“Did he say anything about the building being for sale?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty freaked out about it. He’s looking into other rental spots as a backup.”
Andrew hadn’t even hinted at it to me, but then again, when had we had the opportunity to talk? I frowned at the thought of him moving on without a fight. “Really? Where?”
“Not sure, we didn’t get into it. Anyway, is it weird seeing him all the time?”
I could hear an edge in her voice, the tone that suggested that she was ready to excavate the past if I was. “Honestly, I don’t see him much.”
“Hm. Not to start something, but he said you look incredible.”
I sat up, startling Edith. “Wait...what?In what context?”
“Don’t know. Nolan told me he said it, so I don’t have the details, but I thought you might want to know.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “Do you want me to find out more?”
It was a trap. If I said yes she’d think that something was percolating between us, which it definitely wasn’t.
“No, not necessary. He probably meant my Howl-o-Ween costume. I went all out, heels, smoky eye. Very not me.” That had to be it, because it was impossible to believe that Andrew would find everyday me incredible. I didn’t want to overthink it. “How are you guys celebrating Thanksgiving over there?” I asked.
I settled in as Samantha described the take-out turkey and sides that she was going to get for a group of fellow expats as well as a few of Nolan’s colleagues who’d never experienced the tradition before. It was just like her to open her home to celebrate. She was the extrovert to my introvert, the reason I got off the couch for concerts and beer tastings and late-night clubs through school and beyond. In the beginning we’d been forcedtogether because of my history with Nolan, but in time we realized that our friendship was fated.
“I can’t wait to see you,” I said after she described how lost she was in her language immersion class.
“Same. We’re splitting the time between Long Island and Wismer. I’ll let you know the exact dates soon.”
“I’m around,” I said, stating the obvious. “I might have to get any nights out cleared with Birdie and Edith, but other than them and work my calendar is wide-open.”
“Yeah... I know. We definitely need to talk about that. Hold on,who’sEdith?”
It sort of broke my heart that she didn’t know about her. “I have a puppy now. I was sort of pushed into an adoption by a former client. I’ll tell you the whole story when I see you.”
“ ‘When I see you,’ ” Samantha repeated back to me. “I like the sound of that.”
“Same.”
By the time we hung up it felt like no time had passed.
chapter twenty-three
Happy Thanksgiving,” my mom croaked into the phone. “But, Chels, honey, I’ve got bad news. I have it now too.”
“Mom,no!” I switched my phone to my other hand so I could redirect Edith away from nipping Birdie’s tail, then settled back on the couch. “How bad?”
“Let’s just say I’ve cleared a path to the toilet,” she answered in a weak voice.
“Okay, that’s TMI, but I’m really sorry to hear it. So it’s the same thing Aunt Helen has?” Her intestinal bug had come out of nowhere and sent her dashing between bed and the bathroom for the past two days.
“It is. She’s a little better so we’ve swapped caregiver and patient roles.”
“Wait, does that mean you’rebothnot coming to Thanksgiving?” I frowned at the thought of the holiday at Taylor’s just consisting of Engelmans. They were fine but they weren’t family.
I had more than half the day to relax before heading to Taylor’s and I’d been reading a book since I’d forced myself to leave my laptop at Frolic. I was actually excited for the holiday, tospend time eating and drinking and trying not to think about how different the day felt. My mom’s call was changing everything I’d convinced myself to accept about our new holiday.
“No, honey, we don’t want to put Taylor and the baby at risk. Or anyone for that matter. It’s not worth it. We can get together and do a Thanksgiving part two as soon as we’re better.”
I frowned into the phone. “Do you want me to come over and help? Do you need food?”
She made a gagging noise. “Thelastthing we want is food, trust me. The most I can handle is toast and water. Aunt Helen has graduated to oatmeal and bananas. And I don’t want you anywhere near us. We’re doing fine, okay? You go to Taylor’s and enjoy the day. Oh, and on your way please pick up the food I ordered from MacMurray’s since we can’t bring what we were supposed to. It’s already paid for.”
