Chapter 12

It hardly took the boys more than 10 minutes of walking before they arrived outside a building that was around 2 stories tall, overlooking the river which, if you went down it far enough, would lead you to the barrens. They trampled through the long grass that was near the entrance path and Eddie stopped at the little gate turning to Richie, he knew that it was a little strange, to be taking someone to meet his nana despite only knowing them for a few days. 

He didn't want to scare Richie off or anything weird like that, he didn't want to make him think that he was boring or not good enough to be friends with - stop it Eddie, Richie agreed to be here, he's the one who wanted to hang out, its fine, he doesn't think you're boring, stop overreacting, you promised mom, now get it done with quickly. Eddie just knew that he would feel terrible if he didn't visit his nana like he'd promised, and hoped that she wouldn't keep them too long. If Richie thinks that I'm boring, that's his loss not mine. 

Eddie turned to the other boy, hand on the gate, debating whether or not to actually go in, now that his thoughts had caught onto his actions. No, you're gonna do what you promised Eds, no not Eds...Eddie.

"Rich, don't mind what she says too much, you know old people, they're kinda... weird." 

"Probably not as weird as your mom gets in bed," Richie smirked, with a small wink. 

And just like that, Eddie's worries about Richie judging him disappeared, there was something about the way that Richie spoke that was just....right, Eddie couldn't quite put it into words, but he was sure the other boy was fairly easy to read, and if he was making mom jokes he surely wasn't too bored. "Shut up," Eddie murmured, opening the little hatch on the gate, "My mom doesn't get 'weird' in bed," 

"And how would you know that Eddie Spaghetti?"

"Well I-....I know she doesn't, now shut up,"

Richie chuckled, pushing the gate open for Eddie and with that the two of them walked into the building. They went down a small ramp like thing, probably used for wheelchairs, and entered room with beige walls; it looked like a waiting room, there was a large desk at which a lady sat filing some paperwork. The shorter of the two strolled up to the desk and whispered, "Excuse me?,"

The lady looked up, and readjusting her glasses asked, "Who are you here for?"

"Mrs. Kersh," Eddie replied

"And you are?"

"Eddie Kaspbrak."

"In relation to her?" the woman said with a tired voice

"Oh um sorry, her grandson"

Eddie stood on his tiptoes, peering over the counter and watching as the lady mumbled 'Eddie Kaspbrak' and 'Grandson' as she filled out a small sheet. As she finished scribbling, she put the piece of paper in a chunky folder, clicking her pen a few times, "You're good to go," she said to the boys, motioning to a corridor that led off to the right. 

The smaller boy beckoned Richie towards him, and they both started off down the carpeted corridor, lined with pictures that little kids had drawn of their grandparents, which Richie thought, were honestly quite ugly. 

You see, the boy had never met his grandparents growing up, and wasn't very fond of his own parents, let alone any other adults, so he had a hard time seeing why anyone would want to spend time with old people willingly, or do anything for them in general. It wasn't too long before the boys stopped in front of a large wooden door labelled "Room 68", and Eddie, after shifting the basket he was carrying, knocked softly on the door a few times. A couple of seconds later the door swung open, and a tall lady stood at the threshold wearing, what Richie thought, looked like a nurses outfit. 

She had bright eyes, and her hair was up in a messy bun, she moved to let the boys into the room, smiling fondly down at Eddie, "Eddie dear, its been a long time hasn't it? I see you've got a friend with you there," she sent a small waved to Richie, which the boy returned, "I'm sure Mrs. Kersh will be delighted to see you both!"

Eddie only smiled and nodded in reply. "I'll give you some privacy," she whispered, making a move to leave and then turning back around, "Oh and Eddie, she's just had her meds, don't mind if she seems a bit....off," the nurse paused and then pointed to the back of the room, "She's in the last bed, by the window over there."

  Eddie thanked her and watched as she left, then tugging at Richie's sleeve once again, led him to the last bed in the room. It looked like one of those bed's you see in the hospital, with a pale blue curtain on a railing around the bed frame, and a tiny wooden bedside table with a single glass of water and two books.

  "Nana? It's Eddie" Eddie said, putting the basket on the table. Suddenly the curtain was yanked back, revealing a frail, bespectacled woman, sitting up against her pillows looking as though she'd seen the sunshine for the first time ever. She beamed at the Eddie, her eyes crinkling and lighting up as she pulled small boy in for a tight hug. "Good to see you too nana," Eddie laughed, wrapping his arms around the old woman. Richie didn't know what to do during this little meet and greet, and so stood there awkwardly, playing with his fingers, and fiddling with the zip on his jacket while Eddie's nana told him how much she had missed him, and how he'd gotten taller since the last time she'd seen him. Richie let out a small snort at that, swiftly disguising it as a cough as Eddie rolled his eyes, sending him a flat look, and although none of the boys noticed, Mrs. Kersh was hiding a smile too, she did know how short Eddie was, but liked boosting his ego, even if the boy hadn't grown at all. 

Richie watched as Eddie pulled the basket towards him, and took out a thick book, the shining by Stephen King, handing it to Mrs. Kersh, who gushed about how she'd been wanting to read it for a long time. Richie was quite surprised, never thinking that old people were into reading horror books, but apparently it was a "work of art" according to, Mrs. Kersh, the lady in the waiting room and the nurse, guess you learn something new everyday, Richie thought, watching the old woman place it gently on her bedside table. From the basket, Eddie also pulled out a couple of sandwiches which he said he made for Mrs. Kersh, and she happily bit into one as she listened to Eddie explaining how to play the sudoku game in a magazine he'd found. 

"So I think of the word that matches the little description, and then I put it in the grid?"

"Yep," Eddie smiled

"Well that doesn't sound like any fun," Mrs. Kersh said flatly, taking another big bite of her sandwich

"Okay nana, do what you want," Eddie sighed, closing the magazine and plonking himself down next to her on the bed. Mrs Kersh was quiet for a few minutes, eating her sandwich and then, all of a sudden, she seemed to have noticed that there was somebody else standing in the room. She sat on the bed, taking in the appearance of this new person that had come to visit, analyzing all of their features, and after a few seconds she said, "Who's this girl? She looks quite...familiar" Mrs. Kersh asked, squinting through her thick glasses. She paused to stare at Richie, "She has very pretty hair Eddie, is she your girlfriend?" "What?" Eddie asked in surprise, looking at Richie with an amused expression on his face. Richie was taken aback, moving his black curls out of his face a little, so that Mrs. Kersh would hopefully be able to see that he was in fact a 16 year old boy. 

"I'm not a-," Richie started, but was cut off by the ever curious Mrs. Kersh

"She's quite tall for you isn't she, dear?" the old woman continued, looking Richie up and down. "You're a bit too small for her,"

"She isn't a girl nana, this is my friend Richie," Eddie laughed.

"Oh so sorry dear," she said, not sounding sorry at all, still staring intently at Richie's face "It's just that your face, and your hair," she pointed to Richie's hair, coming down to his neck, and just over his forehead, "Your hair reminded me of an old friend of mine, who was a girl, she looked.... well, very much like you do know, very tall, long hair, you know the sort. She was quite sweet too, oh but the ridiculous things she used to say," Mrs. Kersh laughed to herself before carrying on, "You kids don't want to know, always joking around she was. I do miss her, she was.... she was the only person who really knew me. The only person who loved me." 

Mrs. Kersh sighed, stuck in her own world, and a silence followed after this description of an old friend. The old woman seemed to be reminiscing, and Richie and Eddie exchanged confused looks, as a dreamy look come over Mrs. Kersh's face. Where had this nostalgia come from? Neither boy knew what was going on, but a few minutes later Eddie put it down on the meds, he'd never heard of this 'friend that looked like Richie' in all his time he'd known Mrs. Kersh, so it was probably her old age, suddenly remembering someone from her childhood. 

"Nana?" he asked, putting his hand on the woman's shoulder, "Are you alright?" Mrs. Kersh seemed to come back to earth, as she sat up a little straighter, "Of course sweetheart," she reached over and lifted a glass of water up to her mouth, taking a long sip, "Just the good old times coming back to me." She then looked at the two boys ad smiled, "Well you kids best get going, I doubt you want to be spending your Saturday with me."

"Don't be silly Nana, I like spending time with you,"

"And I like spending time with you, but it looks like your friend Richard," she looked at Richie and gave him a small wink, "Wants to spend some time with you, so I suggest you go along," 

"Ok, but take care of yourself nana, and stay safe," Eddie said, walking back to where Richie had been standing. The two of them had been making a move to leave, when Mrs. Kersh said, "Eddie, aren't you forgetting something?" with a little tap to her cheek. 

At this, Richie noticed, that Eddie's cheeks turned a little pink, and he watched as the boy made his way back to the old woman and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Richie didn't know why, but he found it quite funny to see Eddie embarrassed about giving his nana a kiss and so, to tease him just a bit more, said, "Want one from me too Mrs. K?"

What he wasn't expecting to hear, was Mrs. Kersh saying yes, and beckoning him over. He paused, surprised, and looked over at Eddie, who was biting his lip and looking back and forth between Richie and his nana, struggling to contain his laughter. 

"I don't have all day," Mrs. Kersh said impatiently, beckoning Richie over to her again, who, a little tentatively, went and gave the old lady a peck on the cheek as well. 

As soon as the two of them left the room, waving goodbye to Mrs. Kersh and gently shutting the door behind them, Eddie burst into laughter.

"You really thought that was funny huh?" said Richie, a smile beginning to form on his face, watching the small boy giggle

"Yes," Eddie breathed out finally, "Your face when she asked for a kiss!" and with that began to laugh again, and Richie couldn't help but join in, the laughter really was contagious. Stepping out of the building, the warm rays of sunlight hit them, "Up for lunch Eds?"

"Absolutely,"

.... They scouted out a shady place to eat under a large oak tree next to the small wood, which, if you went into it, somehow crossed the river, and hiked up the hill, you would end up at the other side of town, near the kissing bridge. 

The boys sat themselves down on a small patchwork picnic blanket Eddie had bought and began to talk about what they could do now. Richie revealed that he didn't initially have a plan, and Eddie wasn't surprised, not that he didn't expect Richie to be unprepared, but that's exactly what he had expected. After some careful consideration and a lot of thought, the two of them decided that the perfect way to spend the rest of their time together would be to go down the ice cream parlour on the other side of town, after they finished up eating their sandwiches. 

If they were lucky Richie said he'd be able to persuade the owner of the parlour, Mr. Harrington, to perhaps play a movie on their tiny television, that would usually be switched on for a small fee of $10 if the people in the parlour wanted to watch. Richie was just about to reach towards the basket, which had some more homemade sandwiches in it, when Eddie slapped his hand away. 

"Sanitize first," he said, unzipping his fanny pack and pulling out a bottle of hand sanitizer, squeezing a tiny droplet onto his palm, and then onto Richie's. 

"Okay Mr. Health-freak," Richie mocked

"Say what you want but you won't be calling me Mr. Health-freak when the bacteria in your hands kills you," Eddie said, taking a sandwich and munching on it. 

"Pffft, that can't happen," Richie said disbelievingly, also taking a sandwich, biting into it "This is really good by the way," 

"Thank you, but why can't that happen may I ask?" 

Richie held his finger up, taking a few seconds to swallow and then resumed, "It can't happen because they're so small," he thought for a second, "Just like you Eds," 

"Don't call me that asshole," Eddie took a sip of water from the small bottle he'd been carrying, and continued, "And it can happen, did you know there's still no cure for the common cold?"

"Just like there's no cure for my undying love of you mom," Richie sighed, and then paused for dramatic effect. He put the back of his hand up to his forehead, a sad look on his face and with a British accent said "Your right Eduardo tis incurable, t'will be the death of me," Richie clutched his heart, and with a dramatic gasp let himself fall back onto the ground with a thud. 

"Any last words?" Eddie asked with an amused smile peering over at the boy

"I-I-," Richie spluttered,

"You what?" 

"The bacteria got me, and I....I ended up fucking your mom," and with that Richie let out a final wail and pretended to die, his arms flopping down beside him, glasses sliding down his nose, and his tongue sticking out comically.

  A stranger walking a dog, strolled past the two who were laughing away, and eyed them weirdly, moving to walk on the other side of the path. At that Eddie laughed harder, "Get up idiot," he laughed, looking at Richie was laying on his back with a grin on his face. The taller boy shook his head, and lazily lifted his arm, opening and closing his hand, meaning he wanted Eddie to take it and help him, which the shorter one did and yanked the boy up, still smiling. 

"Hurry up and finish these sandwiches slow poke, I want ice cream," Eddie said, tossing Richie another sandwich, which the boy deftly caught, nodding his head, "Your wish is my command Edward,"

"Stop calling me that!"

A/N

Ily all besties, stay healthy and safe!