Chapter 54

"Hey, Flin, when will Mother be home?" Lily asked me. I looked down into her beautiful eyes. We were standing inside the elevator, again. It seems like the up and down moving hunk of metal was our sacred haven.

I sighed and said, "You'll be seeing her soon enough. She should be better in maybe three to six months, but it could take around a year. It depends on her mental fortitude." I looked down at her again. her face was full of worry and uneasiness. I consoled her, "Lily, you shouldn't worry about your room much. She's a brave woman, she'll be fine." I reached down and ruffled her soft blonde hair.

She looked up at me and said, "Okay." She hoisted her bags and stood back up. She was around my height. I wish she would sit back down, it would feel like I was her grandfather and not some short, temporary uncle. The elevator stopped at my floor, and we both got out.

We walked down the long hallway decorated with dead people; Lily looked around, fascinated at almost everything she saw. I wouldn't blame her, even in the same hotel there were different levels of living. Lily piped up with her angelic voice, "Flin, you must be well off to live here." She skipped around the hallway waiting for an answer.

"I don't actually live here, like your mother and you, but I will be here for a couple more weeks."

"Where will I go then?"

"With me, of course! You think I'm just going to leave you here?" We made it to the hotel room door. The carvings on the wood popped out to me. Detailed birds. Swans were floating in the wooden water, the cranes were bent over searching for the unfortunate fish, osprey and hawks circled the air looking for prey. Small finches and blue jays were in the process of building their nests; geese flew in a V-shaped pattern in the air, slicing the air as they went. Two doves were in the center of it all. They touched their beaks together, creating a small but significant heart that tied the whole frozen carving together. I had walked past something so beautiful without a second glance. What a shame. I looked at Lily; she was also admiring the work in front of us. I chuckled, "You won't stay out here or come in?"

She playfully hit my shoulder and said, "You were doing the same thing too!"

I laughed, "Yeah, I was." I unlocked the door with my hand signature and pushed it inside. I could hear Lily's gasps ring out every time after three or so steps. To me, it wasn't that glamourous, but to her...I guess I had lost touch with the excitement for something new or lavish to understand what she was thinking. Her long blonde hair swayed in the artificial breeze created in the room. I cleared my throat before saying, "You will sleep and do whatever you wish in that room." I led her to a sizable room that was decorated with pink and purple wallpaper. There was everything a girl could ever want in there.

"Woah! Do you have a granddaughter?" she asked.

I found that a little ironic, considering my only living relative was standing right in front of me. "No, I picked it out for you."

She wandered into the room and stroked the fluffy bed that was layered in pinkish hues. She then went to the mirror and stared into it. I guessed that she was probably examining the whole room from the reflection, but who knows? She slowly and hesitantly spoke, "Flin, this is nice and all bu-"

"Cut to the chase," I interrupted her.

"You think I can have a golden, yellowish theme instead of...all of this?" She closed her eyes expecting the worst. She continued to make reason, "I know this is all abrupt..." I pulled out a little remote from my back pocket. "But, I like yellow a lot better..." I clicked one of the many buttons on the remote. "Pink and all the girly colors." The room turned into a bright yellow. Gold embroidered the edges of the walls, furniture, and bed. Even the sheets changed. "I only wore pink and all that light stuff because Mother made me!"

I crossed my arms and waited for her to finish before saying, "Catch." I threw the remote over to her. When she opened her eyes, her mouth released astonished gasps. Her eyes lingered in the wrong place as the remote hit her right on the head. *THUD* I panicked, "Are you okay?!"

She rubbed the spot where the remote hit her and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine. How'd you do all of this?"

I pointed at the object she was holding and answered, "It's the remote. If you don't like it, then you can change it to whatever you wish."

"No, it's okay. I like this."

"You can even put the picture of those ripped men that girls your age like to look at!" I took the remote out of her hands and pressed another button. The walls immediately converted into pictures of handsome men with shredded bodies. "You know, I used to have one of those bods," I looked down at my slight potbelly, "Guess, age takes things away from you."

"FLIN!" Lily snatched the remote back and furiously pressed all of the buttons on the remote until the walls reverted back to the previous design. Her face was red the entire time.

I smirked, "You liked that didn't you?"

Lily squealed, "NO!"

I waved her off, "Okay, whatever, why don't we check out the wardrobe?" I pointed her to the giant piece of furniture that took up the entire wall that was opposite her bed. She walked over and opened it. *Foosh* A flurry of pink shirts, pants, skirts, and accessories all jumped out and landed on Lily. She was pushed to the ground. I paused before saying, "I think I forgot about that."

She sighed and shoved all of the clothes back into random cabinets. She turned around to face me and said, "I don't suppose you have another one of those remotes, do you?"

"Nope."

"Then," she twirled her fingers around each other, "Can we go shopping?"

My heart melted. My own granddaughter was asking me to go shopping, how amazing was this?! I maintained my composure and replied, "Sure, We can go this weekend."

"Thanks but I have something at school this weekend," she kindly rejected.

"Then we'll go after!" I clapped my hands together to symbolize the end of the discussion. "Now, let's eat some of that stuff that I bought a couple of days ago. I've been getting fatter each time I try to finish it."

Lily smiled with energy. I led her to the dining room and sat down myself. Today was going to be a good day. I just know it.