“It was his eyes,” I say instead.
“Aw. Romantic,” River says, and then shakes his head. “But it puts you in a bit of a predicament, huh?”
“Yeah. Don’t really know what to do.”
“Yeah, me neither. You should ask the fam when we meet this Friday.”
“Shit, I forgot about that.”
“Yeah, Dad wants us to meet his girlfriend.” He wrinkles his nose again. “I’m not gonna like her.”
“We’ll give her a chance. He deserves to be happy.”
“She has a son our age, dude.”
Yeah, I heard about that.
“Is he coming Friday?”
“Yeah, it’s a meet the family, apparently. Don’t know why he has to come, but I guess Dad likes her, and the son is staying with his mom for a while, so…”
I really have no desire to meet anyone our dad is dating right now, but I say nothing. Our dad does deserve to be happy, so I’ll grin and bear it.
When I’m done eating, River roots around in my freezer for dessert, and when he scoops himself out some vanilla ice cream, my nostrils flare. It reminds me of Arbor, the way he smells like dessert.
“Didn’t know you liked ice cream,” River says. “Thought you hated the stuff.”
I do. I don’t really like it, but fuck me if I haven’t eaten it these past three months in remembrance of him. Like a fucking holy communion.
River takes his bowl and flops down on the couch.
“Not gonna do the dishes?” I grumble, and River sighs.
“Leave them for me. Promise I’ll do them after I finish this ice cream and have a short nap.”
I roll my eyes to the ceiling, knowing a nap is going to turn into an all-night slumber, so I get the job done myself, all while thinking about my new boss.
After River is sound asleep and the dishes are done, I decide to swing by the local mart to grab a few bottles of wine to bring to Dad’s place on Friday. He didn’t ask me to, but I think it’s a nice gesture, and if things go awry, or I hate the lady he’s brought home, I have something to calm my nerves.
Plus, River’s incessant snoring and my ruminating thoughts about my boss were making me slightly stir crazy.
When I walk into the mini mart, I see Red almost immediately. He looms in an aisle, his red eyes scanning the canned fruits and vegetables, searching for something. I don’t ask if he needs help, just move to the alcohol section and grab a few bottles. I hope he doesn’t see me. I’m not in the mood to speak to him.
He’s different, threatening in a weird way. I know he’s done nothing to warrant the distrust from people in this town, but there’s just something off about him. He makes me wary in all the worst ways.
As I make my way toward the front of the store, someone runs into me in a blur and a flash of light. I feel a fizz of something lighting up my skin, and I shake it off.
Blinking, I look around, trying to spot whoever bumped into me, but they’re gone. Almost as if they’d never existed.
I’m probably overtired and hallucinating. I move past Red, who is still standing in the same spot.
His eyes flick over to mine, and he stares at me.
My chin lifts in greeting, but he ignores me, turning his gaze back to the cans.
I sigh and move to the lone register.
“This all for you?” the girl behind the counter says, her cheeks flushing when Red moves up behind me. She peers over at him and stammers slightly. “I mean, this is all you have, right?”
