Shit. I thought he was sound asleep. “Have you ever considered that maybe you’re just a light sleeper?”
“Considered it. Determined it to be a lie.”
I roll my eyes as I lean over to turn on my bedside lamp. “Okay, so why are you up listening to me think, then?”
He turns so his arm is resting atop the pillow wall. “Because I’m thinking too.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Tanya. Does it bother you? That she kept so many things from us?”
I turn my body to face his. “It did.”
“But it doesn’t now?”
I shake my head no.
“When did that change?”
“When we gave John that car.” Seeing him enjoying Tanya’s first car with his family made everything click for me. “I kept thinking that maybe Tanya didn’t think we were capable of handling the rougher parts of her life. I thought some part of her must not trust us enough. But when I saw the joy on John’s face, I realized that she trusted us the most out of anyone. She knew that her death would start a collision course of all her different worlds, and she trusted us to help them navigate through it.”
This gala is just as much for all of us as it is for her.
“Hmm, that’s a good way to think about it.”
“How are you doing with all the secrets?”
He leans back to look up at the ceiling, keeping his arm pressed against mine. “It’s not that she had secrets. It’s knowing that she carried them all by herself. No one should have to do that.”
He and I are on the same page there.
“I’m really glad we’re doing this together, Storm. It doesn’t hurt as much when you’re around.”
We lock eyes and for a moment everything falls away. All the pieces of our puzzle that don’t fit suddenly do and every jagged edge feels smooth.
“I feel the same way.”
He smiles as he grazes my arm before moving it back to his side of the pillows. “Good night, Storm.”
This new nickname he’s bestowed upon me always makes me think of the day we met. Forced into quality time by Tanya’s meddling ways, we spent one unforgettable day together that bled into a night spent chasing down the moon in his car. To this day I have never been kissed the way he kissed me that night.
“Good night, Moonchaser.”
I didn’t get a wink of sleep. Every time I moved, I thought I was going to fall off the bed. Micah, however, seemed very peaceful. How nice for him.
He stretches his arms in the air dramatically as he opens his eyes.
“Well, good morning, sleepyhead. Proud of you for staying on your side.”
Lack of sleep is a dangerous thing; it brings out the worst in you. I guess that’s why I find myself in a full-blown pillow fight with Micah.
“Hello? Have you lost your mind? How dare you strike me?”
“Hello? I’m gonna do a lot more than strike you. You and this fucking pillow wall. Take these damn pillows off my side.” I slap him repeatedly until he snatches the pillow from me and does it right back. We go back and forth until he blocks one of my hits and the pillow flies across the room, knocking things off the desk in the corner.
“Look what you did,” Micah reprimands.
A glint of silver shines in the sunlight peeking through the window. I jump from the bed to pick it up. A trowel. And underneath the pillow are gardening gloves.
