DEX
Say the word, and I’ll meet you out. As backup. Or we could tag Sayla in for a girls’ day at the spa with her and Loren. Not that Sayla and Loren usually do spas. But I figure YOU don’t want to share a sauna room with your mom.
ME
Eye bleach. Mind eraser.
DEX
Sorry.
ME
Gird your loins. She may be joining us on Saturday for my birthday. IF Loren and I can’t get rid of her organically by then.
DEX
For real? You want Say and me to welcome her or cold-shoulder her?
ME
Literally no idea.
DEX
There's always duct tape and the train.
ME
Ha. Still no. But thanks for making me laugh, man.
DEX
I got you. Always. And if it helps, tell mama I’m making a list of karaoke songs for her. That oughta organic her right out of town.
“Book Smart.”
My mother reads the name of the shop out loud, glaring up at the sign. We’re on Maple Street, smack dab in the heart of downtown. The sun is shining. Dogwoods are dropping petals on the sidewalks. We might as well be on the set of a Hallmark movie. But we’re not in Manhattan. So Margaret Adams has yet to find value in a single place we’ve visited.
Big surprise.
I reach for the door. “Should we go inside?”
“Oh, why not?” She sighs. “Maybe I’ll find a book on cat care to give you and Loren as a wedding gift. So far, you two seem to be doing a less-than-stellar job with yours.” She sends me a sly look. “Beginning with that name. Garfield? For a female cat? What were you thinking?”
This earns her a genuine chuckle.
Guess I come by my dry sense of humor honestly. One of the few things I got from my mom that I actually like. I hold the door open for her to step inside, and she makes a beeline for the animals section, while I wait for an elderly couple to shuffle out. I’m about to let go of the door when a small-ish man wearing cycling clothes—minus the helmet—appears. He tries to slide in before the door closes and knocks my arm loose.
“Sorry,” the guy spouts.
“No prob?—”
We make eye contact, and my chest implodes.
Loren’s ex. Foster Abel.
We only met once before, at Stony Peak’s holiday party my first year at the school. By then, I already knew Loren was smart. Welcoming and beautiful. But I wouldn’t let myself think anything beyond that. She was engaged. To Foster. And I respected their bond. Now my guts bottom out.