Page 38 of His Greatest Treasure

He grunts in response, his eyes taking in the space in a way that shows he hadn’t really before. The boxes lined up against the walls have me feeling a bit self-conscious, but I’ve been knocking out as much unpacking as possible in whatever free time I have. The place feels cluttered and unorganized, but I remind myself it’ll be better soon.

For now, the furniture, empty shelves, and full boxes will have to do.

“What company are you using for cable?” he asks after I swallow my first bite of pizza.

Nova glides greasy fingers over the DVD remote and chooses the Play option on the TV. TheCarsopening scene fills the screen, and Lightning McQueen’s mantrafloats through the speaker before I mutter off the name of the cable company to Oliver.

He hasn’t taken a bite of his food. If it were a person, it’d have shrivelled at his glare. “Did they say why they couldn’t come out sooner?”

“No. Just that every time they’re set out to come, something’s come up.”

It’s bullshit. But the only thing fighting them on it will do is piss them off enough theynevercome. There are a few different ones in Vancouver, but this one’s the cheapest. Maybe that’s for a reason.

Oliver grunts. I take it as an answer, considering how often he does it.

“I miss my cartoons,” Nova says between bites of her pizza. “We don’t have lots of movies. And Mom can’t watch her show now.”

Oliver gives Nova his full attention. “What’s your mom’s show?”

“Survivor.”

Discomfort twists my insides, growing worse with every bit of my life Oliver gets exposed to. “You’ll get your cartoons back soon,mitt hjärta. Promise.”

“What does that name mean?” Oliver asks.

I busy myself with picking off a piece of crumbled bacon from my pizza to keep from looking at him. “My heart.”

He doesn’t need to know that I call Nova my heart because my dad’s been calling me that for as long as I can remember. My past isn’t his concern.

“And the name you called me the other day?”

“I didn’t call you a name,” I lie.

He turns his attention to my daughter. “Nova?”

“What name?”

That’s my girl.

Surprisingly, he lets it go. “You have an accent. I couldn’t figure out whatit was before.”

“Yeah, that happens when you grow up in Sweden. I’ve had one my entire life. Including the last time I was here.”

Awkward tension vibrates in the room at the reminder of the last time we saw one another. It was so, so long ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Maddox’s hockey drama, Jamie’s broken ankle, Cooper’s art shows, Tinsley’s boxing classes.

Oliver everywhere but where I was.

“I didn’t notice it much back then,” he admits bluntly.

It burns when it shouldn’t. “Why would you have? We weren’t close.”

“I wasn’t outgoing then. Didn’t make a lot of conversation with anyone but Cooper, Maddox, and Jamie.”

“How is Jamie doing? We watch his games, but it’s not the same as talking in person. I didn’t grab a moment with him at dinner.” I change the subject, abandoning the prior one.

He shifts, knees spreading half an inch. I don’t dare look away from the TV. “Jamie’s good. Lively. Enjoying the game still. That hasn’t changed. He hasn’t.”

“Is he seeing anyone?”

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