“Hey, sunshine. You’re supposed to be in class.”
“Mom’s letting me skip the first two classes because of the weather.”
I groan. Amy knows how I feel about letting Clara miss her classes. Instead of bad-mouthing my ex, I smile at the coincidence. “Guess where I am, Dracula.”
“Fishing?”
“Ha ha. Very funny. Actually, I’m sitting outside a place that sells the best cocoa in town.”
“Do they have marshmallows?”
“I’ll check.”
She giggles, the sound like sunlight through static. “How’s the new town?”
“Small. Pretty. Smells like the ocean.”
“You like it?”
“Yeah,” I say, though the word feels thin. “It’s different from the city. Slower. People smile at you here.”
“That’s good. You need to smile more, Dad.”
“I do, huh?”
“Yes. Maybe if you have a life of your own, you’ll stop worrying so much about how goth I become.”
I laugh quietly. “Don’t make me call you an exorcist, kid.”
“Funny. Anyway, because of the weather, we might change band practice.”
“Just let me know when. I’ll be there.”
She pauses and I hear her sip her drink. “Okay. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Do you really like it there?”
“I do,” I admit. “You’d like this place too. There’s a beach that goes on forever. I’ll send pictures.”
“When can I visit?”
“Soon,” I promise, even though I don’t know when soon is.
“I’ll hold you to it.” There’s a smile in her tone now, and it settles something in me that’s been shifting all morning. “I have to go now, Dad.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you.”
The line clicks off, and the silence that follows is warm, not heavy. I stare out at the street for a minute—the bakery acrossthe way, the old couple walking their dog, the seagulls cutting across the sky. For the first time in months, I feel something close to stillness.
Jake reappears with two paper cups and a bag that smells like sugar and butter. “Got you a cinnamon pastry,” he says, handing me the cocoa.
I take a sip and nearly groan. “Holy hell.”
“Right?” He grins. “That’s what I said the first time. Cocoa Nook’s sacred ground. Keep it in mind if you want to make friends with the locals.”
