Page 89 of Castings & Curses

She sounded so defeated. “Paisley, you are absolutely allowed to bother me. Give me twenty minutes. Can you do that?”

She sighed. “Yeah, I can do that.”

I ended the call and grabbed Sarina around the middle.

“Daddy!” she giggled, but did not put her dolls down.

“You’re going to Nana’s, I’ve got to go take care of something.” I grabbed her shoes and kept going until we were at the van.

“You got a fire?”

“Not this time, toots. But you can’t come with me.” I finished buckling her in and then called Mom. “I need you to watch Sarina for the afternoon.”

“You know where I live. Send her over.”

My parents lived on the property behind mine. Typically, I would have Sarina run over while I watched from the deck, or walked her part way. Mom would stand out on her patio and catch Sarina as she ran. It was useful, and gave Sarina a sense of being a big girl. She loved it. I think.

“I’ll be in your driveway before you get outside,” I said.

“Why on earth are you going to the front?”

Mom still had her phone to her ear as she walked out the front door. We continued over the phone, as silly as that actually was.

“Someone needs my assistance, no time to let the wandering princess chase butterflies.”

Mom was by my side before she hung up.

“Nana!” Sarina called. She hovered at the edge of the van door before launching herself into the air.

Mom caught her and twirled her around. They acted like they hadn’t seen each other in days. They were each other’s favorite person.

“Go help your friend, and then this evening, you can tell me all about her,” Mom said with a smirk.

“I never said it was a woman.”

“You didn’t have to, Eric. I know you.”

I floored it. My property was north of Belvoir, in Hamilton. Duchamp was the closest town, and not very far away. I left tire tread on the parking lot when I skidded to a halt next to Paisley’s van.

I was out the door and pulling her into my arms moments later. “I’ve got you. Let your demons out. I can take care of them so they don’t bother you any longer.”

She took in a long shaking breath, and held me tight around the middle. I stroked her hair and let her do what she needed to do. I could have, would have stood there in that parking lot holding her for as long as she needed me. We could have stayed there until the sun went down.

Paisley pushed away from me. I wanted to hold her tighter, keep her where she was.

“Thank you. I feel so silly. You came all this way for a hug.” She gave me a weak smile.

“That was a bit more than a hug. You clearly needed one. Are you feeling better?”

She nodded. “Do you have time? I mean, I hope I didn’t interrupt something important in my moment of panic, but I could use an ear.”

I ran my hands over her shoulders and arms. “Paisley, you are important. That’s why I’m here. Have you had food, is your blood sugar crashing?”

“No, I’m not having blood sugar issues, but I could go for a hamburger. Is the Cellar still on the second floor above the hardware store?”

I nodded. The Cellar had been at that location long before I ever was allowed to go there as a teenager. It was a hangout for the local college students. They served cheap beer and greasy hamburgers.

I opened the passenger door to my van, “I’ll drive.”

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