A Grandma (A)

Claire

Emma came in almost immediately, followed closely by a few other staff as they carried shopping bags.

"What are those?" I asked as I sat up.

"Starter clothes and accessories for you. Mrs Hart will be here later today to help you shop for your preferred clothes."

"I don't understand." The other staff put down the bags by my huge closet and left without a word.

"Someone is coming here to help me shop? Is there a mall inside here?" That cracked her up; it took her two long minutes to compose herself.

"No, you'll select on her magazine and tablet, then she'll deliver them to you. If you choose something that isn't in her boutique, she'll order them. The point is, you don't have to go anywhere, whatever you want will be handed over to you."

I didn't like how that sounded; it made me feel like plastic... Ugh, it's hard to explain. What's harder is being a rich man's kid.

"I'll get you your breakfast, do you want any specific meal?"

"No, whatever is fine." I relaxed on my bed this time.

A few embarrassing minutes later, I was done with my breakfast. I couldn't remember the last time someone fed me, that'd be when I was still a toddler. Yet, here I was at fourteen, being fed by a slightly older woman. Emma had her lips pressed together most of the time, as if suppressing her laughter; other times she was teasing me with baby sounds and choo-choo train.

"That wasn't so bad. In fact, I look forward to feeding you your lunch." I frowned deeply at her. It just made her laugh more.

"Relax, if it's any consolation, Shelby does worse."

"Who's Shelby?"

"My two years old daughter." I stared at her. A minute passed, two minutes... She broke into another prolonged laugh.

"I was kidding. She's my sister's kid, but my sister's dead, so that makes me her mother; especially since we don't know who her father is."

"Oh, what happened to your sister?" She looked away a bit, her cheerfulness almost dulled.

"Well, Nina was the party kind. Like always, she left me with Shelby while she went for a party; she didn't come back. There was a fire, and with the alcohol and the drugs, no one made it out." Too bad.

"I'm sorry about that, Emma. That's rough." 

"Not really, I've known loss already when I lost my parents. Now, it's just me, Shelby and my grandma. I'm working here so that I can at least get a good room for my grandma at the pedestrian home, then I can enroll Shelby into daycare where she'll be with kids her age. When that's settled, I can finally save for my tuition." She got really cheerful again.

"With my paycheck here, I can get my grandma a room before Christmas! I really love this job, it's a win-win. I get paid for just being me and you're not a cranky boss too." 

"I'm not your boss."

"You are. Your Dad made that clear to me, I work only for you. He would have flipped if he found out that I helped in getting the house ready with Reggie. In my defense, I thought you're not a morning person." I smiled.

"When you have a kid like James in your life, you'll be an all-round person. He's unpredictable."

"Same as Shelby. I love that little girl to pieces." She stood up and began to take away the breakfast tray.

"I'll be back soon to hang up your new clothes and run you a bath..."

"Claire!" I was only fast enough to see a head full of black hair before I was tightly enveloped in a hug. I didn't see Emma slip away.

"Finally! I've been wanting to meet you for soo long!" She pulled away, so I had a good view of her; round cute face and dimples on both cheeks, she looked so adorable, except for her too black clothes and they felt like leather.

"Hi, Jacey?"

"Yes, I'm Jacinta. You're skinny and what happened to your hands?" Wow! Another chatterbox. 

"I'm not a chatterbox and you should get ready to meet grandma. You can't keep her waiting." I sat still, stunned. 

"Did you just read my mind?"

"That's not possible. People usually say I'm chatterbox, so I was just making it clear." That made sense.

"Grandma's here?"

"Nope! I ditched them and took a cab."

"You did what? How old are you?"

"Hey, I may be ten, but I can take very good care of myself. Besides, you don't know what it's like having Mom and Grandma in the same room. Even when they're separated, they call up each other and continue fighting. And I couldn't wait to see you, so I took a cab. We missed our flight because of Antonio already, the wait was killing me." She stopped and looked around.

"Nice room, who decorated it?"

"Abigail."

"I'm not surprised."

"Won't your Mom be mad at you for coming here on your own?"

"Nah, I had no business waiting for them at the hotel, I'm going to stay here with you guys. Although she'll scold me for not taking the driver. Anyway, why's your closet empty? Haven't gone shopping yet? Oooh! Let's go shopping together." And she said she's not a chatterbox.

"I'm not a chatterbox."

"Now, how did you...?"

"Your expression. Come on, I'll make a bath for you, Grandma will be here soon and you should be ready." Without letting me reply, she made for the bathroom.

"What do you think about Abigail?" She asked from inside the bathroom.

"I don't know. I just met her today, she seems okay."

"But too okay that you can't trust her, right?" I didn't reply immediately. Jacinta was really strange, it was as if she could really read minds. I mean, how would she know about how I felt towards...

"You don't have to over think it, I know I'm right. You can relax around her, she's genuine. To most people, she seems too good to be true, but she's the realest person I've ever met." She poked out her head. "Just don't tell Grandma I said that, she thinks that title belongs to her."

"Are you two close? You and Grandma?"

"Yes, I don't let her boss me around, so she keeps me close to keep me in check. I hope James becomes her new favorite; I don't need that spot anymore." She came out and made for the shopping bags by the closet.

"Bath's ready, I'll pick out your outfit."

"This is really nice of you, Jacey. Thanks a bunch." She gave me a look.

"You sound like a Yankee. Grandma won't like that, not one bit."

"Is she controlling?"

"Only if you let her, but she's sweet when she gets what she wants. Just be nice to her, she's almost always right." Be nice to her? How else would I be to my Grandma?

"Sure." I stood up and looked down at my buttoned pyjamas, I couldn't unbutton them without my fingers.

"I'm back, I'll make a bath for you." Emma came to my rescue.

"Oh cool, you have your own personal assistant." Jacinta said with a smug, I didn't understand.

"Hello, I'm Emma."

"I know." Jacey didn't even look at Emma as she replied. Something was definitely off with her.

"You know I'll have to help you take a bath, right?" I paled, it was only getting worse. Now someone has to bath me? No way!

"I'll manage." I said hastily and tried to pull the pyjamas over my head. It didn't go well, I nearly shouted in pain.

"Relax Claire, I'm a girl too. Just picture it this way; I'm you and you're James. Does that help?"

"Not in the slightest." She giggled. She came closer and began to unbutton my clothes.

"Oh, come on! Your hands will be healed completely in a few days, then you can do whatever you..."

"No way! I'll definitely use my hands tomorrow, even if it kills me."

"Of course you will." Jacey said with that smug look again and laid an outfit on my bed. A pretty cute skirt and an equally cute top decorated with flowers. The only problem there is, I don't do skirts and neither would I dress so girly.

"Okay, there is a denim overall shorts there, do you prefer that?" She turned to me with bright eyes. I nodded slowly; there was no way she didn't just read my mind. Oh Lord! Please don't tell me I have a freak as a... I didn't finish that thought; if she really read minds, then I'd be careful of what I think.

"Purple or blue?" She held up two tee-shirts.

"You choose."

"Alright, bath time." Emma led me towards the bathroom without helping me out of the PJs. Good call, I can't have Jacey see me in the nude.

"I'm a girl too!" She called from the room. Then I heard her footsteps as she left the room. Yup! It's official, my cousin reads minds.