“Slow down, Isaac,” Landon said, putting his hand on his hip.“What’s going on?”
Celia furrowed her brow, watching as he kicked his leg out and put his foot far in front of him, which was a move he’d often done when they were teenagers.It always meant he was nervous.
“I’ll be there right away,” Landon said.“Hold tight.”
Landon hung up and showed Celia his pale face.“I’m sorry,” he said.“My kids came down with something this morning.I thought it was just a cold, so I stepped out of the house to take care of a few things.But now it looks like my daughter has taken a turn.”
Landon’s hands shook so much that they looked blurry.Celia hurried over and touched his shoulder.Two kids, she thought.Old enough to be left home alone, but young enough to call when things got scary.They were the same age as the two of them had been when they’d known each other best.
“I can go with you, if you like,” she said, surprising herself.
Landon blinked at her.“You don’t have to do that.”
“Let me walk you at least,” she said.“I need to get out of here.All this dust is driving me crazy.”
Outside, Landon and Celia hurried the ten minutes to Landon’s quaint two-story house, the same one Landon’s uncle lived in when they were kids.Celia knew the house well.They’d once snuck a bottle of vodka into the spare bedroom upstairs and gotten tipsy watching oldSaturday Night Livereruns.During their walk, they spoke sparingly.Landon’s mind was on his children.
Celia considered telling him that she had a daughter, too, and that Sophie was packing her things and preparing to fly to Maine very soon.Her daughter was figuring out what they had already learned—that life never turned out how one planned.But it felt too heavy to bring the reality of Sophie into this strange world with Landon.It was like Celia didn’t belong.
“I don’t want to intrude,” Celia said when they reached the front steps.“Tell me if I’m intruding?”
Landon whipped around and gave her a bug-eyed look that made him look sixteen or younger.“Can you wait here with my son while I take Mallory to the doctor?”
Celia was taken aback at the request, but not because she didn’t want to say yes.She was surprised that Landon trusted her again so quickly after everything that had happened.“I’d be happy to,” she said, her voice catching in her throat.But was she happy about it?
Landon didn’t hesitate before opening the front door and leaving it open for her to follow him in.She entered to hear the familiar soundtrack of a movie she’d seen over and over again:The Mummy, hilariously.A teenage boy with bright red pimples across his left cheek stood in the foyer, panic etched across his face.“Dad,” he said, “I didn’t know what to do.”And then he looked at Celia, ice in his eyes, and asked, “Who is she?”
“This is Celia,” Landon said.“We were best friends in high school.”With that, he swept past Isaac and into the hall, where he disappeared into the bathroom.
Celia could hear the young girl crying.“Daddy, I’m sorry.”
Celia cupped her elbows and told herself that Isaac wasn’t scary.She was familiar with teenagers of all kinds and believed she could handle this.“Your dad said you aren’t feeling well,” she said.“Can I get you anything?”
Isaac shrugged and gestured vaguely to the sofa in the next room.“I’m exhausted,” he said, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.“But I’m worried about my sister.”
A moment later, thirteen-year-old Mallory and Landon appeared in the hall.Mallory’s face was a soft shade of green, and it was clear she’d been crying.“I don’t want to go, Dad,” she whined.“I’m going to be fine!I promise!”
But Landon was determined to take her to the doctor.“It’ll go fast, sweetie,” he said.“We need to get you checked out.It’s better to be…”
“Safe than sorry,” Mallory finished, imitating him.She hiccuped.
Celia guessed that Landon was cursing himself for not being here at home with his children, for tending to both business and personal matters while his daughter grew sicker and sicker.Worst of all, he’d been with Celia, a woman who didn’t deserve his kindness or his attention.Maybe his curiosity had gotten the better of him.Perhaps he regretted asking her to watch over Isaac, too.
But it occurred to Celia now that in talking to Landon, she’d felt more like herself than she had in years.She certainly hadn’t felt “good” with her sisters.She’d felt needed, but she’d also felt like they wanted to reject any help she offered them.Any help save for what she could do for the Bluebell Cove Inn, she thought.
“Call us when you know more!”Celia said as Landon and Mallory clipped past them.“I hope you feel better, Mallory!”Her voice sounded pathetic.
Landon gave her a final, panicked look before closing the door between them.Just like that, Celia was all alone with his teenage son—the teenage son who’d been birthed by a woman Celia knew nothing about—in a house she hadn’t been inside since she was eighteen years old.Her heart pounded.When she turned to look at Isaac, he trounced over to the sofa and collapsed.
Silence filled the living room.Celia was suddenly inundated with thoughts of what she still needed to do back at the Bluebell Cove Inn.Her mile-long to-do list was growing by the second.Celia hadn’t wanted to ask Sophie for her help when she arrived.Celia wanted to let Sophie relax, think, and dream up her next steps in her career.But now it seemed that Sophie would be doomed to a summer at the Bluebell Cove Inn, just as Celia once had been.
Because Celia didn’t know what to do with herself, she tiptoed into the kitchen and searched the cabinets for ingredients to make soup.It didn’t surprise her that it was more or less chaotic.Outside of high school lab and chemistry classes, Landon had never been very organized.She found cheese, bread, candy, and moldy vegetables, all piled together in a fridge drawer.Candy bars were slotted in next to the forks and spoons, and plates of all sizes were stacked in a crooked tower.On the fridge were photographs of Mallory and Isaac through the years: Isaac with braces, Mallory with a broken arm wearing a tutu, Isaac in a basketball uniform, and a tiny Mallory with her arms around a beautiful woman’s neck.Celia stopped short, a can of beans in her left hand.Something about this woman’s smile yanked her back through the past.I know that face, she thought.
But it was then she realized that Mallory’s smile was the same as the woman’s in the photograph.Celia’s eyes filled with tears she couldn’t control.There was only one possible reason Landon would have the mother of his children’s photograph on the fridge.She felt almost 100 percent sure that their mother was dead.
It took Celia about twenty-five minutes to make the soup, which she poured into a large bowl and lined with crackers.When she tiptoed into the living room to find Isaac, he was still awake and startingThe Mummyall over again.Just as it had been for Landon and Celia, it seemedThe Mummywas Isaac’s comfort film.The more things changed, the more they stayed the same, she supposed.
She set the soup on the coffee table and watched as Isaac lazily drew himself up and looked at her.He clacked his spoon against the bottom of the bowl and took a bite.Satisfied, he ate several more spoonfuls, clearly hungry, before asking, “How do you know my dad?”
