Page 44 of Sunflower

I’d stayed home, considering that was where I’d left my bag. Callum had invited me to go back to his place, but he admitted he needed to finish his report for George and didn’t know how long that was going to take, and he didn’t want to leave me alone for however long it might be. After I walked him to his car, I kissed him goodnight and, knowing that he’d have work tomorrow, we made tentative plans on catching up for dinner somewhere. I wondered whether I should ask him if he was interested in having our folks over at his place for dinner, but then selfishly discarded the idea, because I wanted to hoard all his available spare time for myself. Either way, after the chat he’d had with Erin, I didn’t think it would be too much longer before Dad and Erin paid a visit to Callum directly.

“How are you doing with everything, Erin?” I asked her, curious to hear her thoughts about what had happenedyesterday. “I know Callum and I kind of shocked you when we arrived together.”

She chuckled, dancing a little in place with happiness. “I’m doing well now.” She was quiet for a moment before she bobbled her head from side to side a little. “In comparison, at least.”

Worried, I looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Your father told me he’d talked with you. Said you knew about Callum’s vision,” she said as quietly as she could in such a crowded area. Leaning towards me, she continued, “We were on tenterhooks waiting for when it would happen. I’m sorry that I spoiled the surprise by reading you.”

Even though the embarrassment still lingered over what she’d seen in my head, I couldn’t stop the wry grin that lingered on my face as I shook my head. “Serves you right for reading me without my permission.”

“Yeah, pretty sure I won’t be doing that again,” she said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

That was interesting. Erin didn’t seem to have any issues yesterday about what she’d seen, butnowshe was embarrassed? Maybe she got caught up in her excitement yesterday, and didn’t stop to think about exactlywhatshe’d seen until later. “I’m guessing you got a bit of an eyeful. Sorry about that.”

Honestly? I wasn’t sorry at all, and if she looked at me when I said that, she’d know immediately. If anything, it served her right, but this was one of those times where I needed to play the adult that I presumably was and be nice.

Laughing, Erin smacked me on the arm. “No, you’re not, you cheeky thing. But yeah, I could have done without the play-by-play. I’m just happy that you two are happy.” We took another couple of steps forward. “You’ll tell me if he does anything stupid, okay? He may be my son, but I can still give him the shovel talk if I need to.”

Chuckling to myself, I promised I would. “Only as long as you promise you won’t go digging around in my head again without asking. I mean… Do youreallywant to get another front-row seat to what I get up to with Callum?” I asked, pumping my eyebrows in a playful, but suggestive, manner.

Tipping her head back, she groaned almost theatrically. “Yeah, let’s not do that again. Once was more than enough.”

I laughed, even though I was pumping my fist mentally at finding something that was guaranteed to stop her digging for things she shouldn’t. No more times tables for me!

Finally, we made it to the counter, and it was a relatively straightforward process to get what we came for.

“What are you going to do now? Window shop?” Erin asked me once we’d paid up, and she was putting away the paperwork she’d needed to show the pharmacist. “I shouldn’t be too long. There are only a couple of things I want to grab.”

Looking pointedly at the crowded thoroughfare, I muttered, “Grabbing a couple of things is going to take you a couple of hours.”

She hummed in agreement as she followed my eyes. “You’re not wrong. You could get an Uber and go home if you want. Save you waiting for me.”

“And miss seeing what you bought before Dad?” I asked, aghast. “No chance. It’s rare when I can taunt him with knowledge ahead of time.” I popped my phone from my pocket. “Let me check the movie times. Callum and I watched an old Ruben Steele movie the other night and I think he’s got a new one out. If I can get a decent show time, I can meet you afterwards?”

Erin hovered over the phone as I searched. “That one could work,” she said, pointing at the screen. “Message me when you’re done, and I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Done.” I put my phone back in my pocket and hugged her. “Thanks for getting me a new EpiPen. Good luck with the crowd. See you soon.”

“You’re welcome, Joey. Stay safe!” She tightened the hug briefly before she let go and cast a critical eye over the mob of people everywhere, then sighed in resignation. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more…”

I laughed at her quoting Shakespeare, but it did seem wildly apt. I waited for a moment to watch her before she was swallowed by the crowd, then I turned around and headed in the direction of the cinema. There was a Ruben Steele movie I needed to watch.

A couple of hours later, I sat in the tired and well-worn cinema seat, waiting for everyone to leave before I joined them. It was always a mad dash to get out once the credits started rolling, but I preferred to sit and wait, because you never knew if there would be an end credit sequence waiting.

Plus, it didn’t hurt that I didn’t need to fight my way through a throng of people. Always a benefit.

I texted Erin to let her know the movie was done, and I’d wait for her at the car. There was no immediate response, so I assumed she was caught up with whatever shiny thing had caught her eye.

Slowly making my way through the center, I realized that there were even more people around than before I’d gone into the cinema. Were the Black Friday dealsreallythat attractive? Good lord.

It took what felt like forever to reach the parking lot, and I took a moment to breathe exhaust laden air in and relax after feelingsomewhat crushed on all sides for so long. Eventually, I got my bearings and headed for Erin’s car, parked somewhere out in the boonies on the very edge of the lot. There had still been a fair few places free when we arrived, but now every spot was filled.

Walking down the aisle I needed, I heard a car behind me slow down, no doubt following me to nab an easy-to-get spot. I turned my head and shook it apologetically, to which the female driver cursed but thanked me anyway for letting me know. She sped up a little faster and passed me easily, off to search for whatever free spot she could find.

Once I got to Erin’s car, I leaned against the chain wire fence behind it and got my phone out, heading straight for my Kindle app. Who knew how long it would take Erin to get back here? I wasn’t going to waste my data on gaming while I waited, when I knew I could read something offline easily enough.

Plus, I was only part of the way through Lily Mayne’s latestMonstrousstory and was mighty eager to continue reading it whenever I could grab a few minutes spare.

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