Page 42 of Love and Other Lost Things

Scarlett nodded. “I peeked in. It’s really pretty. I like your old room.”

In the apartment above the club, Scarlett had slept in a little alcove that was essentially meant to be an office. Jane had tried to make it nice for her, but she could see how Scarlett would be enamored by a room like the one upstairs.

“Can I sleep there tonight?”

Jane’s eyebrows rose. “You want to sleep in my old bedroom?”

“I put clean sheets on the bed yesterday,” said a voice from the doorway. Jane turned in her seat to find Mom looking at her as hopefully as Scarlett. Jane thought back to when she’d poked around the room earlier. It had looked the same as when she’d left it, and she’d assumed that Mom had closed the door and pretended that it didn’t exist. But now Jane realized that the blinds had been thrown open, the surfaces dusted, the old stuffed animals lined up on the bed. Mom had gotten the room ready for them.

Jane turned to look at her daughter. For one of them in particular.

It was no wonder Scarlett loved it. She didn’t have all the painful associations with this house that Jane did. She didn’t know all the terrible things that had happened here. In fact, for Scarlett, this house probably felt like a sanctuary from her own painful memories and terrible associations.

“Maybe this house needs a few new memories?” Mom said, almost as if she could read Jane’s mind. “Good ones, for once.”

Jane looked at Mom standing in the doorway. She’d spent the entire day playing with Scarlett, and her happiness was evident by the way the lines around her mouth had softened and her eyes looked bright. Had it really meant that much to her?

Yesterday, Mom had said that Jane and Scarlett were her Christmas gifts. But a gift was something you got to keep. And Mom wasn’t going to get to keep Scarlett. Or me. Jane’s gaze swung from the hopeful look on Mom’s face to the one on her daughter’s. They’d be leaving and they wouldn’t be coming back. But maybe they could at least have these couple of days.

“Sure. You can sleep there.”

“Yay!” Scarlett yelled, throwing up her hands.

Jane couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll peek in at you later, okay?” She reached for her daughter and gave her an extra big squeeze. Then she pulled on her shoes and headed out into the snow.

Most of the neighbors had shoveled their walks earlier—Linden Falls was the kind of place where people took care of things like that—so the walk to town was uneventful. Jane traced the old route from memory, picking up her pace at the turn that would take her past Mrs. Andino’s house and again at the intersection that led up the mountain to Sand Hill Lane, where Nik apparently lived now.

As usual, the minimart attached to Butler’s Garage was open late. Jane made her way to the refrigerator, slowing her steps past the door that opened to the autobody shop. She peered through the glass, looking for signs of Kait, but that side of the building was dark. A teenager stood behind the counter, barely looking up as she rang up Jane’s quart of milk and slid it into a paper bag.

Jane headed back out onto Spring Street. She had to hand it to Linden Falls, they really knew how to do it up Hallmark movie-style for the holidays with wreaths, sparkly lights dripping from trees, and life-sized mechanical Santas waving from store windows.

Jane sighed, turning to head back the way she’d come and smacked face-first into a now-familiar blue Patagonia jacket. She staggered backwards as Nik reached out a hand to steady her.

“Jane.” His eyes widened. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” His lips tugged into a smile that managed to look both happy and a little bit wary. “Did Hannah invite you?”

“Hannah?” Jane blinked. “Invite me where?”

Nik glanced at the sign over her head. The Harp and Fiddle.

Jane’s eyes widened. This was the only bar in town. Her old friends were probably getting together for a drink. She definitely hadn’t meant to show up and crash their party. “Oh, no. Nobody invited me anywhere. I was just out for a walk. And milk.” She waved the paper bag in his direction.

Nik cocked his head. “I’m meeting Hannah and Ali. Do you want to join us?”

“I—” Jane stared down at her sneakers, chewing on her bottom lip. Her chest squeezed as she remembered those old photos of Hannah and Ali on her bulletin board. God, she’d missed them almost as much as Nik. “How are they? Hannah and Ali?”

Nik smiled affectionately. “They’re really good. Hannah still lives in Linden Falls. She married a great guy she met in college, and she’s a teacher at the elementary school. She has a six-year-old daughter named Amelia.”

“Really?” Despite herself, Jane felt her face spread into a genuine smile. With the way Hannah used to mother them, of course she’d become a teacher. And she had a daughter. Jane pictured a little girl with wild red hair and a flowered dress.

“And Ali lives in New York City. She’s the curator of an art gallery.”

Jane’s smile grew.

“Her mom is still here in town, so she makes it back every month or so. The three of us still hang out a lot. Why don’t you join us?” Nik said. “I think everyone would be happy to see you.”

Jane remembered that warmth she’d felt at the sight of the photos of her old friends. She would love a few minutes with Hannah and Ali. But it had been years. She might be nostalgic about the past, but they probably barely remembered her.

Before Jane could make up her mind, she spotted a tall, gorgeous woman hurrying down the sidewalk toward them. “Nik-o-las!” the woman said, flinging herself into Nik’s arms. Laughing, he wrapped one arm around the woman, and used the other hand to push her long, shiny hair out of his mouth. “Jeez, Al, it’s only been a couple of months.”

---