She came around his pool when she didn't find him in the house and there he was, enjoying the mild sunny morning.
"What better time to wash off the anguish of yesterday than now?" She said, gesturing at the pool.
"Good morning, Mrs Nelson"
"Just call me Junie, you know, I'm an old lady still with a young brain" she laughed. Nicolas walked out of the pool, staring back at Ash who nudged him to go if he wanted to.
"How are you holding up, my child?" She asked, patting his wet shoulders.
Nick simply sighed. Old Mrs Nelson had been the second person he had notified about Ashley's accident and she had been very worried for him after the news.
"Shall we have breakfast together, my child? We can talk over breakfast huh" she said like a command, and walking straight into his dining room.
Both of them had built a bond since he began living close to her, and the old woman had been less lonely with him around. Nick tried to read her expression and expected her to ask who was in the pool with him, but she just stared long at it, directly at Ashley and then turned towards his apartment, shaking her head.
She was already well over sixty five but she was his best friend especially when Ashley was not around to keep his company.
"What would you like to eat? You know it's okay to eat even in distress, You garner strength to re-strategize and heal" she smiled warmly and darted into his kitchen.
He was like a son to her and Mrs Nelson would always look out for such a humble child especially as his own mother, Jenny Newton was too busy a woman to check up on him everytime.
Old Mrs Nelson thought it was providence and luck having to live next door a successful fashion model who was in fact very gentle and humble.
In a few minutes, Nick started to hear food simmering on fire. He was extremely grateful for this woman, and he knew that somehow, though it might take a while, he would be fine again.
Just when he was about to lay his head on the table, Ashley walked in, drenched in water.
"What are you guys plotting against me? Mrs Nelson wouldn't even respond to my greeting" she complained. She slipped her feet into his flip-flops and darted towards the kitchen. "Oh, is that food simmering?" Nick hurriedly covered her mouth and pulled her towards himself, asking her to go upstairs immediately.
Her body was very cold and he knew it wasn't the water.
"I'll explain. Go to my room now please" he was going crazy. "I'll bring you food when I'm done with her. Mrs Nelson is in a bad mood today. I'll tell you everything later" he lied.
He did not have answers for her but at least he was going to try.
When he was sure she was not within earshot, he waited. The old lady started to dish their meal into plates, while scrutinizing his face.
"I'm sure you haven't had anything to eat since the incident" If it had not been Mrs Nelson, he would have called her crazy. How can anyone think of cooking him food with everything that happened to him?
What angered him the most was Jenny Newton's reaction to the news. She was cold and not so empathetic as usual. He shouldn't have told her.
His mother didn't like Ashley one bit, but he expected that she should have at least shed some fake tears after hearing that the poor girl lost her life in a simple accident.
What was wrong with humans?
"I'm sorry about everything, my son. I'm truly sorry" the old lady said, spoon-feeding him. She called him 'my child' oftentimes or 'Cole' and he was already used to it.
Nicolas ate a few spoons only because he didn't want the efforts of the old lady to go to waste.
"It's my fault. I let her go to the farmhouse" he sighed, chewing the finger steaks and the shrimps.
"It's not your fault. It was her happy place. Stop blaming yourself, Nicolas. You can cry if you want to. It's okay to cry but don't blame yourself. Don't." she reiterated.
" I can never get over her, Mrs Nelson"
"Do you want to talk about everything?"
"I don't know" he said, blinking back tears. "No one understands"
"But I do. Eat some more spoonfuls and let us go take a walk somewhere" she wiped his mouth with the tablecloth and patted his shoulder. Just when he was about to put the next spoonful in his mouth, Ashley walked into the dining room and took a chair.
"Good morning, Mrs Nelson, I hope you are in good health" she said picking a fork. A startled Nicolas paused his eating, waiting for what would happen next.
Mrs Nelson was taking away the plates and not looking at either of them.
"My body is strong these days, so taking a long walk will not be too hard" she mumbled walking to the kitchen with the plates.
"At least she responded to me this time. I almost thought she started to hate me too" Ashley said, eating the only shrimp left in his bowl ."Why are you staring at me like that?" She questioned him. "You look like you just saw a ghost, I can't deal with you right now, Nicolas" she stood up and walked out on him but he didn't stop her.
"Granny and I are going for a walk. Please stay home till I get back" he said, somehow grateful that Mrs Nelson had answered her this time, or at least it looked like it.
"Don't tell me what to do since you won't even talk to me" she yelled. Nick could hear her waltzing up the stairs like she was the owner of the house. He had been a little distant but it wasn't his fault.
He didn't know what to do with her in his house like this, moving around like all was well.