Page 14 of Mr. Broody

He squeezes my hand. “She really misses you. We miss you.”

“I miss all of you, but…” I push back the tears that want to spill out of my eyes. “Chicago doesn’t seem that big of a city when Henry’s in it.”

He nods. “Have you ever thought of?—”

“No.” I shake my head. “I just need to keep myself busy for the next few months.”

“Mom won’t need you during the day since she’s mobile and just has to keep her head down. God knows if you tried to dote on her 24/7, you two would be on each other’s nerves in days.” He chuckles. “And the boys will be in school during the day, so you might need to find something you can do to keep yourself busy.”

I sit back, unsure what that might be.

“Why don’t you take some photographs of Chicago? It’s a beautiful city.” I nod, and he tilts his head, seeing my lack of interest. “What am I missing?”

I huff, but I shouldn’t be surprised he’s the first one I’m telling. Though if Henry were still in my life, it would be him. “I’m not feeling very creative lately. I keep forcing myself, and it’s not helping. It’s like I’ve lost my eye for it or something.”

Just the thought of picking up a camera makes my stomach churn because lately, everything I produce is utter crap.

“Well, I’m the wrong person to talk to about creativity, but maybe you need to step back while you’re here and let your creativity come back without any pressure. Do something different. I heard there’s an opening at St. Pat’s.” He laughs as though that’s absurd, and it is. He sits on the board of my old K-8 private Catholic school, which is weird, but then again, the twins just graduated from there last year.

“You mean teach?” I ask, laughing as well because I’m no teacher.

“You have your bachelor’s degree, and with a winning reference from me, I’m sure they’d hire you. Mrs. McConnell has to go on maternity leave soon, so it’s a short stint.”

“I don’t know. Miss Keebler?” I cringe, thinking about whether I could handle a classroom full of kids. But it is just down the block from my childhood home, and it’s only during the day. I could keep busy and make some money. “What grade?”

“She teaches first grade.” He picks his phone up off the table. “Just let me know. No pressure.”

“Okay, I will.”

Chelsea and Hannah slowly walk back over as though they’re testing the temperature of their bath water.

The entire time we sit there and wait for news about my mom, my mind shifts to Henry. There’s no long plane ride to see him when the urge strikes. All I have to do is hop in an Uber, and bam, I could be standing in front of him. I can’t torture myself like this for the next three months.

“I’ll take it if they accept me,” I say to Reed without thinking.

Reed’s eyebrows rise to his hairline that now sports a few gray hairs. “Really? I’ll make the call.”

“What’s going on?” Chelsea asks.

“I’m going to be a teacher,” I say with trepidation because other than the twins, I don’t have much experience with children.

“Congrats?” Hannah says it like a question.

I just hope I survive, but I know chasing around a bunch of first graders will keep Henry far from my mind, and that’s the objective.

Six

Jade

While Reed talks to Chelsea and Hannah, I tell them I’m going to take a walk. Chelsea and Hannah give me the same look that everyone who knew Henry and me as a couple does. It’s not necessarily a pitying look, but there’s definitely a “we feel bad for how things turned out” aspect to it.

I think most people were on one of two sides watching our relationship unfold—either they thought it was young love that would fizzle out when we got to the real world, or they thought we were destined to go the distance. As if maybe fate had interceded all those years ago and sent my mom back to Chicago to run into the guy who was the best man at her wedding and fall for him. Him having such a close relationship with the boy he mentored, and Henry and I becoming fast friends before Reed and Mom ever married.

I used to think that once too. I’m not sure what I believe now. But one thing is for sure—one of the happiest times of my life was when I was sixteen, and Henry confessed his feelings for me.

* * *

We had just gotten back from him signing his commitment to Minnesota. My mom and Reed had a big cake for him, and we celebrated his accomplishment. His grandparents had left, and I was helping him set up the couch in the basement since Reed was taking him to a camp the next day.

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