Page 17 of Beyond Oblivion

“Chicken and dumplings, made from scratch. It’s her mom’s recipe, but she puts her own spin on it and I look forward to it all month. Are you home? I can stop by on my way back to the shop and take a look at your disposal, but I can’t stay long.”

“Perfect. I’m sorry, I promise I don’t plan to call you all the time. I’d call Dad, but…”

“I know, he started working all the time after Kenzie… yeah, I’ll be over in a bit.”

“Thank youuuuu…” she lilted. “See you in a bit.”

It took less than ten minutes to get to Maddie’s apartment complex, but it took me almost that long to convince myself to get out of my truck. Madison opened her door before I even reached it, a wide grin on her face.

She threw her arms around me and squeezed. “You’re thebest!”

I patted her back. “No problem. So, is it turning on at all or…?” I asked, walking to the kitchen.

Madison followed close behind. “Nope. You flip the switch and…” She flicked it up. “Nothing.”

I opened the cabinet door and kneeled, immediately seeing the problem. I reached behind the disposal for two seconds and made a single adjustment before standing again. “Try it now.”

Madison turned it on, and it immediately began to buzz.

“No way!” she said, turning it off and then back on for just a second or two.

I stood. “It was just unplugged.”

She covered her eyes. “Oh my God. I’m an idiot.” She let her hands rest on my hips and then pressed her forehead against my chest. “That should’ve been the first thing I checked before calling anyone, I’m so sorry.”

I patted her and took a step back. “Happens to the best of us.”

She gestured back to the crock pot on the counter. “You sure you don’t want to try even one? Just an appetizer?”

“Better not. Happy wife, happy life.”

Madison giggled. “I always knew you’d be the best husband.” Her smile faded. “Hey. You look tired. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just haven’t been sleeping great.”

She got quiet. “Nightmares?”

“Nah, it’s just part of getting old. When you’ve been as rough on your body as I have…”

“Trent.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Just one.”

“After we talked.” She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “I’m such an asshole. Showing up, dumping all of this on you, feeling so glad I had someone to talk to who understood without taking even a second to think about how it would affect you.” She walked over to me quickly and threw her arms around me, her cheek against my chest. “I’m so sorry, Trent. I never meant to… I mean I’m not a selfish person, it was just so nice to…”

I held up my hands. “I know what you’re thinking… is it all real? Is it concrete? Why isn’t he on his fifth Mr. Olympia? But alas,” I said, patting her shoulder and then backing away. “Whatever it is belongs to Mrs. Maddox, and like Russia, she gets real cranky about people touching her stuff.”

She watched me back away. “We don’t have to talk about it ever again. It’s just so great to have you back in my life. And I promise this is the last time I’ll ask you for help. I just… I just want us to be friends.”

I walked toward the crock pot, lifting the lid. The smell brought back a hundred memories of Mackenzie. “I don’t think it’s just talking about the accident.”

“Don’t stop being my friend, Trent. I just got you back. Please?” she said, her voice small.

I took a breath and then turned, a forced grin on my face. “Are you crazy? I’m like a bad penny, I always turn up. We’ve already talked about the accident. Neither of us want to keep reliving that day over and over.”

“Exactly,” she said, relieved. “We have plenty of other things to talk about. I’ve just… I’ve missed you.”

I pointed at her with my best dad-like finger gun, closed an eye, and clicked my tongue. “I’ve missed you, too, kid. But I was on my way to the shop to take care of some things. We’ll chat later.”

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