“Uh, yeah. Sure. We’re having a wake of sorts at Bonnie’s Brew on West Chicago Avenue. I could buy you a vodka Red Bull…if that’s what you still like?”
Alyssa grinned. “You remembered?”
“What kind of an old best friend would I be if I didn’t remember your poison?”
Alyssa laughed. “I see what you did there. Clever. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Rosie said. “I’d love for you to come. It’ll give us the chance to talk properly.”
She gave Alyssa her cell number and the details of the record store where they were holding the memorial, and when Alyssa began to flip through the possible bouquet combinations for the black roses, Rosie stopped her. “I trust you to create something perfect.” And besides that, she had no idea what memorial flowers were supposed to look like. The only thing she knew she didn’t want was MOM spelled out in roses.
Rosie pulled her wallet from her purse, but Alyssa waved her away.
“We’ll sort all that out after the memorial.”
“Okay. Thank you. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
Alyssa nodded. “You certainly will.”
She and Lori left the store and got back in Rosie’s car.
“You gave me crap about Gabe being my new best friend when you’ve been unfaithful to me all this time?” Lori asked with mock incredulity. “I can’t believe she even remembered your obsession with not having sticky fingers. And what were you up to, remembering her favorite drink? Did you two sleep together?”
“Stop.” Rosie started the engine and pulled out into traffic. “Let’s get lunch, and I’ll tell you all about it.” As she drove away, she thought about Shay, who said she’d be at the memorial too. What would she think of Alyssa? But with her dad being in the hospital,Shay might not make it. Not that it mattered. Rosie wasn’t looking to rekindle her unrequited college crush flame, and the pesky little thing called love wouldn’t hear of it anyway.
CHAPTER 22
“Doyou think there’s a special place where all the rejected coffee beans go?”
Shay looked up from the fascinating patch of worn carpet on the hospital waiting room floor and glared at Cyrus. “What?”
“The foul-tasting, rejected coffee beans, y’know. Like the ones that don’t make it to Dunkin’ or Starbucks.” Cyrus held his Styrofoam cup aloft. “I think there is. And that’s where all the hospitals get their machine coffee from. All the crappiest beans in the world.”
Shay squeezed the arm of her chair hard. Their daddy was lying unconscious in a hospital bed, and her brother was more concerned with the quality of his java. “Don’t drink it. They have soda too.”
Cyrus laughed. “They should have beer.”
“You should shut up,” Aaron said. He stood beside Shay and put his hand on her shoulder. Cyrus kissed his teeth but didn’t say anything else. “Any news?”
Shay shook her head and sighed. “Still waiting. Bisa and the kids okay?”
“They’re not too bad considering they saw it all happen.” Aaron dropped into the chair beside her. “Bisa’s keeping them home from school.”
She lightly punched Aaron’s thigh. “They’re bomb-proof. They’ll be okay.”
He tilted his head slightly. “That might depend on…”
Aaron gestured to the double doors they were all focused on, desperate for more information about their father. Shay knew what he couldn’t give voice to: his kids would be traumatized iftheir gramps died and the last time they’d seen him was in the yard laying in a pool of blood with EMTs surrounding him. “Daddy’s not going anywhere, little brother.”
“I hope you’re right.”
So did she. Shay’s prediction was nothing but wishful thinking. She glanced around the room at the rest of her brothers. Matthew hadn’t raised his head from his phone since he’d arrived after his night shift, Luke and Eli were deep in conversation about cars, and Cyrus still seemed fascinated with the contents of his coffee cup. It’d be just like a normal family gathering at Aaron’s place if it weren’t for the fact that their father’s life hung in the balance in a sterile room down the hallway.
“Do you want to go to my place and freshen up?” Aaron asked. “I’m assuming you still have a permanent overnight bag in your car.”
She did, though she hadn’t used it for a while now. She now had a toothbrush in Rosie’s bathroom, a sleep cap in one of the bedside drawers, and if she needed fresh clothes, she borrowed Rosie’s sweats and returned them the next time she stayed over. She shucked off the lurking knowledge of what that might mean. “Are you trying to say something?”
“Nah. If you were rank, I’d tell you. You know that.” Aaron gave a weak laugh then looked at her, his expression serious. “Have you called anyone?”
