Page 24 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

“You wanted her to be kind like Mrs. Sally.”

Mrs. Sally was the nurse at my first boarding school. She not only always had Band-Aids for any kids who got cuts on their knees or scraped their elbows, but she also brought baked goods in on Fridays, and when we were sick in our dorm rooms, she would bring us chicken soup and crackers.

“You wanted her to know everyone’s name and make everyone smile like Mr. Cooper.”

When I still lived with my mom and dad, Mr. Cooper was our mailman. He knew everyone’s name, which I now understood was because he read it on their mail, but I remember everyone lighting up when they saw him, even my mom, no matter how sick she was. He always left people happier than they were before they spoke to him.

“You said she needed to smell like strawberries and cake.”

I still loved a fruity vanilla scent to this day, so I supposed that hadn’t changed.

“And you wanted her to feel like your treehouse during the 4th of July.”

I shook my head dismissively at that answer, thinking it was ridiculous. Then I remembered that my mom died at the end of March. I didn’t cry at the funeral or even in my room. I didn’t cry when we moved to my grandparents’ house or when I had to move schools. But on the 4th of July, I went up to my treehouse to watch the fireworks. I felt safe there, for some reason. I cried and cried and cried, and I let out all my emotions. I knew that no one could hear me because the fireworks were going off. It was the safest I ever felt. That was the summer before first grade. I guess I just wanted to feel safe around her.

“So, is that who Serena is?” Gran asked as she folded the paper.

“I was six,” I reiterated instead of answering honestly.

The truth was…no. Serena wasn’t any of those things. In fact, she was the polar opposite of every one of those statements. She had dark hair and eyes. She didn’t like animals. She wasn’t particularly kind. She definitely didn’t take the time to know people’s names, and most people didn’t smile after being in her presence. If anything, they were intimidated by her. She favored more musky scents than light fruity vanilla. And she never made me feel as safe as I did in that treehouse. I’d never cried in front of her. She didn’t even have any idea about my OCPD or mysophobia.

My door opened, and Hannah walked in. I could see in her face that something was wrong. Very wrong.

“What? What is it?”

“The police are downstairs and want to speak to you.”

I stood. “Why?”

“Derek was in a car accident, and they are taking him to the hospital.”

“Is he okay?” Gran asked as I watched all of the color drain from her face.

It was the exact words she’d heard from the officers when they came to the door to tell her that my dad was in an accident.

“I don’t know. He was under the influence.”

“Call Harold Levine,” I instructed Hannah. Harry was my grandfather’s lawyer, and say what you will about the man’s family values, he was shrewd when it came to business, and he had the best people working for him.

I stood behind my desk, taking a moment to process and decide how I should proceed.

When I woke up this morning, I thought the most stressful part of my day would be the board meeting. Then Gran showed up with a paper I wrote when I was six about what I wanted in a wife and had me second-guessing a fiancée who I couldn’t even get a hold of. My brother got behind the wheel while under the influence and was in an accident and was now on his way to the hospital. There were police officers downstairs waiting to speak to me.

Sometimes, I felt so detached from everything around me, as if life were a movie I was watching. I didn’t feel connected to it. Today was one of those days.

9

ASHLEY

“Okay,Mr. Purrfect, I will see you at five. Be good. Wish me luck.” I bent down and pressed a kiss to my loyal tabby’s head. He was the only man who had never disappointed me. In fairness, his loyalty was based on not abandoning me when he managed to sneak out of the house, but loyalty was loyalty in my book.

After locking up, I pulled out my phone to text my sister and ask if she needed me to grab Luna and take her to school on my way out to Stella’s. I’d been offering my niece rides every day since the morning sickness had been brutal this time around, but my sister was stubborn and rarely accepted any sort of assistance.

When I looked at my screen, I saw there was another text from Garrett asking me to call him. The guy was really not giving up. The worst part was, every time he left another message, the walls I’d built up chipped away a little bit more. I was scared that if he continued his campaign, I was going to cave and pick up his call.

What if he really had made a mistake?

What if he really missed me?

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