Page 58 of Structure of Love

“Cut in. You?”

“You’d better let me roll. I’m not that great of a painter, so it’s safer for me to roll.”

“Works for me. Music?”

“Put on something like Fall Out Boy or similar.”

“Now we’re talking.”

I had an Alexa set up, currently lurking in the bathroom, as it wasn’t safe in here. I called out to it to play, and it immediately started up music. I poured paint into a tray for Gage and handed it to him.

“Ooh, this is a nice color. I think Asher’s used it a few times.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s historic or something? He likes to use it on Craftsman houses. If it’s not this color, its damn close to it.”

I took the can itself, because all I needed was it and a paintbrush. I started by the doorway so the paint had time to dry before we needed to use said doorway.

“Tell me about Erin,” Gage said as he rolled the wall nearby.

Maybe he was just curious, but I liked that he’d asked. “She’s a spitfire. If I’d had her drive when I was her age, I would have changed the world. She came out to me about three years ago—well, me and Grandma—and we embraced her immediately, of course. She’s determined to get a cute girlfriend the second she’s free of our parents. I keep trying to explain to hershe’llbe the cute girlfriend, as she’s cute as a button, but I’m not makingheadway. For her birthday, our grandma’s paying for a haircut, as Erin hates her waist-length hair and wants to cut it all off.”

“Sounds like she has a strong personality.”

“Oh, for sure. Wants to be a mechanic.”

“I totally think there should be more lady mechanics. If you’re painting now, how soon is she moving in? You said this month, right?”

Look at this man, paying attention and remembering things I’d said. So sexy of him. “August twenty-sixth is her birthday. She’s moving in with me the day of.”

“Literally the second she can get free, huh?” Gage stopped rolling to get more paint on his roller, but he also seemed pensive. “Do you think your parents will start a fight over her leaving?”

“Oh, I’m sure they will.”

“Would it help if you had a police presence?”

I was flabbergasted for a second, because who brings cops into familial spats like this? Of course, I’d spent a good portion of my teen years avoiding cops, so that was probably old instincts churning. After my initial knee-jerk reaction, I had to consider it from a different angle, and he had a point. I was also touched he’d thought ahead, looking for ways to protect both me and Erin. “Uh…wait, calling in Zar and Madison, is that what you’re thinking?”

“Zar will absolutely show up to safeguard a kid escaping abusive parents. He’ll do that in a heartbeat.”

“You know what? I think it’s a good idea. If he won’t mind.” I didn’t know Zar well enough to ask for a favor.

“Nope. Zar may not have realized he wasn’t straight until two months ago, but he’s always been a staunch defender of anyone LGBTQIA+. Trust me, give me a date and time, and he’ll be there.”

I seriously contemplated his offer, imagining how badly my parents were going to react. It wasn’t just Erin choosing to move out, either. It was her telling them she was gay and she would never, ever give them grandkids. Erin wasn’t keen on kids to begin with, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to give our parents the satisfaction of being grandparents.

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s call in a favor from him. I think that’s a safer bet all around. If nothing else, it’ll tell my parents we trust them so little we felt better having police on standby. If that doesn’t shock sense into them, nothing will.”

“When we take a painting break, I’ll ask him.”

I heard my front door open and frowned. I wasn’t expecting anyone? That didn’t mean much. I had an open-door policy with quite a few people. I stuck my head out of the room to see who it was.

The door was opened just a crack, and my grandmother’s voice floated in. “Safe to enter?”

“Come on in. Just us turkeys!” I called back.

She stepped right in, a basket in one hand. My grandmother had shrunk with age, I’ll swear to this. She didn’t have much height to begin with, but now she was this tiny, petite thing who always wore Crocs, jeans, and a cardigan. Even during the height of summer.