“All right, kids. Try to behave yourselves tonight. I’m out.” I brought my two fingers to my forehead in a fake salute.
“You should meet us at Ruby’s later.” Tommy tapped me on the shoulder before I headed out the door. “It’s a shitty month, you know?” He shrugged as his gaze fell to the floor. Tommy’s father was one of the first guys at One World Trade Center on 9/11 and never made it out. The month of September was somber and, to Tommy’s point, shitty if you lost someone that day. “Never Forget” was emblazoned on the side of our truck in huge yellow letters over the American flag—as if I ever could. I didn’t lose my father in the towers that day, but he was a casualty all the same.
“I’ll see,” I lied and dropped a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. Rehashing it didn’t help. I kept as busy as possible since I lost my father; some days it worked better than others.
I ran back to New York as soon as Dad admitted how sick he was and didn’t think twice about leaving it all behind. I believed the woman who said she’d marry me would follow me anywhere. When life changes, so do people—or maybe they just show who they really are. Either way, I didn’t expect to be alone, but I was. My resentment over the past year evolved into a dull bitterness that I could ignore most days. Missing people didn’t bring them back, but I couldn’t figure out how to stop.
“Nick? Is that you?” My sister Marilyn called from her kitchen as I pulled her screen door shut.
“You’d better hope so, Mar. Anyone could walk through an unlocked door.” I handed her the bag of groceries she asked for as I narrowed my eyes.
She rolled her eyes behind her black-rimmed glasses as she unpacked the bag. “I knew you were coming; I didn’t want to have to go to the door if my hands were full. Just sit, we’ll eat soon.”
“I can help you. I cook for a whole firehouse every week. Why don’tyousit and I’ll cook?”
“Good to know you’re having a sit-down dinner somewhere else besides here. If you want to make yourself useful, wash and chop the cilantro.” She tied her long black hair into a ponytail as she nudged her chin at the refrigerator.
I chuckled as I pulled out a cutting board from the cabinet. “You sound like Abuela. Where is she tonight? Bingo?”
“No.” Marilyn laughed. “Zumba Gold, something new. They dance in chairs. Our eighty-something-year-old grandmother has more of a social life than we do. Let that sink in.”
My social life was a far cry from when I last lived in New York. Scouts and my sister’s house were how I spent my nights off.
“Yeah, that’s for sure. I’m a big boy; I won’t starve. Iamthe best cook in the family, in case you’ve forgotten.” I elbowed her side before I dropped the cilantro into a colander in the sink.
Her lips pursed as she glared at me. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it. It’s been over a year since . . . anyway, I won’t bug you tonight.”
“I highly doubt that, but we can pretend.” I chuckled as I started chopping.
Marilyn lifted her gaze to mine as she leaned her hands on the counter. “You’re my baby brother. I don’t like thinking of you alone.”
“Mar, I’m never alone. I’m either working or here or with David at school. You make me sound like a hermit.”
“I’m surprised the single moms at Scouts aren’t throwing themselves at you. You should have dates for weeks.”
“Oh, a couple of them have.” I quirked an eyebrow as I dumped the cutting board into the sink.
Marilyn gazed at me with wide eyes. “Don’t tell me, Susan Warner, right?” She shook her head and let out an annoyed sigh. “I think that woman had dates lined up while her husband was still in ICU.”
A laugh fell from my lips as I nodded. “I know better than to date one of the mothers in my nephew’s school.” Even though at the last couple of Tiger Scout meetings, it was a battle to take my eyes off Ellie Taylor. My pathetic self came up with every excuse I could to speak to her during meetings. She was sweet, beautiful, and tiny. The little thing barely came up to my chest. Since I left Florida, I had little interest in dating or women in general. Too tired and too burned to want to put myself out there again. But Ellie interested me, and whatever instant attraction I felt toward her at Evan’s wedding all those years ago, came back in a rush when I saw her in the school gym. Evan told me she was with Jack since they were teenagers, and judging by the sad gaze in her brown eyes and the wedding ring she didn’t take off, I still didn’t have any kind of chance.
“Do you know Ellie Taylor?” I set the plates down on my sister’s table, trying my best to sound like I was asking in passing.
“The kindergarten teacher? Sure. David loved her.” Marilyn froze a minute then lifted her head to glare at me. “That’swho you’re interested in? A grieving widow who doesn’t date? Jesus, Nicky.”
“Andthisis why I don’t ask you anything. Forget I mentioned her.” I huffed and shook my head.
“Nick.” Marilyn squeezed my forearm. “She’s great, but I don’t think she’s over her husband. Go for the low hanging fruit. Just not the diseased ones like Susan.”
“Uncle Nick!” David rushed over to me and barreled into my legs. I wished everyone was as excited to see me as my ten-year-old nephew. Maybe my grandmother, but the excitement usually dissipated into the same “why are you alone” conversation I enjoyed with my sister.
“Okay, boys. Let’s eat.” Marilyn’s lips twitched into a smile as she pointed to the table. Even though she hated the fact that I was single, she loved David finally having a father figure in his life. I was happy to fill the void for his father, and my own. It never occurred to me somewhere down the line, I’d have to figure out how to get my own life.
SIFTING THROUGH THEgraded papers on my desk, I glanced at the clock. Usually, Jack’s teacher walked him to my classroom on Fridays. We stayed behind and fixed the room up for the upcoming week for an hour or two after dismissal. Jack loved being my little helper. Ten minutes late turned into fifteen, and a knot of concern grew in my gut.
“Sorry, Ellie.” Joan Mullins, Jack’s first-grade teacher, leaned into the doorway of my classroom. “There was some . . .” Joan cringed, “trouble at dismissal. Jack and Aidan Warner got into a little scuffle.”
I shot out of my chair and stormed toward her. “What do you mean by scuffle? Is Jack hurt? What happened?”
