“Please don’t talk with your mouth full. I don’t need stiches. I cut myself on some glass last night but it’s ok now.”
“Is that why Luke is here?”
“Yep,” I answered, scraping the bottom of the jelly jar for my toast. “I need to go get dressed for work.”
“I’ll drive you in,” Luke told me.
“You can see my fort while Emmy gets dressed,” Charlie offered to him. “She always takes a really long time and it’s so boring to wait.”
I had to get into my room to get clothes for the day, which meant standing in my wet robe after my shower and knocking loudly until I heard Mike make some disgusting noises and roll out of bed.
“What do you want?” he snarled at me when he opened the door.
“You’re in my room,” I told him, pushing past, and letting the “you idiot” remain unspoken. I got dressed in the bathroom,then went back downstairs to tell Charlie to get ready too. He was still outside with Luke, who was shaking his head no and holding the axe that I thought I had hidden really well. “Charlie!” I called out of the back door. “Throw on some clothes and brush your teeth. We have to get to the NGS.”
Luke followed him up the steps and Charlie ran upstairs. “Did you know he had this?” Luke asked me, putting the axe down on the porch.
“I’ll find another place to stash it,” I said. “It’s an obsession.”
“With me, it was a Swiss Army knife. Until I almost cut off my pinkie.” He held up his hand to show me the scar on his finger, then reached for my cheek, cupping it. “I missed you this week. Emmy, what you heard—I was trying to tell my father that he was wrong about you.” He looked at me. “I’m sorry you heard that. I don’t think less of you because of where you work, and I’m sorry I insulted Cassie. My father has some wrong ideas. But I’m not concerned about what he thinks, all right?”
I leaned my cheek into his hand and closed my eyes. I had missed him too. And I realized that I had needed him, which terrified me.
An exaggerated thumping down the stairs signaled Mike’s imminent arrival. “Brace yourself,” I warned Luke.
Mike came into the kitchen in his ratty boxers. I couldn’t help but compare them: Mike, with his pot belly that was inevitable after so many nights spent with so many beers, his hair thinning on top, his face puffy and skin marked with the onset of the rough, red tinges of alcoholism. And, to put a cherry on top, he was sporting a new black eye from a previous night’s excursion. Luke, even in a slept-in t-shirt and jeans, was tall and confident, athletic and clear-eyed and strong. Andpresent when you needed him. And really, really nice to hug.
The double-take that Mike performed once he saw Luke was almost comedic. Then he opened his mouth, and it wasn’t funny. “What the fuck is going on there, Emmy Lou?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at Luke. “Who the fuck is this?”
“Mike Finn, this is Luke Whitaker. Luke, this is Cassie’s husband, Mike.”
Neither of them moved or spoke. It was a standoff.
“I don’t appreciate you bringing your bar pick-ups back to my house, Emmy Lou.”
I choked, and almost started to laugh. Except that Luke suddenly looked so furious that I thought he would throttle Mike. “What the hell did you just say to her?” he growled. I put my hand on Luke’s chest and pressed him back. I could feel his heart pounding. I stepped in front of him and leaned my back to his chest, holding him behind me and away from Mike.
“No, no, come on, Mike. Don’t be a jerk,” I said calmly. And by the way, this wasn’t his house. Nana had left it to Cassie, and Cassie alone.
Charlie pounded down the stairs. “Ready,” he announced.
“Please take care of Cassie today, ok, Mike?” I asked. “Please? She has chemo on Monday.”
He rubbed his jaw, then looked at Luke and sucked in his stomach.
“You could go to Costco and get some groceries,” I proposed.
Mike shrugged. “We need some more beer.” Behind me, Luke made an angry noise.
“Bread, eggs, apples?” I suggested. “Crackers, to help settle her stomach after the treatment. Peanut butter. Jam.” He wasn’t listening. “Can I have your phone? I’ll put a list in. Luke, can you and Charlie meet me at the car?”
Mike reached over on the table for his phone and tapped in the unlock code, then handed it to me, and helped himself to the coffee I had made. I started to type, and as I did, a text popped up.
DarcyCall me babe!!!
I stopped. That worm SOB. I pressed my lips together hard, and managed not to throw the phone at him. I finished typing the grocery list, then gently and deliberately put the phone back onto the table.
“Will you make Cassie breakfast?” I asked tightly.
