Page 21 of Dear Adam
“Have you ever considered that maybe Pretzel hates you because you’re no fun?” Emma teases, tossing a chip at me. Pretzel shoots out from under the table, nearly knocking it over again, and immediately gobbles it up. The umbrella above the table wobbles precariously, and I reach out to steady it before shooting Emma the dirtiest look I can muster.
“Okay, ouch? And I don’t think she hates me anymore. I think we’re starting to bond. I think she’s just missing Adam,” I say, giving her a scratch under her chin. Her back leg thumps in appreciation, but her nose nudges my palm for a chip that isn’t there.
“How’s he doing?” she asks, her voice softening.
I let out a small sigh and trace the water droplets beading on my glass with my finger. “I went and saw him this morning. He’s still doing okay, I guess. His labs are all good and his vitals are stable. We’re just waiting for him to wake up.”
Emma leans back in her chair with folded arms. “And how areyoudoing?”
“I miss him,” I whisper. In a second she’s beside me, her arms wrapped around my neck.
“It’s going to be okay,” she tells me. “He’s missing you right now just as much as you’re missing him.”
“I didn’t realize how much I relied on him until he wasn’t there to talk to,” I say quietly. “I think our relationship with our parents really forced us to rely on each other. No one but him understood the pressure of growing up in a household where everything had to be perfect and nothing was ever good enough, you know?”’
Emma nods, aware of what life was like growing up in the Bloomington household.
She hugs me for a second longer before she pulls away. “Want to go surfing tomorrow morning? Maybe get your mind off things?”
I bite my lip and busy myself with fixing up another taco. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I’m…already going,” I say.
“With who?” she presses.
Maybe if I ignore her, she’ll go away.
“Withwho?” she asks, again.
“Levi,” I murmur.
“LIKE A DATE?” she screeches so loud that Pretzel whines from under the table.
“No! Definitely not a date. We’re just working together. I’m going to help him with the social media for his business and he’s going to help me with cottage renovations.”
“And you’re going to do that in the ocean on a surfboard. Okay. Got it.” She gives me an over exaggerated wink.
“He lives in California, Emma. Things would never work. And besides, Adam always made it very clear that he wanted his best friend and his sister to stay far away from each other,” I say.
“Do you hear that?” she asks, suddenly.
We both turn our heads and find Pretzel, who somehow managed to jump onto the table while we were in deep conversation. She’s got both front paws in the bowl of salsa, lapping it up enthusiastically.
“Pretzel, NO!” I yell. As soon as I reach for the bowl, she lifts her head only enough to make eye contact with me as she nudges it straight onto the floor.
Open-mouthed, I stare down at the mess. My feet and ankles are completely covered in salsa.
Breaking the silence, Emma says, “I can definitely see where you’d think you two are bonding.”
Dear Adam,
Hudson brought me flowers to Bloomie’s today…from Fourth Street Flowers. It was super annoying, and he now wants to go to dinner. Do you think he knows what I do for a living? Also, I just realized I haven’t updated you on Levi. He’s doing really well and is in town right now. He said he stopped by to see you. He stopped by Bloomie’s, too, and fixed the leaky toilet in the back of the shop. I almost didn’t recognize him. I can’t believe it’s been ten years.
Chapter ten
Levi
