Page 104 of Just a Heartbeat Away

Sebastian was on his back on her kitchen floor, fixing the garbage disposal on Sunday morning. He and Matty had been in White Plains for a day, and Seb thought he was going out of his mind. He couldn’t stop wondering how Via was spending her time. He knew that she and Fin had their own Thanksgiving traditions together, but there were a long few days rolling out before Thursday. He thought of her lonely apartment. How alone she’d looked at the softball field after her breakup. Over the week leading up to the holiday, there were bound to be lengthy, silent stretches of solitude for Via. Not that solitude was a bad thing, but he couldn’t help but think that she needed more noise in her life. Noise that he and Matty and Crabby were more than happy to provide.

He really wanted to be in Brooklyn. He wanted to spend this week with Via. But he wasn’t going to deprive Matty of time with his grandparents, and he damn sure wasn’t going to subject Via to time with Matty’s grandparents. Everything in him wanted to hit the gas, but he didn’t want anyone he cared about to get trampled in the process. So here he was, lying on the kitchen floor, sighing.

“Don’t be sorry.”Just do better.The subtext had all the subtlety of the broad side of a bus.

Sebastian could see Muriel’s neat white tennis shoes standing next to him. At first, he’d thought she was just overseeing his work, but he was pretty sure she was taking notes up there, trying to learn how to do it on her own if she had to.

“Right.”

Things were quiet for a while, and he was impressed when she passed down a wrench without him having to ask.

“So, things aren’t better with your woman?”

Involuntarily, Friday night passed through Seb’s mind like a high-speed movie. He coughed. “Ah.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. He was talking with his late wife’s mother about his new woman. He cleared his throat.

“Oh, come on, Sebastian. I deserve to know about things that affect my grandson.”

“That logic is a little wonky, Muriel. If you’re in the market for gossip, just ask.”

She made a little outraged noise from above him that made Seb laugh.

“No, things are good, I think,” he divulged, to soothe her. “I’m just in my own way.”

She was quiet and he could hear her organizing tools. “In your own way how?”

He considered her question. “Do you think I’m too old to be doing this? Trying to start something new with a woman?”

“Old?” She scoffed. “Don’t be idiotic, it doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m forty-two, Muriel.”

“Yes, and...?”

“She’s twenty-eight.”

She was quiet for a second. “That’s hardly a scandal. As long as she’s presentable. Oh Lord on high, tell me she doesn’t wear those horrid midriff shirts.”

Seb laughed. “Cora wore those midriff shirts.”

“And I thought they were horrid then, too.”

He could have sworn she laughed.

“Well, no. She’s very professional. And put together. She’s sweet. You actually know her or might remember her. She was Matty’s pre-K teacher.”

“Oh. Yes, I vaguely remember her. She was good with Matty, if I recall correctly?”

“She was good with him then, and she’s great with him now. It comes naturally to her, I think. But they also have a genuine connection. They’re...friends.” There wasn’t really a better word for it, but it felt strangely inadequate.

“His pre-K teacher,” Muriel repeated, and seemed to be racking her memory. “She was very small? Dark hair? I can’t quite picture her. That year is...foggy for me.” She sounded like admitting it was a real weakness.

Seb scooted out from under the sink and leaned forward on his knees. “Yeah, me, too.” He slanted a quick look up at her. “She was at that softball game, too. I wasn’t sure if you’d recognize her.”

“I knew it!” Muriel crowed before quickly regaining her composure. “I thought for sure you were attracted to that woman. Though, I didn’t realize who she was. Or that we’d already met.”

“Did you interact with her much when Matty was in her class?”

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