Page 90 of His One True Wish

I took a sip of my tea. “Thank you for helping Mom.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I know you weren’t happy to see me this week.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s okay,” she said, holding up her hand. “It’s been a long time since we talked. And I have to tell you, I was just as surprised as you were when your gran reached out to me.”

I froze, my cup in hand. “Wait, Gran reached out to you?”

“Yeah.” Abby smiled. “I was so sorry to hear that she passed.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling as if all the light in the room was collapsing into a single spotlight on Abby.

“Before she died, your gran came into the office.”

“Why?” I said.

“It happens sometimes. In Real Estate, we call them blue birds, people who just show up and say, sell my house. It makes things easier. You know, I’ve been doing this for about ten years, and I’ve never left Denver, so I know people, but I didn’t expect your family to reach out to me,” she said. “Oh. You didn’t know.”

“No,” I whispered. “What did she say?”

“She told me she was making plans to travel and wanted to check in and let me know that she and your mom planned to sell the house on Maple Lane. It was very important to her that I help sell it.”

“What?” I gasped. “Why would she pick you? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude.”

“I don’t know,” Abby said. “When we were friends, she was always really nice to me. And I felt bad when things went down with Travis.”

“You mean when he cheated on me with you.”

“I was seventeen years old, Billie,” she said. “He was very cute and very persuasive and he wore me down that whole week. I regret it. I’m sorry. I wish it had never happened.”

This wasn’t the first time Abby had apologized to me. I remember standing with her in our front yard, tears streaming down her cheeks. My heart crushed by betrayal, I thought it was a sign that I was doomed to pick a liar and a cheater, like my dad. I realized that my anger at Abby was conflated.

“I wish it never happened, too,” I said.

“We were just kids.”

“I know.” I sighed, taking a sip of my tea. “You know, the thing with Travis made me think a lot about the reason my parents split.”

“Really?”

“My dad was a serial cheater,” I said, nodding and looking at the surface of my teacup. It was still and serene but I knew if I set it down hard enough, ripples would appear. I felt tender and vulnerable talking to Abby. These little moments felt like stones being tossed on the center of a lake. I didn’t realize how far the ripples traveled. Was I still feeling the pain of my father’s absence?

“I don’t think you ever told me, but I remember you telling me how much he hurt your mother.”

I bit my lip. “So, when you made out with stupid Travis … ”

“Stupid Travis,” Abby said.

“Yeah, stupid Travis,” I repeated, and I felt as though we were traveling back in time. The kitchen felt warm again, the walls familiar. My best friend in the world sat across from me like she had a hundred times after slumber parties and volleyball games.

“I’m glad we’re talking,” she said.

“So Gran called you?” I asked.

“Um-huh. She stopped by, said she wanted me to handle the sale. She said it would be in about six months.”

“Wow,” I said. “She was sure busy.”

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