Here With You | ✔

CHAPTER FOUR; part two

Dresden Gibson

     Cas makes good of his word, though it's a year later and so much has happened that I've forgotten he made the declaration. A surprise attack back, a surprise so huge I don't see it coming. It isn't a holiday, or a birthday, or an anniversary. Just a random day in September. Things are not normal, but they're the closest they've been to normal since the start of COVID-19 and the ensuing quarantine.

     I re-opened Weston's in July for takeout and mobile ordering, but it was a slow start. I started doing takeout for Weston's After Hours every Saturday to both give me something to do and increase the revenue. For the better part of July and August, I was barely making ends meet with the store.

     Things got better towards the end of the summer, enough that I could resume normal hours and Rumi and Tasha could return. Rumi's a senior now, but her high school is fully remote, so she's been here a lot. I let her do her zoom classes in the break room. This last years been hard on her. She lost her mother, grandmother, and two aunts to coronavirus.

     Tasha and I have tried our best to be there for her, but she's a grieving teenager. It seems like everything I say to her is wrong. She doesn't want sympathy, and she doesn't want to be coddled, but when I try to talk to her casually, I get choked up remembering that her mother isn't going to be there to see her graduate. That she lost several female figures in her life in one fell swoop.

     I realize that I'm not going to be able to ease her pain. You can't make someone happy when they're grieving. All you can really do is be there, quietly, readily, for when they need you.

     Not that it matters, because Cas shows up and he rains the sun down on her sadness. Rumi isn't Rumi unless Cas is in the room. He has a way with her that I just don't understand, but continue to be amazed by. He even manages to get a laugh out of her sometimes.

     I love him for lots of reasons. This has become one of them.

     It's Friday, so I'm out grocery shopping. Cas makes fun of my routine. He also makes fun of how often I go grocery shopping, which is sage coming from the guy eating me out of house and home.

     When I get home, I cook dinner, a simple rosemary chicken with some roasted potatoes because I'm tired and want something that's quick and easy. It's plated and ready for when Cas gets home. I always wait to eat dinner with him.

     I've just gotten out of the shower when I get a notification that the alarm at Weston's has been tripped. In all the years I've had Weston's, I've never had any problems with the alarm system.

     The alarm company calls me next. They ask for the code and I give it but explain I'm not there and am not sure if it's a false alarm or not. They let me know they'll be dispatching police. I call Cas as I get into my car and start making my way to the store.

     "Hey," he answers. "I'm on my way home. Whats up?"

     "The alarm got tripped at Weston's. I'm headed there."

     "Do you want me to meet you there?" he asks.

     "No, I'm sure it's nothing. The alarm people dispatched police. I'll call you when I get there if anything's up. But head home. You had a long day."

     He yawns as if to reaffirm it. "Alright, keep me updated, please."

     I beat the police to Weston's. The alarm's off and there's no sign of forced entry. There's lights on, though, in the back of the building, which I can see from the front door. They're dim, so maybe the kitchen lights. I wouldn't be able to tell from here if someone broke into Dolores's office, which is where we keep the safe.