Hank leaned down and kissed her then he scooped up the last piece of garlic bread. “Best join you,” he said and popped the chunk into his mouth.
Rosie smiled at the picture-perfect couple and tried to stave off the thought that she might never find that kind of love. Being single wasn’t so bad. She only got lonely when she was home alone, and the new job was keeping her out of her apartment enough that melancholy didn’t have time to settle in.
“Is it time for your traditional pilgrimage to the Bean?” Rosie smiled at Karen’s dramatic eye roll.
“For sure. I have plenty to think about after my chat with your soldier friends. They had a lot to say about my new veteran’s project, especially RB. She’s worked in non-profits before; I’d love to poach her as a consultant.”
“I haven’t been to the park for a while,” Rosie said, “and a walk might stop me from exploding.”
Lori pouted. “No dessert?”
“I’m stuffed, but you can grab something from Rink if you’re hungry for something sweet.” Rosie encouraged Lori out of thebooth with a gentle shove.
Karen linked her arm through Rosie’s. “This is wonderful. Now we get to talk more, and you can give me your ‘Cliff notes version’ of why you got into therapy, like you promised.”
Rosie was vaguely hoping Karen had forgotten about that, but she also appreciated the chance to revisit what had been going through her head when she’d suddenly switched careers. Maybe it would help her escape the ennui of her current employment. And if nothing else, it was a beautiful summer’s day for a walk with Lori and her family. Rosie always liked to soak up the loving energy the three of them exuded when they were together. Rather than allowing it to be a masochistic reminder of everything she’d never had, she took it as a blessed opportunity to be part of something positive. It gave her another memory to swap out with one from her childhood, and she’d never say no to that.
CHAPTER 3
“I needyou to come home and check out my car, Shanae. It’s making a helluva racket. Sounds like the engine’s about to fall out. I can’t afford to be without my car, you know that. It’s the only way I can get out of the house.”
Itwasn’tthe only way. Any one of her five brothers could take him wherever he wanted to go, but no, he’d only ever ask her now that she was out of the Army. Gabe scribbled something on the whiteboard then stepped away so Shay could read it.
DON’T DO IT!!!!
Shay pulled the eraser from the fridge and wiped the message away. I HAVE TO, she wrote then tossed the pen at Gabe and exited the kitchen, switching her phone from speaker for privacy. “I only just serviced it, Daddy. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“That was weeks ago, girl. You’re not here; you can’t hear it. Come on over and listen to it. You’ll see. What if when I’m driving down the freeway, something breaks, and I have an accident? Will you believe me then?”
“I believe you now, Daddy.” She closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it heavily. “But we’re in the middle of the Brewster restoration I told you about, and we need to get it finished so we can open the garage.”
Her daddy scoffed. “We, we, we. Your Army friends have always been more important to you than your family, than your own blood. Your momma’d smack you upside the head if she was still here, the Lord rest her soul.”
Shay ran her hand over her box braids and sighed. Her momma had never raised her hand to her when she was alive,so Shay was pretty sure she wouldn’t do it if she came down from heaven either. “That’s not true, Daddy,” she said. “They’re important in a different way.”
“I don’t wanna talk about them, girl. Are you comin’ or not?”
“Of course I’ll come.” She checked her watch. “I’ll be there around noon.”
“Can’t you get here sooner than that? I’m playing dominoes with Joe and Sidney at two.”
“It’s just after eight a.m. The city’s gridlocked with morning traffic. Noon is the best I can do.” And since there’d probably be nothing wrong with the car at all, she was sure he’d still make his daily dominoes meet at the rec center to talk shit with his old work buddies, the same men she thought were more important to him than his family.
“Well, I guess I’ll just sit here stranded until then,” he said and hung up.
Shay closed her eyes and did some deep breathing, but even yoga was powerless against the inevitable and immediate tightening of every muscle and nerve in her body the moment he had called. And it never settled until she’d dealt with whatever false emergency he cooked up. Even then, only a meaningless encounter with a woman could fully release the stress.
Maybe Rosie would be free. She fired off a quick text and hit send before she really realized what she’d done. It had only been a few days since they’d hooked up. Any subsequent contact with her flings was usually by accident. But Rosie was different; she’d said she knew what to expect and whatnotto expect. Shay recognized a kindred spirit when she saw one, and it was clear that Rosie enjoyed casual just as much as Shay. She’d know not to read anything into the timing of the text.
The firm knock on her door rattled Shay’s head.
“I’m driving in alone then,” Gabe said.
Shay pushed away from the door and opened it. “What do you think?”
Gabe raised her eyebrow and put both hands on the door frame, almost filling the space. “What I think doesn’t change every time this happens. I think that you should tell your dad to call one of his sons occasionally. They live a lot closer.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “They don’t come even when he does call. You know that.”
