Page 63 of Perfect Imperfections

“Are you bringing him by for a family dinner soon? I’d love to meet him and his adorable daughter. What did you say her name was again?”

“Charlotte and I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask what their schedule is.” They were supposed to be keeping this thing fun and easy. Dinner with her parents sounded like the exact opposite of that.

“Oh yes, of course. Schedules are very important with children.” Laughter filtered over the line. “I remember you used to pitch an absolute fit if we didn’t make it home in time for you to get to bed.”

No, she used to have panic attacks when she fell asleep in the car and woke up in her bed because she hadn’t performed her door locking ritual and she feared the robbers would break in and kill her entire family because of it. She loved her mother, but she really wished the woman would educate herself on her daughter’s condition instead of burying her head in the sand and pretending everything was fine. Everything was not fine, but that was okay. Things could be messy and scary as long as you stood up and faced them. Maybe her rituals seemed excessive, but they helped her cope and didn’t hurt anyone. Why couldn’t her mother just see that?

She learned how to manage her OCD over the years and—though she still had to remind herself to not listen to the dark voice daily—she was perfectly fine. Great, even when not talking to her mother.

“Let me know what Sullivan says, dear. I have to run. Your father will be up any moment, and he promised to take me to the nursery today to look at saplings for the backyard. Bye now!” Her mother said her goodbyes, with no thought as to the impact of her words on Ellie’s psyche. Then again, Ellie didn’t do a very good job of confronting her on it.

“Bye, mom.”

“Email your brother apartment listings if your building doesn’t end up having a spot.”

“I will.”

“Love you.”

“I love you too.”

She held the phone to her ear, waiting until her mother hung up. Once the dial tone clicked over, she set her phone on the counter. So much for her morning mood. The coffee beeped, indicating it had finished brewing. A few minutes too late, in her opinion. She could have used the stimulant boost about five minutes ago. As she poured a cup, her cell rang again. Not wanting to embarrass herself twice so early in the morning, she glanced at the ID before answering.

Oh sure, now he calls!

“Hello.”

“Hi sexy.”

She chuckled as Sullivan used the same greeting she had twenty minutes ago. At least he used it on the right person.

“Something funny?”

She snorted. “So many, many things.”

Blowing on the steaming coffee before taking a small sip, she sighed when the rich and slightly bitter flavor hit her tongue. Normally she’d put a boatload of cream in it, but after that call with her mother, she needed the full octane stuff.

“Wow, barely seven in the morning and it sounds like you’ve already had quite the day.”

“I just got off the phone with my mother, so you could say that.”

Her mind reminded her that Sullivan’s parents were both deceased. He’d shared the sad story last night over dinner. How he lost them to a random car accident and had to fight hard to take over guardianship of his brother. How selfish of her to complain about her mother when he would probably do anything for just one more day with his.

“Oh, Sullivan, I’m sorry I didn’t mean—”

“Sweetheart, it’s fine,” he interrupted. “I remember how frustrating it can be talking to a meddling mother. I miss my parents, but that doesn’t mean I forgot how tiring they could be. Parents can be a handful. Charlotte reminds me all the time with daily eye rolls. They’re going to get stuck in the back of her head one of these days.”

She laughed along with him.

“What did your mother want so early in the morning?”

“My brother is moving back to town, and she asked me to look for a place for him.”

“He’s a firefighter, right?”

She’d shared a little about her brother at dinner the other night when they were talking about their families.

“Yup, he’s transferring to the station in Sunlight. It’ll be nice to have him back home.”

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