David
But also
Me
Will you at least take the cookies as a thank you?
Colt
If you insist.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Savannah
Crestfallen
I want to say the donuts I’m waiting on are for my parents, or the employees I’ll be hanging out with tonight, but they’re for me. Apple cinnamon bear claws because Noah, the guy I ran out on after accusing him of getting closer to me for my brothers, enlisted the hockey team to keep an eye on me. Or at least to make sure people were nice to me. And I don’t even think Darren told him about last night, I think he just knows how I feel – because Parker f*ing told him – and that’s what he does. He protects the people he cares about. He takes care of them. And he cares about me. But I – within hours of him deciding to give us a chance – reminded him just how much of a handful I could be. Iz should be his priority. I made things harder, when all I’d wanted to do was make them easier. So, I am eating my feelings.
I get an email from dorm housing saying I have to wait until next year if I want to switch roommates. I’m about to half-heartedly search for rentals off campus when the bell rings to announce a new customer.
I turn to explain that Mrs. Jones will be back in a minute, but I’m face to face with Izzie.
My brain hasn’t reconciled the girl from my present in my childhood bakery before her arms are around my waist.
“Hey, how was the English test?” I ask her with what I know is an overeager smile that hides nothing, but instead of Noah standing awkwardly behind her, there’s a woman.
She doesn’t look older than thirty, but she also looks like all the missing pieces between Izzie and Noah, so I know it’s their mother, and that the little boy strapped to her chest in a baby carrier is Tatum. He has Noah’s eyes, the same as the woman in front of me, but he favors Doug for the rest.
“She was really impressed when I used crestfallen in a sentence and got it right,” Izzie answers me, but her mom is looking at us like her brain has short-circuited. “It’s when you’re really sad, like your smile has fallen. Get it, Crest like the toothpaste?”
“That’s nice, sweetheart, but who’s your friend?”
“I’m Savannah,” I introduce myself, extending a hand, though Izzie is still wrapped around me. I should probably shake her off, but I’ve missed her too. “Savannah James.”
Mrs. Callahan still looks confused, not that I expected Noah to have mentioned me, but I’m very surprised Izzie hasn’t.
“She’s my friend who goes to Noah’s games with me,” Izzie specifies. “Savannah didn’t really know hockey though, so we’ve been teaching her.”
“And you’re Noah’s…”
“Friend.” I swallow, because I’m not sure if that’s still true, and I miss the days when we were more, not less. “More Izzie’s, though,” I add for her benefit.
“What are you doing here?” Izzie asks me, looking around like she’ll be able to see the friends I came with. Like she’s looking for Noah.
“I grew up here, remember?” I tell her. “My parents own a car dealership just around the corner, and I work there sometimes,” I add for Mrs. Callahan.
“Tatum’s grandparents live not far from here, and I get a donut if I let Mrs. Reynolds squeeze my cheeks and tell me I’d look so much cuter in a dress.” She rolls her eyes, but I narrow mine at her, because Izzie loves dresses and all things glittery. She isn’t a tomboy, she’s a princess who plays hockey to spend time with her brother.
“Isabelle,” her mother chastises.
“Savannah’s cool,” Izzie assures her before heading to the restroom.
“He’s been happier,” Mrs. Callahan says, and I will my smile to stay in place, because I have been miserable, and while I don’t want Noah to be sad, I don’t want him to be happier without me either. “This weekend was hard, but I’m glad he has you. And Izzie. I didn’t even know there was a bake sale today, but her teacher was gushing about Izzie’s almond pastries when I picked her up, and I know my son didn’t make them.”
She gives me a look, like she’s calling bullshit on my friends statement, and knows there’s something going on.
“I enjoy it,” I assure her. “And I owe Izzie big time.” I hope she thinks I mean for teaching me hockey, but more than anything, I’ll always love her for bringing Noah into my life. Even if he never comes back.
