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.