lying back on his messy sheets, Kai wished he could fast forward this conversation and his headache; both were paining him at the moment. “Monday, Mom.”

“Right…of course.” She paused for a long time, and Kai thought to sneak in a, “Talk to you tomorrow,” so he could attempt to get back to sleep, but she beat him to it with, “Have you met your boss yet?” Her voice came out tentative, like she was unsure if she wanted to ask him that.

Kai frowned at hearing the odd tone. His new boss was his parents’ friend—or maybe just an acquaintance. Kai wasn’t entirely sure what their relationship was with the man, other than they’d all worked together once, back in Hawaii. It was how Kai had gotten a job here, all the way in snowy Colorado. “No…I’ve only talked to him on the phone. I guess I’ll meet him Monday too.”

Another long pause from his mom. “Oh, right. Well, I suppose I should let you get back to sleep. I love you, Kai. I’ll try not to call so early next time.”

He grinned into the phone. “I love you too, Mom. And thank you.” Kai ended the call and tossed his phone to the floor. Still praying for his head to stop throbbing, he shut his eyes and let exhaustion pull him back into his dreams about the beautiful, sensual girl he’d probably never see again.

He was awoken several hours later by a bright shaft of sunlight striking him in the eyes. Although it had to be close to noon now, Kai’s body was sluggish as he sat up and ran a hand through his dark hair. He couldn’t entirely blame the lethargy on his overindulgence last night. While recovering from the alcohol was definitely making him feel like he was moving in slow motion, it was more adjusting to the different time zone that was throwing him off. His body still wasn’t used to it, and while the clock on the microwave confirmed that it was nearly twelve-thirty, his body was trying to tell him that no, it was only eight-thirty. He hoped that he could finally convince his body to play along with Mountain Time by Monday morning.

Standing, he shuffled to the bathroom and stuck his head under the faucet to relieve his thirst; his throat felt like it had been scoured with a Brillo pad. Rifling through a box on the counter, he found a bottle of aspirin on the very bottom and took four of them. His head was still throbbing, and although the room had thankfully stopped spinning and his stomach had settled, he needed a little extra help to get through this hangover.

Kai decided to take a quick shower. As the warm water cascaded down his back, he again experienced a painful surge of homesickness. In the past, whenever he had overdone it at some party on the beach with his friends, he would just dive into the ocean to perk up his spirits. There was nothing quite like the mix of muggy air, warm water, and pounding waves to make you forget the throbbing, thirst-inducing torture of waking up from a drunken night of debauchery.

Wrapped in a towel after his shower, Kai’s thoughts again shifted to the mysterious woman he’d slept with last night. Thinking about his evening with her was almost like watching a movie about someone else—it just wasn’t like Kai at all to bring a strange woman home, toss her onto his bed, and drive into her like both of their lives had depended on it. But while it hadn’t been a typical night, he had to smile as he rummaged for some clothes in a box beside his bed. Whatever it had been…had been amazing.

Shivering a bit in the coolness of his apartment, Kai threw on some jeans and a couple of long-sleeved shirts. Then he shuffled the three steps it took to get to his kitchen. Since he hadn’t gone shopping yet, and didn’t have a whole lot of food in his cupboards, he made his standard meal: a bowl of cereal. He had every intention of getting the stuff he needed today and putting his place together…once his body stopped kicking him in the ass.

Leaning against the counter, eating his breakfast, Kai looked around at all of the numerous opened and unopened boxes. Most of his things didn’t have anywhere else to go besides the box they were in, since he didn’t have much in the way of furniture, not even a bed frame for his mattress. Thinking of everything he still needed to get was a little overwhelming. Shaking his head as he finished his meal, he decided that he would deal with the apartment later. First, he needed to visit the only person he knew in this city, his grandmother.

Feeling that he should probably call her before he just showed up at her door, Kai trudged through his mess to once again find his cell phone. As he retrieved it, he couldn’t help but stare at the television screen. He could see his bed reflected back to him, and the memory of Jessie watching them have sex flooded through him. Her face as she’d stared at their bodies moving so intimately had been one of the hottest things he’d ever seen. And her smile when he’d started getting close… Goddamn. Kai was sure that the mental snapshot of that moment was going to stay with him for a long time, and he again kicked himself for not getting her number. He definitely wouldn’t mind seeing her again.

Kai sat on his mattress again and rubbed his temple while he searched for his grandmother’s number. His head was feeling better, thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, but he still felt rundown. The phone rang forever, and on the sixth or seventh ring, Kai started to get worried. He’d called his grandmother often when he’d started making plans to come out here, and she never let it go past three rings.

His grandmother was a pretty tough woman. She’d had nine kids in half as many years. She’d home schooled them all and sent all of them off to really good colleges. She was big on family bonds and managed to stay in touch with every member of her dispersed, expanded family. She’d even visited Kai in Hawaii every year, right up until the time his parents had gotten divorced. After that, she’d stopped coming around, but she’d never stopped being a part of Kai’s life. She called him throughout the year, sent him cards and handmade gifts on holidays and his birthday, and even baked him cookies. While it had been years since he’d actually seen the woman, Kai had never stopped feeling that special bond with her.

When her phone switched over to an answering machine, Kai started pacing his small room. After ten minutes, he decided to call back. She could have been in the bathroom or maybe outside, tending to her greenhouse. Kai’s grandfather had died several years ago, and with most of her children spread across the globe, his grandmother been living alone at her house for a long time. Kai knew she was self sufficient, but she wasn’t getting any younger either. She was well into her eighties, and people that age could get hurt pretty easily.

When she didn’t answer the phone on his second attempt to get ahold of her, Kai felt that a drop-in wouldn’t be uncalled for. Making sure he had his wallet and keys, he grabbed his jacket from the floor of the kitchen and locked up his apartment.

He found his street bike right in the spot he’d left it in his building’s underground parking. He hadn’t had a whole lot of cash when he’d moved here, but a finding a cheap motorcycle had been a top priority. Slipping on the helmet that he kept on the handlebar, he settled himself over the bike. He’d discovered the ad for a used 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 while searching for an apartment. Kai had secured and paid for the bike while still in Hawaii, knowing that he could probably fix anything that might be wrong with it. He’d been around bikes his entire life, and had spent several summers fixing them up with his dad.

As he started the engine, he thought he’d gotten pretty lucky—it ran like a dream. But as he sloshed through the wet streets of downtown Denver, he started questioning his decision about owning a motorcycle in the freezing Mile High City. He was a bike guy, though. It was bright blue and unbelievably fast. Maybe one day Kai would save up and get a Jeep too, so he could be a little more insulated from the icy chill, but for right now, he could get by with just this.

Flying down the wet streets, the bottom of his jeans getting soaked along the way, he drove to where his grandmother had told him her house was located. It should have taken him fifteen minutes, but not knowing the city very well, it ended up taking him well over half an hour. Finally finding the place, he shut off the bike, propped his helmet on the handlebar, and walked up to the modest, white, one-story dwelling.

Empty flower boxes were in the windows and an empty bird feeder was perched right in front of a large bay window. Kai peeked through the window as he approached the house, but all the lights inside were off, and it was pretty dark. That was odd to Kai, since his dad had told him that Grandma didn’t leave her house much anymore. His father had even considered putting her in a home, but Kai had convinced him that he would check in on her as often as he could while he was living here. Kai understood the importance of independence. And besides, from what he knew about her, his grandmother would never agree to move to a home anyway.

Just as he brought his hand up to knock on the front door, he heard someone say, “Are you looking for Millie, son?”

Turning, Kai saw a wrinkled old lady peeking her head out the front door of the house next to his grandmother’s. “Um, excuse me?” he asked politely, his head still feeling a little slow.

The old woman stepped out of her home and shuffled onto her porch. Clutching a fuzzy blue robe around her body, she tilted her head at Kai. “Millie Harper. That’s her house, but she’s not there. Are you looking for her?”

Kai turned to the neighbor and dropped his hand from where he still had it raised to knock. “Uh, yeah. Do you know where she is?”

The old woman beamed, like she was bursting at the seams to finally be able to tell someone everything she knew. “Oh, it s been a busy morning. Ambulances, fire trucks. Very exciting!”

Kai’s eyes widened, and he took a step toward the woman. If his grandmother had had a heart attack while he’d been sleeping off a hangover, he didn’t think he would ever forgive himself for not taking a few minutes out of his day to come out and see her. “Is she okay?” he called out.

The woman frowned at seeing the shock on his face. “Yeah, she’ll be all right, son. Don’t fret. She fell, broke her hip.”

Kai puffed out a quick breath as relief flooded through him. Immediately, concern rushed in to replace it. “Is she at the hospital then?” He looked around the neighborhood in despair. He could barely remember where his apartment was from here, let alone a hospital he’d never been to.

The woman coughed loudly, her small body racking with the movement. Concerned now for a different reason, Kai wondered if maybe he’d have to rush this curious little old lady to the hospital too. After a moment, her spasm passed. “Yeah, they drove her away. She’s probably already been patched up.”

Closing his eyes, Kai hoped everything had gone okay. When he reopened them, he looked around the streets again. “Um, I’m new here. Can you tell me where the hospital is?”

The old lady smiled. “Sure. How do you know Millie, boy?”

Kai walked across the lawns between the small houses. Coming up to the woman on her porch, he softly said, “She’s my grandmother.”

With a sympathetic smile, the woman put a gnarled hand on his arm when he was finally in front of her. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, son.”

Kai nodded in appreciation, and then listened carefully as she went over the confusing directions.

Twenty minutes later, he was approaching the hospital where his grandmother had been taken. The massive building loomed before him as he shut off his bike and pulled off his helmet. The woman’s directions had been almost impossible to follow, relying more on landmarks than actual road signs, but eventually he’d deciphered where “the house with the purple door” and “the yard with the ‘beware of dog’ sign” were, and made it here. Slipping his helmet over the handle bar, Kai headed toward the entrance to the hospital; nervous energy was coursing through his veins.

After convincing the nurse at the front desk that he was family, he was given his grandmother’s room number. Walking through the antiseptic-smelling halls, he considered if he should call his father or not. He wouldn’t call his mom, since there was no love between his grandmother and her, but his dad would definitely want to know she was hurt; however, he could call him after he’d talked to her and found out how badly she’d been injured. He lightly knocked on door number 210.

A musical voice answered him. “Come in.”

Kai smiled at hearing the perkiness in her voice; she sounded fine. His grandmother visibly brightened when he walked into the room. Upon seeing him, her frail hands came up to cover her mouth, and tears started forming in her warm brown eyes. “Kai, oh honey, you’re here.”

Kai shook his head as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t cry, Gran.” Leaning over, he gave her a quick, careful hug. He didn’t want to jostle her too much. “Are you all right? Are you in pain?”