Becoming Grey: Episode 29

Chapter 29 

February 5, 2022 

By the time Callie and Juna got home, Maggie was clearing her model from the kitchen table. Callie put their new books on the counter and told her that Ryan was coming for dinner at six. 

“Okay.” Maggie looked at the clock, then at the bag. “Do we need anything?” 

“No. Chicken and rice. I bought enough.” 

“I’ll move the rest of this.” Maggie gathered the loose cardboard pieces while Juna climbed onto a chair to show her the monster. “Three eyes. Useful.” 

“Ryan thought he was a cat,” Juna said. 

Maggie looked at Callie. “He’s new to the section,” Callie explained. Callie took off her jacket and hung it by the door. “Apparently there’s a learning period.” 

“I hope the adult books go better.” Maggie put the knife in its case and carried the model away. She did not ask whether dinner meant anything, and Callie was grateful. It meant she had enjoyed talking to Ryan and wanted to do it again. She could decide what else it meant after they had actually eaten. 

The afternoon went quickly once she began cooking. Juna wanted the rabbit book read, then insisted that Gus hear it too. Callie read while the chicken was in the oven and got up twice to check the timer because she did not trust the sound to carry through the bedroom. Maggie set the table, found a fourth chair they usually kept beside her desk, and moved Juna’s paints off the counter. By six the rice was done, the chicken needed another few minutes, and Callie had changed the sweater with pastry crumbs caught in its sleeve. 

Ryan knocked shortly afterward. He had brought bread from a bakery near the shops, explaining that it seemed safer than guessing at dessert. Callie took it and led him into the kitchen while Juna appeared with the picture she had wanted to show him that morning. He had barely removed his jacket before she began explaining the rabbit and the rain. 

“The rabbit’s here,” she said, pointing to a purple patch. 

Ryan studied it. “And that’s the rain?” 

“No. That’s his house.” Juna moved his attention to a series of blue lines on the other side. 

“Right.” He looked at the house again while Callie took the bread out of its bag. “He’s got somewhere to go, then.” 

“Rain’s outside,” Juna explained. 

“Good place for it.” Maggie handed him a glass of water and introduced the model on the sideboard before Juna could claim that as another house. Ryan asked what it was for, and Maggie began describing the assignment while Callie brought the chicken out of the oven. 

The conversation continued through serving dinner. Ryan wanted to know why Maggie had left one section open. She explained that the model needed to show circulation through the space, then caught herself using a term that meant nothing to him and pointed out the entrance instead. He asked whether people would really walk the route she had drawn or cut through somewhere else. Maggie considered it, looked toward the model, and said that was exactly the argument she was having with her group. 

Callie set Ryan’s plate beside his glass and sat down. “You should be careful. She’ll make you test it.” 

“That would be useful,” Maggie said. 

“I’m not sure I’m qualified.” Ryan moved his plate to give Juna room as she leaned across to inspect the bread. 

“You walk through doors,” Maggie told him. “That’s most of the requirement.” 

Juna asked for bread without the edge. Callie gave her a piece with the crust still attached and told her she could leave it if she wanted. Her daughter considered this disappointing service but ate the middle. Ryan asked Callie whether she had finished the motor project, and she explained that it was still in Minnesota. Her dad had sent photographs of the parts she could not remember, with Hannah complaining in the background that somebody ought to label things before leaving the state. 

“Sounds like she knows where everything is,” Ryan said. 

“She likes people to think she does.” Callie passed him the bowl of rice. “She’s usually right, which makes it worse.” 

Maggie described Hannah finding a charger they had both spent twenty minutes looking for. Callie disputed the duration, then had to admit she had checked the same drawer twice. Ryan laughed, and she found herself watching him while Maggie finished the story. At the coffee shop, she had enjoyed having his attention. Here she liked seeing how he fitted into a conversation she did not need to manage. He asked questions, answered theirs, and could let someone else have the last word. 

When the conversation turned to work, he described a customer who had asked for a book she insisted was blue. It had turned out to be red, with blue lettering, after he checked three different shelves. Maggie said this proved that color was an unreliable filing system. Callie pointed out that Ryan would have been equally unhelpful if he had started searching for three-eyed cats. He looked toward Juna, who was occupied pulling another piece of bread apart. 

“I’m never getting past that, am I?” 

“Probably not.” Callie smiled and took a drink of water. 

Juna finished before the adults and wanted to show him the monster book. Callie asked her to wait until he had eaten, which she did for about thirty seconds before putting it beside his plate. Ryan moved his glass out of the way and looked at the cover. 

“I recognize him this time,” he said. 

“Read it.” Juna pushed it closer. 

“After dinner,” Callie repeated. “He’s still eating.” 

Ryan finished his last mouthful and put down his fork. “I can read it now, if that’s all right.” 

Callie nodded, and Juna brought her chair close enough that its leg caught on his shoe. He helped move it the last few inches, then opened the book where she could see. His first attempt was too quick. Juna made him go back because she had not finished looking at the tree. He waited, checked whether she was ready, and went on. Callie carried plates to the sink while listening to him read the part she had already heard three times at the store. 

Maggie began filling the dishwasher. Callie rinsed the baking dish, set it aside to soak, and leaned against the counter for a moment. Juna corrected one of Ryan’s voices, apparently offended by how the monster sounded. He tried again without much improvement, and she accepted it because she wanted the next page. Callie could have told him that consistency mattered more than theatrical skill. She left him to discover that part. 

When the book ended, Juna asked for another. Callie came back to the table and reminded her that they still needed a bath. Her daughter appealed to Ryan, who looked at Callie rather than making an agreement he could not keep. 

“Tomorrow,” Callie said, picking up the book. “You can show him another one tomorrow if he’s around.” 

“I’ll be around in the morning,” Ryan told Juna. “Then I’ve got work.” 

Juna accepted the information and went to collect Gus, apparently intending that he accompany the bath preparations. Maggie intercepted the dog before he could be assigned a place in the water. Callie thanked her and turned back to Ryan, who was putting his glass beside the plates. 

“Thanks for dinner,” he said. 

“Thanks for the bread. And being corrected repeatedly.” 

“I’m getting used to it.” He picked up his jacket from the back of the chair. “I had a good time.” 

“So did I.” Callie walked with him toward the door while Juna called from the bathroom that the tap was not on. She had not been asked to go into the bathroom yet. Callie answered that she was coming, then looked at Ryan again. “Do you ever have mornings free?” 

“Monday, usually. Why?” 

“I finish class at ten. Juna’s at preschool until twelve.” Callie had already checked the timing on the drive home, although admitting that seemed unnecessary. “We could get coffee. If you want.” 

“I want.” Ryan smiled, then reached for his phone. “Same place?” 

“Sure. Ten fifteen?” 

“Ten fifteen.” He put the time into his phone while Callie did the same. “If class runs late, just text.” 

She opened the door, and he stepped into the hallway. Juna appeared behind her to ask whether he was taking the monster book. Ryan assured her he was not, said goodbye to both of them, and headed toward his apartment. Callie closed the door and took her daughter’s hand before she could start another inspection of the hallway. 

Maggie had put the leftovers away by the time Callie returned from the bath. She was sitting on the couch with the library paperback in her hands, reading the back rather than opening it. 

“How was dinner?” she asked. 

“You were there.” Callie picked up the towel Juna had left beside the chair. 

“I was.” Maggie put the book down. “Did you arrange to see him again?” 

“Coffee on Monday.” Callie folded the towel and stopped trying to sound as though she had only remembered it in passing. “I asked.” 

“Good.” Maggie moved her feet to give her room to sit. “You seemed to enjoy talking to him.” 

“I did.” Callie sat for a moment, hearing Juna turn pages in the bedroom. She was supposed to be choosing her bedtime book. That could take longer than reading it. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

Maggie nodded and asked whether ten fifteen would leave enough time before pickup. Callie said it would, and they checked that Maggie would not need the car during the morning before Juna called them both to help find Gus. He was beneath the book she had just chosen. Callie retrieved him, sat beside her daughter, and read about the bear baking bread. 

Later, with Juna asleep and the baking dish finally clean, Callie checked her phone. Ryan had sent a message thanking her again for dinner, followed by a request not to reveal the ending of any mysteries before Monday. She laughed and typed that she made no promises. After sending it, she added the coffee shop to the calendar entry, set a reminder for preschool pickup, and plugged in the phone beside her notebook. She still had a reading assignment to finish before bed. She moved the paperback out from beneath the course handout, marked the page she needed to finish, and reached for a pen. Her phone lit up with his answer. She checked it before beginning, smiled at the suggestion that he could save them both time by telling her who did it, and turned the phone face down beside the charger. 

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