Page 119 of The Fix-Up

Long after she left, I stared down at the flyer. It seemed so silly, this huge lump in my throat. I loved this town. How could I leave? But how could I stay? It was almost a foregone conclusion that Peter and his real estate developers would snap it up and he’d happily bulldoze everything to the ground—Ollie’s house, the café, and anything else that stood in his way.

When that happened, the climate of Two Harts would change. People from the city would crawl their way out here to buy McMansions in “planned communities.” The mom-and-pop shops would slowly disappear, replaced by chains and big box stores.

Two Harts as we knew it would disappear.

“He’s here. He’s here.” Oliver’s shriek startled the kittens—Charlotte and Avery this week after his teacher began readingCharlotte’s Webto the class. Oliver had had his face pressed to the front window for over an hour, the kittens taking a seat on the sill next to him. Before I could say a word, he’d dashed out the door to meet Gil and his brother, Mikey.

I bit my lip and followed slowly. All week, Gil and I had been explaining to Oliver how Mikey would be different fromother adults he knew. How Mikey didn’t like a lot of loud noise and sometimes wore headphones to protect his ears, or how he might need a break if he were overwhelmed. How sweet Mikey was but sometimes got mad when he didn’t understand what was going on.

“We treat him like any other person,” I said. “But we help him when he needs it, okay?”

Oliver had listened carefully, and I swear if he were capable, he would have taken notes and reviewed them later. “I hope he likes me.”

“Of course he’ll like you,” Gil said. “You’re awesome.”

Still, Oliver had picked out his outfit carefully, donning his favorite dinosaur shirt. He’d been sitting at the window since seven thirty in the morning.

With Main Street blocked off for the parade and festivities, the café was opening late and only serving selected items. It had been strange waking up after five. I’d laid in bed because I could, read a little more ofThe Pirate’s Booty. It wasn’t half bad, but did have me questioning if all the characters in romance novels were able to defy the limitations of physics and body movement.

Gil waved as he rounded the car. But Mikey hadn’t waited for his brother. He was already out of the car and grinning widely, revealing a snaggletooth. He was a little shorter than Gil. His hair was more gray than brown, and he was beginning to bald. His eyes were blue behind glasses that were almost identical to Gil’s. A long white scar started atop his right eyebrow and went above his hairline, making it impossible for the hair to grow there.

Oliver screeched to a halt in front of him. He tipped his head back to look up at him. Next to Mikey, he looked so small.

“Hello,” Mikey said in a loud voice. He grinned down at Oliver. “My name is Mikey. I’m thirty-five. Can I be your friend? What’s your name?”

“I’m Oliver. I’m six. We can be friends.”

Mikey punched a fist in the air with excitement. “Yay. I like your shirt. It has a dinosaur on it. I like dinosaurs.” He pointed to his own t-shirt. It was blue with a couple of smiling sheep and the words, HOW EWE DOING? above them. “Sheep are my favorite, and this is my favorite shirt because it’s funny. Did you know a lady sheep is called a ewe?”

Oliver giggled. “Do you want to go see my room and I can show you all my dinosaurs?”

“Yes.” Oliver grabbed Mikey’s hand and started to pull him toward the front door.

“Hold on a second. Mikey, I want you to meet someone else.” Gil put his arm around my shoulders. “This is Eleanor.”

Mikey froze, his blue eyes behind his glasses wide. He looked me up and down. He didn’t say a word.

I held my hand out. “You can call me Ellie. It’s nice to meet you. Your brother has told me all about you.”

“You’re a princess. Gilly said you were a princess because you have long yellow hair and you’re so pretty,” Mikey said, excitement making his voice shake.

Gilly?I mouthed at Gil. I grinned; he shook his head.

Then Mikey did the most unexpected thing. He turned over the hand I’d offered and placed a kiss on the back of it. “Your Majesty.”

I giggled. “Oh, my, goodness. If I’m a princess, the whole kingdom will probably burn down when I forget to turn off the oven.”

“Are you flirting again?” Gil asked his brother.

Mikey straightened, his grin wide. “Who, me?”

I got the feeling this was schtick the two of them played before. I looked at Gil with narrowed eyes. “Gilbert Dalton, do you use Mikey to pick up women?”

Gil grinned slowly. “Who, me?”

FIFTY-ONE

Love is kindness to someone.

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