Mary was sure she had set a new, personal speed record. She had bolted from the store, barged through the park and was now jogging up to her house.

The hair at the base of her neck was soaked. She could feel her cheeks glow. Despite her attempt to walk it off, she was still upset, though.

Lex hadn’t replied to any of her messages. Mary had sent quite a few this afternoon. She had practically begged Lex for a moment to talk. By phone. By chat. At her place. Anything!

But her request had been met with absolute radio silence. At first, Mary had gotten worried. Was Lex unwell after all? Was she so sick she couldn’t reply? No, that didn’t seem likely.

Later in the afternoon, Mary had started thinking that maybe she had pissed Lex off. Had she asked for too much? Was she unreasonable?

By the time the store had closed, Mary had gotten angry too. There was simply no excuse for Lex to completely ignore her. If she didn’t want to talk, she could just say so.

Mary wiped her cheek with the sleeve of her coat and almost tripped over the person sitting on the stairs leading down to her door.

“What the fuck?” she shouted, grabbing the metal railing.

“Careful!” the other person shrieked. “What’s with the hurry?!“

Mary finally recognized her grandmother. “Grandma?!”

Elza got up slowly and stepped onto the sidewalk. “Who else would be sitting here?”

Mary took in her grandmother and immediately felt a pang of worry. It was a clear, crisp evening and Elza wasn’t wearing a coat.

“Why *are* you sitting out here in the cold and the dark?!” Mary asked.

“I locked myself out,” Elza shrugged.

Mary blinked. “What, when?”

“Oh, a few hours ago, I think.” Elza rubbed her upper arms. “Can we go inside, please?”

“A few hours?!” Mary asked in shock. She fished her keys out of her pocket.

“Yes, I hopped outside and forgot my keys,” Elza sighed.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Mary asked, unlocking the door and ushering her grandma inside.

Elza stepped into the hallway of Mary’s basement apartment. “I didn’t have a phone with me.”

Mary slipped out of her coat. “What about the neighbors?”

“The Daniels family wasn’t home and you know I’d rather freeze to death than ask Esther for help,” Elza replied impatiently.

Mary’s mouth fell open. “Seriously? She was home and you sat in the cold anyway?”

Elza lifted her chin. “I knew you’d be home soon.”

“What if I had gone out for dinner?” Mary asked, exasperated that her grandmother would rather freeze than ask a neighbor she had had a dispute with years ago for help.

“I would have had to wait a bit longer,” Elza said, sounding less sure of herself.

Mary widened her eyes at her grandmother, but immediately backed off when Elza smiled back sadly.

“Please just find a place to call the store next time?” she asked and reached for her grandma’s hand. It was cold. Too cold.

Elza chuckled tiredly. “I hope there won’t be a next time. I thought I could have an iris scanner installed.”

Mary arched her eyebrow. “Or you could just not go out without your keys. And stop being so stubborn.”

Elza squeezed Mary’s hand. “I know. I’m glad you’re home, my sweet Mary.”

“So am I,” Mary replied softly. Without warning, tears filled her eyes. She averted her gaze to hide them.

Elza was not fooled easily, though. “Honey, when are you going to tell me what is going on with you?” she probed gently.

The lump in Mary’s throat doubled in size. She sucked her lips into a thin line to stop herself from sobbing.

Elza tugged at her hand. “Let’s sit down for a moment.”

She guided Mary to the couch, her cold fingers wrapped around Mary’s. It gave Mary a moment to think. She was sick of keeping all of this in. She needed to tell someone.

“I don’t know where to start,” Mary sighed. She studied her shoes. They were dirty from walking through the grass.

“Does she feel the same way?” Elza asked, managing to sound way too matter-of-factly.

Mary’s eyes snapped up. Her grandma smiled back in triumph.

“I might be old and stubborn, but I’m not blind,” she giggled.

“Oh, God,” Mary blurted out. She hid her face behind her hands. “Was is it that obvious?”

“Yes,” Elza said, “You’ve been behaving like a teenager for at least a week!”

Mary groaned in embarrassment.

“But let’s focus on what’s really bothering you,” Elza continued. “What’s the problem?”

Mary blew out a long breath. How could she explain? She wasn’t sure if she even understood what was going wrong between her and Lex.

“She, eh,” Mary started, “I think she might not be ready for this.”

“Ready for what?” her grandmother asked bluntly.

Mary squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what she wanted to say, but she had a hard time saying it out loud. She had to force the words out. “For a serious relationship.”

“Aha,” Elza replied, leaning back. “You really, really like her.”

“Yes,” Mary squeaked.

“Have you asked her?” Elza asked, placing her elbow on the back of the couch.

“Asked her what?” Mary responded. The lump in her throat seemed smaller now that she had finally shared some of her worries with someone.

Elza smiled. “Have you asked her what she wants?”

Mary glanced down and shook her head. “I was going to talk to her today, but then she called in sick. I’m not even sure if she is actually…”

“Maybe you should bring her some chicken soup!” Elza interrupted and brushed some lint off of her sweater.

“Chicken s-soup?!” Mary stammered, running a hand through her hair.

Elza nodded. “Isn’t that what people eat when they’re sick?”

Mary frowned. “I guess, but…”

“Personally, I prefer ginger tea. You can never go wrong with ginger tea,” Elza continued.

Mary fidgeted with the small ring in her earlobe. “You think I should go see her?”

Elza smiled and rested her hand on Mary’s knee. “I don’t know, honey. What do you think you should do?”