Heath extends his feet, reaching his arm as far as it’ll go to try to reach the markers down the supply aisle, but falls short. “I can’t reach.”
“Then climb.”
“Lucy,” I chuckle, knowing I should take it seriously that my kid could bust his ass if he listened to everything she said, but I know my sister wouldn’t allow it. “Geezus.”
“We used to do it all the time.”
“Yeah,” I agree, plucking the markers off the metal rack and handing them to my kid. “But we were dumb as hell.”
“Well, Heath’s going to be dumb,”—she stretches her arm and ruffles his hair—“aren’t you, bud?”
“No,” he replies tersely. “I’m smart.”
“Of course you are,” Lucy backtracks. “You didn’t get that from your Daddy.”
“C’mon,” I proceed, guiding my son toward the cashier. “You guys got all the things you needed to make posters for the game. Let’s get home and start makin’ them.”
All three of us make it to the front, quick to get in line, when I look up and seeher.
Sienna Vesper, in this rusty red dress that hits mid-thigh and a v-neck that hitswaytoo low.
“Miss Vesper!” Heath exclaims excitedly, obviously missing her since he hasn’t seen her in two weeks. “I got markers and poster board!”
Okay, this sucks.
Lucy suddenly loops her arm with mine, being a silent piece of comfort for me because this—this is hard.
I’ve done my best to stay away.
But this is one of those things where fate is playing a cruel game oflet’s rip your heart out one more time,and I’m not ready to play.
Sienna appears like she’s going to faint, trying her best to plaster a casual smile on her face, but it falls flat. I don’t know how to get my kid out of here without rushing him out and making it look obvious.
And more awkward.
Plus, we have to buy our own stuff, and I wasn’t looking to make my son and sister part of a grab-and-ditch today.
“That’s great,” Sienna finally says. “Are you enjoying your summer?”
“Yes,” Heath says, falling back into a bit of his shyness. “We’re…making signs for the baseball game tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s right,” she says, dropping to her haunches to get eye-level with my son, making it easier to ignore me. “Did y’all pick a new mascot out yet?”
“No. That’s tomorrow.”
“Cool.”
“Are you coming?”
Shit.
I pat Heath’s back softly. “I’m sure Miss Vesper is busy, bud.”
My son ignores me. “You have to come.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that Sienna is trying to think of any excuse possible to use to get out of this, but then my sister steps in and doesn’t help.
At all.
