Page 9 of Old Habits

Her eyes flick toward Tucker and she lowers her voice. “Yeah, just stressed out a little.”

“Charlie’s coming home soon, though, right?”

“No, they extended his deployment. Again.”

“Really?”

She pushes her short, brown hair back from her face. “Yeah.”

“Wow. I’m sorry, Sara.”

“It’s okay...” She flicks her car keys. “It’s just he usually dealt with this stuff and I feel completely over my head right now.”

“It’s okay.” I lay my hand over hers. “I’ll handle this. We’re a bit backed up today, so it might take a while.”

“That’s fine. I have some shopping to do for Andy’s birthday this weekend and an eye appointment that I’ve rescheduled twice already, so just call when you figure it out, okay?”

“I will.”

“Oh— you’re still available to take him Saturday morning before the party, right?”

I nod. “Of course. Drop him off whenever and let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help out.”

She throws on a smile. “Actually, Will, now that you mention it, what are you doing after the party?”

“No plans. Why?”

“You remember my friend, Cindy Sumner, right?”

I pause. “No.”

“Oh, come on. Yes, you do. We went to high school with her. She was a year behind me — a year ahead of you. Blonde hair. Gorgeous eyes.”

I squint. “I remember a Bryan Sumner.”

“Yes!” She points. “Cindy is his sister.”

Tucker laughs. “Didn’t you beat the shit out of him junior year?”

Sara rolls her eyes. “No, he didn’t.”

“Oh, yes, I did,” I confirm.

Her mouth sags. “You did?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because he was a dick.”

“Anyway…” She clears her throat. “Cindy’s been asking about you and I thought that maybe you could get together for coffee or something after the party…”

“No, thanks,” I say, grabbing her keys off the counter.

“Why not?” she pouts.

“I’m not interested.”

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