Page 14 of Missing

On Friday, Doug messaged me mid-afternoon to warn me that everyone at SSI knew about our date. I wasn’t surprised. I’d told Meg, and fully expected her to tell Jack. Mary had told John, who’d already talked to Doug about it. So really, the only people who might not have known were Jamie and AJ, and I doubted they were left in the dark.

SSI was one big family, and Grannie’s was an extension of that family. It was nearly impossible to keep secrets.

I texted back, saying I was surprised it’d taken this long for it to come out and reassured him I didn’t mind. I didn’t ask him or the details, knowing I’d hear all about it from Meg tonight when we got together, along with Emily and her mother Anne, at Mary’s house for Craft and Booze Night.

Mary, Meg, and I had been doing our monthly girl’s nights for a while now, but tonight was the first time Emily and Anne would be joining us.

Our first get together was supposed to be a book club, and we’d all read the book, but as the wine flowed our discussion quickly devolved into which actor we thought should be cast as the love interest.

The second time none of us had finished the book, so we decided it’d be fun to do crafts instead. We’ll see how long it lasts. Usually, Mary and Meg came over after Chase went to bed, but tonight John had volunteered to watch Chase so we could meet at Mary’s and not have to worry about keeping our volume down.

It’d never been a problem before, but there’d be five of us tonight, and I had to admit, it was nice not having to worry about it, and to be meeting earlier than eight.

I was looking forward to getting to know Emily and Anne better. Emily and Jamie had been dating for a couple of months,and it was the happiest I’d seen him since Isabelle died four and a half years ago. Things had started a little rough for them; she’d just left an abusive boyfriend, and her older brother, Chris, Jamie’s best friend, was hesitant to give his blessing. That was all in the past, now Jamie was head-over-heels in love with Emily, and she was just as in love with him

When John knocked on my door, a few minutes before five-thirty, Chase practically tripped himself in his excitement to let him in. As he reached for the door handle, I reminded him to ask, “Who is it?”

Which he did, loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Even through the closed door, John’s laughter was evident as he answered. I unlocked the deadbolt, and let Chase open the door to greet his Uncle John.

“Chase,” I waited for him to look at me, “be good for your Uncle John, okay?”

“Yes, Mommy.” He nodded his head up and down fast enough to make my neck hurt. “Did you tell him I can stay up late tonight?”

“Not yet. Go get in your pajamas while I tell him.”

“Okay.” Chase ran upstairs to his room.

“Thanks for sitting tonight. I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. Mama Bears need a night away from their cubs, no matter how much they love them.”

“As you heard, I told him he can stay up late, he’ll probably be asleep by seven-thirty but if not, I told him he could stay up until eight if he brushes his teeth by seven. He knows he’s not allowed to have snacks after brushing, but I’ll let you decide if you want to bend the rules when he asks.”

John nodded. Chase called him Uncle John, but given their ages, John fell more into the grandpa role with him.Which makes sense, his kids are all old enough to have kids Chase’sage. Grandpas loved spoiling their grandchildren. Who was I to take that from him?

“He may argue when it’s time for bed,” I looked at John, “or maybe not, given it’s you.” I chuckled when he grinned. Chase respected John as an authority figure and was less likely to argue with him than he was with anyone else, including me.

Especially me.

“Got it. Teeth at seven, no snacks, bedtime at eight. Will he want a bedtime story?”

“He will. He’ll tell you which one he wants to hear, then-”

John cut me off with a laugh and finished for me. “He’ll fall asleep three pages in.” Being a cop meant crazy shift work, so he wasn’t always there to help Mary put their kids to bed, but she’d told me he’d taken advantage of the opportunity any night he was home, so he knew the drill.

“Exactly.”

Chase came running down the stairs in his pajamas, with two handfuls of plastic dinosaurs. “Can we play dinosaurs?”

“Sure, but why don’t you say goodbye to your mom first.” John held out his hands for the toys.

“Bye.” He waved without moving.

“Oh no you don’t! I want a hug and a kiss before I go.”

After saying goodbye, I thanked John again, grabbed my wine and snacks, and told John I wouldn’t be home too late.

He looked up at me from the floor, where he was already making roaring sounds, much to Chase’s delight, and said, “Stay out as long as you’d like.”

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