Текст книги "On the Island"

Автор книги: Tracey Garvis-Graves

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Chapter 45 – Anna

We stopped at the restroom because I desperately needed to blow my nose and wipe my eyes. Sarah handed me some Kleenex.

“I should have known something was wrong when their phone number didn’t work. You said they sold the house.”

“I said the house was sold. David and I put it on the market as soon as their estate cleared probate.”

I leaned forward, bracing myself on the bathroom counter. “What happened to them?”

“Dad had another heart attack.”

“When?”

She hesitated. “Two weeks after your plane went down.”

I started crying again. “What about Mom?”

“Ovarian cancer. She died a year ago.”

David yelled into the bathroom. Sarah popped her head out for a second then came back in and said, “The reporters are headed this way. Let’s get out of here, unless you want to talk to them.”

I shook my head. Sarah had brought me a coat and fleece-lined boots. I slipped them on and we walked to the parking garage, the media trailing not far behind. I breathed in the smell of snow and exhaust.

“Where are the kids?” I asked when we arrived at Sarah and David’s apartment. I really wanted to hold Joe and Chloe in my arms.

“We took them to David’s parents. I’ll pick them up tomorrow. They’re so excited to see you.”

“What do you want to eat?” David asked.

My stomach churned. I had looked forward to ordering a feast but now I didn’t think I could eat.

David must have sensed it because he said, “How about if I run out for some bagels and you can eat when you’re ready?”

“That sounds great, David. Thanks.”

I took off my coat and boots.

“Your clothes are all here,” Sarah said. “I put them in the spare bedroom closet after John brought them over. Your jewelry and shoes and some other things are in there, too. I’ve never been able to get rid of any of it.”

I followed Sarah down the hall to the spare bedroom. She opened the closet and I stared at my clothes. Most of them were on hangers and the rest were stacked neatly on the top shelf. A light blue cashmere sweater caught my eye, and I reached out and touched the sleeve, amazed at how soft it felt under my fingers.

“Do you want to take a shower first?” Sarah asked.

“Yes,” I said, grabbing a pair of gray yoga pants and a long-sleeved white T-shirt. I pulled the blue sweater off the shelf, too. A dresser in the corner held my socks, bras, and underwear. I headed into the bathroom and stood under the shower for a long time.

My clothes swam on me, but they were familiar and warm.

“Stefani’s on her way over,” Sarah said, handing me a mug of coffee once I settled myself on the couch in the living room.

I smiled at the mention of my best friend.

“I can’t wait to see her.” I took a sip of my coffee. Sarah had spiked it. “Bailey’s Irish Cream?”

“I thought you could use a drink.”

“Okay, but only one. I’m a bit of a lightweight these days.” I held the warm mug in my hands. “How did Mom get along after Dad died?” I asked.

“Okay. She refused to sell the house so David took over the yard work and we hired someone to shovel the driveway and sidewalks when it snowed. We made sure she wasn’t lonely.”

“How bad was the cancer?”

“It wasn’t good. She fought hard, though, all the way to the end.”

“Did she go to hospice?”

“No. She died at home the way she wanted it.”

We finished our coffee. David came home with the bagels and Sarah urged me to eat.

“You’re so thin,” she said, spreading cream cheese on a bagel and handing it to me.

We returned to the couch after finishing our meal. Sarah turned the stereo on and found a classic rock station. She handed me a fresh cup of coffee, no Bailey’s this time. David joined us and he and Sarah asked me about the island.

I told them everything. Sarah cried when I told her and David how T.J. and I almost died of dehydration. Hearing that two planes had flown overhead really tore her apart. They were shocked when I told them about the shark and Bones and the tsunami.

“What a horrifying ordeal,” Sarah said.

“Well, we adapted. It was bad near the end, though. I’m not sure how much longer we would have lasted.”

Sarah handed me an afghan and I tucked my legs under it.

“I was surprised to see John at the airport,” I said.

“I called him. He was devastated when your plane went down and he was really happy when I told him you were alive.”

“I thought he would have moved on. Maybe married someone by now.”

“No. He was dating someone for quite a while, but as far as I know he’s still single.”

“Oh.”

“What did you decide about him?”

“He’s not the one I’m supposed to be with, Sarah. I don’t know what would have happened if my plane hadn’t gone down, but I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted.” I shook my head. “It wasn’t him.”

“You and T.J. are together, aren’t you?” Sarah asked.

“Yes. Are you surprised?”

“Under the circumstances? No. How old is he?”

“Twenty.”

“How old was he when it started?”

“Almost nineteen.”

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“I saw the way he looked at you. How he comforted you at the airport. He loves you, too.” Sarah said.

I put my empty mug on the coffee table and nodded my head. “Yes. He does.”

The doorbell rang, and Sarah walked across the room. I followed and held my breath as she looked through the peephole and opened the door. Stefani stood there, tears streaming down her face. I pulled her into my arms, no words capable of expressing how it felt to see her again.

“Oh, Anna,” she said, sobbing, squeezing me with the strength of her embrace. “You came home.”

Chapter 46 – T.J.

Later that night I went into my room, stretched out on my bed, and called Anna. “Hey,” I said when she answered. “How are you doing?”

“I’m worn out. Too much to process.”

“I wish I could help.”

“It’s just going to take time,” she said. “I’ll be okay.”

“I’m lying on my old bed. My mom didn’t get rid of anything.”

“Neither did Sarah. I thought people were supposed to give your stuff away when you died.”

“My mom knows about us.”

“Oh, God. What did she say?”

“She asked me how old I was when it started. That’s it.”

“She might revisit that later.”

“Maybe. So was that John at the airport?”

“Yes.”

“What did you say to him?”

“Nothing. He cut me off. I’m supposed to call him.”

“Are you going to?”

“Eventually. I can’t deal with it right now. A few days ago we were walking on the beach. Now we’re home. It’s surreal.”

“I know.”

“Are you tired?” she asked.

“Exhausted.”

“Get some sleep.”

“I love you, Anna.”

“I love you, too.”

Chapter 47 – Anna

Sarah opened the bedroom door, holding a cup of coffee and the newspaper in her hand.

“Are you awake?”

I sat up and blinked. Daylight filtered in through the sheer curtains. “What time is it?”

“Almost ten o’clock.” Sarah handed me the coffee and put the newspaper on the nightstand. “The reporters won’t take no for an answer. I had to turn the ringer off.”

I picked up her cell from the nightstand and turned it on. I’d shut it off after I talked to T.J. The screen showed eleven missed calls.

“They’re calling your cell, too. I’ll get my own phone as soon as I can.”

Sarah waved her hand dismissively. “No hurry. Maybe we can send David out to pick one up.”

I set the coffee on the nightstand and picked up the newspaper. Pictures of T.J. and I covered the front page. There were the same ones I’d already seen on CNN and several from the airport. The largest one showed T.J. kissing my forehead surrounded by smaller shots of us running hand in hand, embracing, and him wiping my tears away and holding me in his arms. For those who had speculated about the nature of our relationship, one look at the front page probably answered their most burning questions.

I handed the newspaper to Sarah. “If any reporters get through, tell them I’m not ready to talk, okay?” I picked up my mug and cupped it in my hands. Thoughts of my mom and dad filled my head and I started crying. Sarah climbed in bed and put her arms around me, handing me a box of Kleenex.

“It’s okay, Anna. I did that, too, after each of them died. It’s going to take a while before it stops hurting so much.”

I nodded my head. “I know.”

“Are you hungry? David ran out to get breakfast.”

The emotional turmoil ruined my appetite, but my stomach felt empty. “A little.”

“What do you want to do today?”

“I should probably make some appointments. Doctor, dentist, haircut.”

Sarah left the room and returned with the phone book. “Tell me who to call.”

Chapter 48 – T.J.

Ben burst into my room, holding the newspaper in his hand.

“One question,” he said, walking toward my bed holding his index finger in the air. “How old were you when you started bangin’ her? Because I’m pretty sure from these pictures that you are.”

If he hadn’t been looking down at the shot of me kissing Anna, he might have seen my fist coming before it connected with his left eye.

“Jesus Christ! What’d you do that for?” he asked, looking up at me from the floor where he was sprawled, holding his eye.

“That’s the first thing you say to me after three-and-a-half years?”

He sat up, his right eye already starting to swell.

“Fuck, Callahan. That hurt.”

I got out of bed and held my hand out to him. He grabbed it and I pulled him off the floor. “Don’t ever say something like that about her again.”

“T.J?” My mom stood in the open doorway. She noticed Ben holding his eye. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine, Mom.”

“Yeah we’re cool, Jane,” Ben said.

My mom looked at us but didn’t ask what had happened. “What do you want to eat, T.J.?”

“Anything, Mom.”

After my mom left Ben said, “So are you, like, in love with her or something?”

“Yes.”

“Does she love you?”

“She says she does.”

“Does your mom know?”

“Yep.”

“She freak out?”

“Not yet.”

“Well I’m glad you’re back, man.” Ben gave me an awkward hug. “I had a really hard time when they told me you were dead.” He looked down at the floor. “I spoke at your funeral.”

“You did?”

He nodded.

Ben could hardly stand up in front of everyone in our ninth grade speech class. I couldn’t picture him addressing the people at my funeral. Maybe I shouldn’t have punched him. “That was cool of you, Ben.”

“Yeah, well, it made your mom happy. Anyway, you’re gonna cut your hair, aren’t you? You look like a goddamned girl.”

“Yeah.”

My mom made me a cheeseburger and French fries, and Ben sat with me while I ate. My parents both hugged me a couple times and my mom kissed me. Ben probably wanted to make a smart-ass comment but he held some ice on his eye and kept his mouth shut. Grace and Alexis sat at the table for a while, telling me about school and their friends. I drained the last of my Coke.

“I can’t get you in with Dr. Sanderson until tomorrow. I thought maybe they would squeeze you in but apparently they’re overbooked.”

“It’s okay, Mom. I’ve waited this long. One more day isn’t going to matter.”

She wiped her hands on a towel and smiled at me. “Do you want anything else to eat?”

“No. I’m full. Thanks.”

“I’m going to make you a haircut and dentist appointment.” My mom turned off the stove and left to make the calls.

“So do you have a job or what?” I asked Ben. “It’s the middle of the day.”

“I’m in college. It’s winter break.”

“You went to college? Where?”

“University of Iowa. I’m a sophomore. You gotta come visit me. What about you? What are you gonna do?”

“I promised Anna I’d get my GED. After that I have no idea.”

“You gonna keep seeing her?”

“Yeah. I miss her already. I’ve been waking up next to her for three-and-a-half years.”

“Dude, if I ask you another question will you please not punch me?”

“Depends what it is.”

“What’s it like being with her? Is it true what they say about older chicks?”

“She’s not that much older.”

“Uh, okay. So anyway, how is it?”

“It’s incredible.”

“What’s she do?”

“She does everything, Ben.”

Chapter 49 – Anna

My hairdresser, Joanne, walked into Sarah’s living room.

“There are reporters downstairs,” she said. “I think they took my picture.” She shrugged off her coat and hugged me. “Welcome home, Anna. Stories like yours are why I believe in miracles.”

“Me too, Joanne.”

“Where do you want to cut her hair?” Sarah asked.

I had already taken a shower and my hair was still wet so Joanne had me sit on a stool in Sarah’s kitchen.

“What happened here?” she asked, examining the ends of my hair.

“T.J. had to burn it off when it got too long.”

“You’re kidding,”

“No. He worried he was going to set my whole head on fire.”

“How much do you want me to cut?”

My hair hung to the middle of my back. “A few inches. And maybe some long bangs?”

“Sure.”

Joanne asked me questions about the island. I told her and Sarah about the bat that had been stuck in my hair.

“It bit you?” Sarah looked horrified. “And T.J. stabbed it?”

“Yes. Everything turned out okay, though. It didn’t have rabies.”

Joanne dried my hair and smoothed it with a flat iron. She held up a hand mirror and I checked out my reflection. My hair looked healthy now, with smooth ends.

“Wow. That’s a big improvement.”

Sarah tried to pay, but Joanne wouldn’t accept any money. I thanked her for coming to the apartment.

“It’s the least I could do, Anna.” She hugged and kissed me. After she left I said to Sarah, “If we can get out the door without being mobbed, there’s someplace I really want to go.”

“Sure,” Sarah said. “I’ll call a cab.”

The reporters screamed my name as soon as Sarah and I opened the door. They were waiting on the steps and we pushed past them and slid into the waiting cab.

“I wish your building had a back door,” I said.

“They’d probably be out there, too. Fucking vultures,” Sarah muttered.

Sarah gave the driver an address and soon we drove through the entrance of Graceland Cemetery.

“Can you please wait?” Sarah asked the cabdriver.

A few snowflakes swirled in the gray sky. I shivered but Sarah seemed oblivious to the cold, not even bothering to button her coat. She led me to the grave where our parents, Josephine and George Emerson, lay side-by-side.

I knelt in front of the headstone and traced their names with my finger. “I made it back,” I whispered. Sarah handed me a tissue, and I wiped the tears pouring from my eyes.

I pictured my dad in his silly bucket hat covered with fishing lures, teaching me how to clean fish. I remembered how he loved to fill his hummingbird feeder and watch the tiny creatures zoom in for a drink, hovering in mid-air. I thought of my mom, and how much she loved her garden and her home and her grandchildren. Sharing my adventures in the classroom with her over Sunday morning brunch wouldn’t happen now. She would never be able to give me advice, and I’d never hear either of my parents’ voices again. I bawled, letting it all out. Sarah waited patiently, giving me time for the catharsis I desperately needed. My tears finally tapered off, and I stood up.

“We can go now.”

Sarah put her arm around me and we got back in the cab. She gave the driver another address and we went to David’s parents’ house to pick up the kids.

Joe and Chloe stopped playing when we walked into the room. I probably seemed like a ghost to them. Sarah had kept my memory alive but the aunt they thought was dead was now standing in the living room. I knelt down next to them and said softly, “Boy did I miss you guys.”

Joe came over first. I hugged him tight. “Let me look at you,” I said, holding him at arm’s length.

“I’m losing all my teeth,” he said. He opened his mouth and showed me the gaps.

“You must be keeping the tooth fairy pretty busy.”

Chloe, slowly warming to her long-lost aunt, ventured a little closer and whispered, “I’ve lost some, too.” She opened her mouth wide so I could see her gaps.

“Geez, your mom must have to put all your food through a blender. You guys are toothless.”

“Aunt Anna, are you gonna live at our house now?” Chloe asked.

“For a while.”

“Will you tuck me into bed tonight?” she asked.

“No, I want her to tuck me into bed tonight,” Joe argued.

“How about I tuck you both into bed tonight?” I hugged them to my chest, fighting the tears.

“Are you guys ready to go home?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah!”

“Then kiss grandma and let’s go.”

Later that night, after I put both kids to bed, Sarah poured us a glass of red wine. Her cell phone rang and she handed it to me.

“Hey. How are you?” T.J. asked.

“I’m okay. Sarah and I went to the cemetery today.”

“Was it hard?”

“Yes. I really wanted to go, though. I feel a little better now, after visiting their graves. I’ll go back again. What did you do today?”

“I got a haircut. You might not recognize me.”

“I’m going to miss that ponytail.”

T.J. laughed. “I’m not.”

“I just put the kids to bed. It took two hours because I read them every book they own. Sarah just poured us some wine and Stefani’s coming over. What about you? Any plans?”

“I’m going out with Ben if we can shake the reporters.”

“How is Ben?”

“Still running his mouth.”

“Have you been to the doctor yet?”

“I go tomorrow.”

“I hope the appointment goes okay.”

“It’ll be fine. Have you gone yet?”

“Tomorrow. Then the dentist in the afternoon.”

“Me too. Remember when I took my braces off?”

“I forgot about that.”

“I’ll see you on New Year’s Eve, Anna. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Have fun tonight.”

Chapter 50 – T.J.

I opened the door when Ben knocked. His eye had swollen shut and turned purple and blue.

“Shit. Sorry about that,” I said.

“Eh, no biggie. You’re lucky I’m so easy-going,” he said.

“Frankly, that’s your best quality.”

“A bunch of guys from school are home for Christmas break. You up for a party?”

“Sure. Where?”

“Coop’s. His parents left for the Bahamas this morning.”

I grabbed my coat. “Let’s go.”

At least twenty of my former classmates were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in Nate Cooper’s living room when we showed up. Rock music blasted from the stereo. Everyone cheered when we walked in the door and a bunch of guys shook my hand and slapped me on the back. I hadn’t seen some of them since before I’d started treatment for Hodgkin’s because I missed so much school that year. It was weird when I realized everyone had graduated but me.

Someone threw me a beer. They wanted to hear about the island, and I answered all of their questions. Ben must have told them how he got his black eye, though, because no one asked about Anna.

I was on my second beer when a girl sat down on the couch next to me. She had long blond hair and wore a ton of makeup.

“Do you remember me?” she asked.

“Kind of,” I said. “I’m sorry. I forgot your name.”

“Alex.”

“You were in my class, right?”

“Yeah.” She took a long drink of her beer. “You look way different than you did when we were sophomores.”

“Yeah, well, that was four years ago.” I finished my beer and looked around for Ben.

“You look good. I can’t believe you actually lived on that island.”

“I didn’t really have a choice.” I stood up. “I’m getting ready to leave. See you around.”

“I hope so.”

I found Ben in the kitchen. “Hey, I’m taking off.”

“You can’t go already, man. It’s only midnight.”

“I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

“That’s lame dude but okay, I understand.” Ben high-fived me, and I walked out the door.

On the way to the train I thought about Anna, and I smiled all the way home.

Chapter 51 – Anna

I woke Joe and Chloe up so we could have breakfast together. We were finishing our toaster waffles and juice when Sarah walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” she said. “Thanks for getting the kids breakfast.”

“Aunt Anna makes the best waffles,” Chloe said.

“Aunt Anna’s boyfriend is coming over tomorrow night,” Joe announced.

“How did you know about that?” Sarah asked.

“I heard you and Aunt Anna talking about it.”

“Yes, Aunt Anna’s boyfriend is coming over to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I expect you two to use your manners and not act like complete hooligans.”

“Aunt Anna needs to get in the shower,” I said to the kids. “She has a busy day ahead of her.”

“Doctor?” Sarah asked.

“And dentist. That’ll be a fun appointment.”

***

I read a magazine while I waited for them to call my name at the doctor’s office. When the nurse asked me to step on the scale, I was shocked when it registered one hundred and two pounds, especially since I’d already had a few days of solid eating. At five foot six, I should have weighed fifteen to twenty pounds more. I probably wasn’t even in triple digits on the island.

I sat on the exam table dressed in a paper gown. When my doctor walked in, she hugged me and said, “Welcome back. I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, Anna, but I can’t believe you’re alive.”

“It’s something I don’t mind hearing.”

She flipped open my chart. “You’re underweight, but I’m sure you know that. How are you feeling overall? Is there anything specific you’re worried about?”

“I feel better already, now that I’m eating more. I haven’t had my period in a long time, though. I’m worried about that.”

“Well let’s take a look,” she said as she guided my feet into the stirrups. “Given your low weight, I’d be surprised if you were having periods. Any other problems?

“No.”

“Almost done,” she said. “I’ll run the usual labs but your menstrual cycle should resume normally as soon as you put on some weight. You’re obviously malnourished but that’s relatively easy to reverse. Make sure to eat a balanced diet. I want you to start taking a multivitamin every day.”

“Will not having a period for so long make it hard to get pregnant someday?”

“No. Once your period comes back, you should be able to get pregnant.” She stripped off her gloves and dropped them in the trash. “You can get dressed now.”

I sat up on the table. She paused at the door and said, “I’ll write you a new prescription for your birth control pills.”

“Okay.”

I thought it would be easier to accept the prescription instead of explaining that I didn’t need birth control pills because my twenty-year-old boyfriend was sterile.

I visited the dentist next and sat uncomfortably in the chair for over an hour while the hygienist took x-rays and scraped and polished my teeth. When she announced I didn’t have any cavities, I considered myself lucky.

Sarah had loaned me some cash. After my dentist appointment I took a cab to the nail salon. When Lucy saw my face, she jumped out of her chair and barreled toward me.

“Oh, honey,” she said, wrapping me in a hug. When she pulled away, she had tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, Lucy. You’ll make me cry, too.”

“Anna home,” she said, smiling up at me.

“Yes, I’m home.”

She gave me a manicure and pedicure and spoke so excitedly I caught even less of what she said than I usually did. She mentioned John a couple times but I pretended I didn’t understand. When she finished she gave me another hug.

“Thanks, Lucy. I’ll be back soon,” I promised.

I left the nail salon and glanced down at my hands. They were freezing without gloves but I didn’t want to smudge the polish. My teeth felt clean and smooth when I ran my tongue over them. The smell of hot dogs from a street vendor filled the air as I window-shopped, peering through the glass at the latest styles. I decided to come back the next day and buy clothes that fit.

Unrecognizable, I hoped, in the sunglasses and wool hat I borrowed from Sarah, I strode down the sidewalk with a smile on my face, feeling like there were springs in the bottom of my shoes. I hailed a cab at the corner and gave the driver Sarah’s address.

Even the reporters that swarmed me when I arrived at Sarah’s apartment couldn’t dampen the joy I felt. I pushed my way through them, unlocked the door, and shut it quickly behind me.

T.J. called later that night.

“How did it go at the oncologist?” I asked.

“They won’t have my scans and blood work back for a few days. He said he was optimistic though since I haven’t had any symptoms. I went to my regular doctor, too.”

“How did that go?”

“I need to gain weight, but otherwise I’m fine. I told him about getting sick on the island. He’s pretty sure he knows what I had. You were right. It was viral.”

“What was it?”

“Dengue hemorrhagic fever. Transmitted by mosquitoes.”

“You always were covered in bites. So it’s like malaria?”

“I guess. They call it ‘breakbone fever.’ They’re right.”

“How serious is it?”

“It has about a fifty percent death rate. The doctor said I was lucky I didn’t go into shock or bleed to death.”

“I can’t believe the things you’ve survived, T.J.”

“Me neither. How was your doctor appointment? Is everything okay?”

“I’ll be fine as soon as I gain some weight. My doctor said the malnutrition wouldn’t be difficult to reverse. I’m supposed to take a vitamin every day.”

“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night, Anna.”

“I can’t wait to see you, too.”

***

On New Year’s Eve, I took a shower, styled my hair, and put on the makeup I bought when I went shopping. My new lip stain wouldn’t come off when I kissed T.J., which I planned to do a lot. I snipped the tags off a new pair of jeans and a navy blue v-neck sweater, then pulled them on over a black push-up bra and lacy underwear.

When T.J. knocked, I ran to the door and opened it.

“Your hair!” I said. Cropped brown hair framed his face and I ran my fingers through it. Clean-shaven, he wore jeans and a gray sweater. I inhaled his cologne. “You smell good.”

“You look beautiful,” he said, bending down to kiss my lips. He had briefly met Sarah and David at the airport, but I introduced them again. The kids stole looks at T.J., peeking out from behind Sarah.

“You must be Joe and Chloe. I’ve heard a lot about you,” T.J. said.

“Hi,” Joe said.

“Hi,” Chloe echoed. She hid behind Sarah again, sneaking another look at T.J. a few seconds later.

“We better hurry, David, if we want to make those reservations,” Sarah said.

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

“For a couple hours. We thought we’d get the kids out of the house for a little while.” She grabbed her coat and smiled at me. I smiled back.

“Okay. See you later.”

I jumped into T.J.’s arms as soon as the door closed, wrapping my legs around his waist. He carried me down the hallway while I kissed his neck.

“Where?” he asked.

I grabbed the doorway when we reached the spare bedroom. “Here.”

T.J. kicked the door closed with his foot and deposited me on the bed.

“God, I’ve missed you.” He kissed me, slid his hands under my sweater, and whispered, “Let’s see what you’ve got on under here.”

We barely made it back out to the couch by the time Sarah, David and the kids came home two hours later.

“Are you having fun with your boyfriend, Aunt Anna?” Chloe asked.

Sarah and I looked at each other and she raised her eyebrows at me before disappearing into the kitchen.

“Yes, I’m having a lot of fun with him. Did you have a good dinner?”

“Uh huh. I had chicken nuggets and French fries and Mommy let me have orange soda!”

Joe came over and sat next to T.J.

“What about you?” T.J. asked him. “What did you have?”

“I had a steak,” he said. “I don’t order off the baby menu.”

“Wow, a steak,” T.J. said. “I’m impressed.”

“Yeah.”

Sarah came back into the room with a glass of wine for me and a beer for T.J. “We brought you dinner. It’s on the counter.”

We thanked her and went into the kitchen to warm up our food. Steak, baked potatoes, and broccoli with cheese sauce.

T.J. ate a piece of steak. “Your sister is awesome.”

Sarah put the kids to bed at 8:30 and the four of us sat around talking, the stereo on low.

“So you’re saying you had a pet chicken named Chicken?” David asked.

“It used to sit in Anna’s lap,” T.J. said.

“Amazing,” David said.

Later, when I went into the kitchen to refill our drinks, Sarah followed me.

“Is T.J. staying over?”

“I don’t know. Can he?”

“I don’t care. But you get to answer Miss Chloe’s questions in the morning because I guarantee you, she’ll have some.”

“Okay. Thanks, Sarah.”

We walked back into the living room, and T.J. pulled me onto his lap. David turned on the T.V. The ball was about to drop in Times Square and we counted backward from ten and yelled “Happy New Year.”

T.J. kissed me, and I thought I could never be happier than I was at that moment.