Page 4 of Wood You Knot

It took a couple of loads to run everything packed tightly in my car up to the apartment. Once the task was finished, I moved my car around back to the parking lot behind the building. I returned just as Uncle Ed was leaving to head back down to the hardware store. Auntie Em lingered longer, making sure we were settled.

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Daphne said, tugging on the hem of my T-shirt, her soulful green eyes the mirror image of mine. I looked at my watch, wincing at the time. It was nearly six o’clock, and the last thing I felt like doing was cooking. Plus, we’d have to go grocery shopping first as there wasn’t any food in the apartment.

Not happening, I thought, the exhaustion hitting me hard. “Let’s order a pizza.”

“Oh! You’ll love Pizza Picasso. They have the best pizza,” Auntie Em suggested with a smile. I nodded thankfully, pulling my cell phone out of my purse. I googled the pizzeria’s phone number and dialled, lifting the phone to my ear.

“Pizza Picasso. What can I get for you?” a friendly feminine voice asked.

“Hi, I’d like to order an extra-large cheese and pepperoni pizza for delivery,” I said, turning to look at my aunt. “We’re, um, apartment 2B, above the hardware store?”

“Okay, that will be $26.25. It’ll be about forty minutes,” the voice replied cheerfully.

“Thank you,” I said, hanging up the phone. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.

“Oh, by the way, the buzzer is right here.” Auntie Em went over to the strange-looking box beside the apartment door. “When someone buzzes up, you can talk to them with that button and let them in by hitting this button.” She pointed to the two different buttons.

“That’s so cool,” Daphne exclaimed, peering up at the door buzzer with interest. She’d never seen one before. The old apartment we lived in before moving in with Warren didn’t have one. Warren’s apartment had been in a newer building, with a doorman and everything.

Auntie Em smiled at Daphne.

“Uncle Ed’s probably closing the shop now, so I better get skedaddling. I hope you ladies enjoy your first night in your new home.” Auntie Em scooped Daphne up for a hug, squeezing her tight.

“Thanks again for everything, Auntie Em.”

“Of course, Sage. That’s what family’s for.”

Her tender words and maternal warmth made my heart ache, especially when my thoughts drifted to my own mother. Maternal warmth and tender words were not her forte, so I’d spent the last couple of weeks hearing her opinions on what I should do, rather than being comforted for my broken heart.

I hadn’t realized until that moment just how much that sucked.

Chapter Two

Nix

“Don’t forget to lift with your knees, fellas,” Edward Alcott shouted as he oversaw us struggling to get the large couch out through his front door. I grunted, my fingers catching on the doorframe. I would have sworn if the older man wasn’t standing right there watching.

“Got it, Nix?” my older brother, Parker, asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” I replied, shifting my hold on the couch so I had a better grip on it and ignoring the pain from my scraped knuckles. It took us a few tries, but eventually, we figured out how to tilt it to get it outside.

We carried the couch down the patio steps and to my brother’s truck. We loaded it in the bed, tying it and the coffee table down securely.

“I appreciate you boys doing this. My back’s not what it used to be,” Ed remarked, putting his hand on the side of the truck.

“We’re happy to help,” Parker replied easily, exchanging a look with me.

“Yeah, it’s no problem at all, Ed,” I added breezily.

“Well, thank you again. I know you boys probably had better things to do with your Saturday.”

“We don’t mind taking a couple of hours out of our day to help out an old friend,” Parker replied for us both.

I’d had plans to meet up and go fishing with a couple of my buddies. Of course, those plans went out the window when our parents asked us to help the Alcotts move a couch from their house to the apartment above the hardware store. They didn’t ask often, soI never refused a request from my parents.

The Alcotts were close family friends of ours, with a friendship spanning generations. My brothers and I had grown up alongside their four daughters. We’d all gone to school together, and our families would often gather for cookouts and go on camping trips together.

“Well, again, I appreciate it. I know Sage will too.”

---