Page 32 of Surrender

“No!”

I raised my hand, like I was taking an oath. “No crickets, I promise. I never realized you were so squeamish.”

“They’ve always grossed me out—crickets, locusts, grasshoppers, anything along those lines.”

As he shuddered dramatically, I nodded. “Nothing jumpy. Got it.” I ate another bite of my bar—which admittedly tasted a bit like swamp water—and asked, “If you’re going to be up for a while, would you like to watch a movie or something?”

“Sure. What should we watch?”

“How aboutA Bug’s Life?” He sighed, and I grinned at him. “Yes, there are mean, giant grasshoppers in it, but they get their butts kicked by the good guys.”

He got up and announced, “I’m going to bed.”

“No, wait!” I jumped up and caught his arm, and when he turned back to me I said, “How about the most recentJurassic Worldmovie?”

Tracy gave me a playful shove. “I’ve seen it, and there are giant locusts in it!”

“I know, and I’m kidding. Please come back.” I took his hands and tried to guide him back onto the couch. “You can pick the movie, and I’ll stop teasing. I promise.”

He tried to frown but ended up grinning instead. “I never realized you have a cruel streak.”

“Maybe I just liked the idea of you turning to me for comfort when the movie got too scary.”

He rolled his eyes, but he returned to the couch and picked up the remote. I grabbed a blanket and draped it over both of us, and he selected a generic action movie with a lot of car chases and explosions.

Five minutes into it, he fell asleep. When his head dipped onto my shoulder, I muted the movie and pulled up the blanket to tuck him in.

Outside, the rain had picked up again. It was tapping steadily on the windows and turning the city lights into a soft bokeh pattern. Phil jumped onto the couch and settled in with us, and I tilted my head, so my cheek was resting against Tracy’s hair.

I didn’t want to like this as much as I did.

10

Ever

Thanksgiving Day started early, especially for Tracy. By the time I got up at six-thirty, the apartment already smelled like fresh baked goods. I’d been planning to go for a run since the gym was closed, but instead I quickly showered and got dressed, then went to see if I could give him a hand.

Every surface in the kitchen was covered with cooling racks full of cinnamon rolls, muffins, and miniature pies. “This is impressive,” I said, as I poured myself a cup of coffee. “Is it all for the kids at the shelter?”

“Mostly, but I’m planning to take some of the pies to Vee’s house tonight, too.”

“Have you been up all night?”

“No, I got up at five. I’d pre-made some of the individual components over the last couple of days, so all I needed to do was let one of the doughs rise, then assemble and bake everything.”

The timer on his phone started to play a tune, and he tapped the screen to shut it off. Then he stuck his hands in a pair of oven mitts, pulled two more muffin tins full of mini pies out of the oven, and looked around. There was no place to put them, so Itried to help. “I’ll put some of these in another room, so you have more space.”

I brought two cooling racks of tiny pies into the living room and put them on the coffee table. Phil eyed them from the sofa, so I warned him, “Don’t even think about it.” We stared each other down for a few moments. He ended up winning the staring contest, so I picked up the racks and moved them to the dresser in my bedroom, where they’d be safe behind closed doors.

I returned to the kitchen and asked Tracy, “How much more do you have to do?”

“The last batch is in the oven. After it’s done, I can pack everything up and head to the shelter.”

“Have you eaten anything this morning?” He shook his head, so I reached for my blender. “Healthy smoothies for two, coming right up.”

“Will they contain algae, or anything else I might find horrifying?”

“Since I’m making them for both of us, I’ll stick to normal stuff like bananas, blueberries, and Greek yogurt. Full disclosure—I’m going to put in a handful of spinach and kale too, but I promise you won’t even taste it.” He frowned, but he didn’t argue.

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