“That was awesome,” Elijah said, draping his arm over my shoulder. “You are full of surprises.”
“You really are,” Tara said, throwing a wadded napkin at me. She was trying to joke, but it seemed half-hearted. Had I done something wrong?
“Do you still hate me?” Elijah whispered in my ear.
“Ask me when I’m sober.” I looked at my phone screen, double-checking for messages and missed calls.
“She’s fine,” he said.
“I hope so.”
CHAPTER 31
“See, she’s fine,” Elijah said.
My mom was fine. Her scooter was by her bed. In her bathroom, her toothbrush was out and resting on the side of the sink. The only thing it looked like she wasn’t able to do was change out of her pants, but that wasn’t the end of the world; she’d been wearing comfortable, elastic-waisted pants to make both our lives easier anyway. I nodded and quietly left the room.
“You seem almost disappointed,” he said in the hall.
I wasn’t disappointed that she was fine, just disappointed in myself for making us leave the restaurant. Earlier, I’d had another drink, definitely one too many, probably two too many, and then became preoccupied with the fact that this was her first time using the scooter. How her muscles had been underutilized lately and this was a lot to expect of her.
“I left her,” I’d said, brushing the chip crumbs on the table in front of me into an orderly pile. “On her very first try. Shehadn’t even wheeled it down the hall. What if it doesn’t fit through her bedroom door?”
“The wheelchair fits through the door, the scooter will,” Elijah had said quietly beside me, rubbing my back.
“But what if it doesn’t?”
“She would’ve called you.”
“True. But what if she fell? And hit her head and can’t call me?”
“Do you want to leave? I can take you home. I drove.”
“No,” I’d said. “She’s fine.” But five minutes later I was repeating the same statements over again.
“I’m taking you home,” Elijah had said. He stood and helped me up. “I’m taking Sutton home,” he’d announced to Michael and Tara, who were having a private conversation of their own. It looked kind of heated, but I was trying not to eavesdrop. He’d led me outside to his car, where he’d helped me sit down and even buckled my seat belt.
“I can do it.” But I hadn’t moved to take over the task.
Now, we were standing in the hall of my house. “No, I’m not disappointed. I’m glad she doesn’t need me as much anymore. It’s nice.”
“It is.”
“Maybe I can even go check on the restaurant this weekend. Ease my mind there as well.” I moved toward the kitchen, suddenly feeling a strong urge for a glass of water.
“That’s a good idea. I know how worried you’ve been about it.”
I took a cup down from the cupboard and filled it with tap water, not willing to wait for the slower-flowing fridge-dispensed water. I downed it in several big gulps, then let outa loud sigh. “Oh, but you were going to feed me this weekend at your house.”
He smiled. “That’s okay, we can do it another time.” He took the glass out of my hand and put it on the counter. I wasn’t sure why. I wasn’t going to drop it.
“Do you want to come?” I said, spitting out the words without thinking too much.
“To LA?” he asked.
“I mean, I know you’re busy, but if you want to I—”
“I’d love to come,” he said.
