Page 11 of Just Like That

MJ

PLEASE tell me the rumors are true!

The rumor that Ms. Tiny has a hot new love interest? Couldn’t say.

You know what I’m asking. Am I an auntie again?

No.

. . .

Maybe.

. . .

Probably not.

SQUEEEEEEE!

It was latewhen I finally heard the crunch of tires on gravel and the squeaking brakes of an oversize school bus.

A fuckingskoolie, of all things. This woman couldn’t get any more impractical.

I had expected Hazel and Teddy to show up at my place right away and be there squatting when I returned home from work. Instead, she’d taken her sweet-ass time, and by the time night descended, I wondered whether she’d be coming at all.

A flicker of hope that this was all a terrible dream died when I saw the ridiculous bus turn in.

By the time her skoolie finally did roll down my driveway, I was fully irritated. All I wanted was for this problem to go away. If that meant she parked her house on wheels in my driveway so I could keep tabs on her and ultimately expedite their departure, then so be it.

Veda had given me the side-eye all afternoon at the office. No doubt my family had a field day with the unexpected development that some kid had claimed I was his father. I had been distracted at the office. I caught myself staring off into space, trying to recount where I’d been, what—and who—I’d been doing seven years ago. I racked my brain but still came up empty.

I had also wasted far too much time reliving every interaction I’d had with Hazel. She was a distraction—I knew it from the beginning.

Beside me, Veda had worked silently, clacking away at the keyboard and adding notes to what I referred to as hermurder board. The oversize corkboard she’d put up in our cramped office took up the majority of the wall space and was color coded with photos, notes, and timelines.

I had initially hired Veda as a business consultant behind my father’s back. I needed someone impartial to look into King Equities and find what my father was hiding. At the time, I had no idea she would be the one to uncover a web of lies and deceit far more unsettling than a few underhanded business deals.

Her tenacity had been the key to unraveling everything my father had done to hide the real reason behind my mother’s disappearance. Veda had even bought red string to denote events she suspected were connected. The Post-it Notes were organized by color and highlighted the bits of information we were still looking into in order to ensure, after his arrest, my father never saw the light of day again.

Untangling the web of deceit my father had woven over the course of nearly thirty years was a daunting task. Her board was ridiculous but, admittedly, helpful.

At the very least, Veda knew to keep her mouth shut and work.

She’s getting another raise.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and downed the last sip of whiskey in my glass as I peered out the front window. Sighing, I set down my drink and walked out of my house and onto the front porch.

With the setting sun sagging across Lake Michigan, a riot of golden hues illuminated Hazel’s strawberry blond hair through the bus’s front window, making it sparkle with flecks of gold in the sunlight.

She looked tiny behind the gigantic wheel of the school bus, and the air suspension seat bounced her up and down with every bump. I leaned against the porch column as she parked.

Hazel shot me a grin and two thumbs-up.

I offered a tight smile and raised my hand, letting her know the haphazard way she’d parked at an awkward angle was good enough.

It wasn’t like I got any unannounced visitors anyway.

Within seconds, the door swung open and she bounded down the steps of the skoolie. I looked behind her, curious when I didn’t see Teddy hot on her heels.

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