Page 19 of Griffin

There’s a pause.

“Okay, I’ll text you the school address —”

I laugh, stopping him in his tracks.

“You moved her to Hartley Elementary, right?”

There’s only one elementary school that Melody would be at locally, and it’s the same one I went to.

Griffin chuckles, and I can sense his embarrassment through the phone.

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m not with it.”

He’s exhausted, I realize.

“Three-fifteen. What class is Melody in?”

I grab a pen and scribble down details, nodding as I do.

“There’s a spare key under the tire in the backyard.”

“Obviously.”

We laugh, and Griffin thanks me again.

I feel warm and happy inside, and I check the clock, seeing I’ve got an hour before I pick up little Melody.

Time for a second shower.

Damn this heat.

7

GRIFFIN

It’s been a long day.

The site is coming along, and I gaze at the new houses with pride. They’re still shells, but I can already see them taking shape. One day they’ll be affordable housing for people in town who need it.

“I’m aching like a motherfucker,” Kevin groans, wiping his forehead on his arm. “I can’t even sit in the bath in this heat.”

All day we’d bitched and moaned about the heat, but when the sun finally dipped out of sight, the relief was palpable.

“Me too. I better get back and relieve Ivy.”

It feels weird saying that, but Kevin nods.

“I wouldn’t rush; she loves Melody.”

But it’s day one, and I’m not going to take the piss out of a twenty-one-year-old girl. Kevin mentioned if I paid Ivy more than she was earning at the store, I’d change her life for the better.

Hell, it will change mine too.

We say our goodbyes, and I head home, blasting the AC in an effort to make me less sweaty.

It doesn’t work.

Ivy’s car is parked out front and my heart slams in my chest.

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