Page 26 of Minor Trouble
He shrugged. “Sometimes. She occasionally borrowed the neighbor’s dog, and we went for walks.”
“Why didn’t you get a dog of your own?”
“Mom’s boyfriend was allergic.”
“Would you like a dog?”
The same shrug again. “Not really. It’s a lot of responsibility, and what if something happened to you and I couldn’t take care of it?”
I reached over and patted him on the arm. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“How do you know? Look what happened to Mom. One day she was here, then the next—” Noah swallowed and swiped his hand across his face.
We had never talked about the accident or what had happened to him in the immediate aftermath of it. I didn’t want to push him, but I thought it might be good for him to open up. How I got him to do that was another matter. I wasn’t an expert in talking to kids, not like Ainsley was. I wished she was here now, she’d know what I should say, what questions I should ask him to find out how he was feeling.
“Do you miss her?” The words were out of my mouth, and I instantly regretted them. What astupidthing to ask.
Biting his lip, he nodded, and I spotted the glassy tears in his eyes. “I keep expecting her to walk in the room.”
“I get it.” I hadn’t seen her in years, so didn’t experience the same thing, but I knew how much it must have been killing Noah.
Noah’s phone pinged with a notification. I desperately wanted him to ignore it, for us to try and connect some more, but like Pavlov’s Dog, he pulled it from his pocket and scanned the screen.
“Pepper wants me to go over tomorrow and study at her house. Can I?” He looked at me expectantly, the tears a distant memory.
“Pepper? Who’s that?” His ears reddened in the exact same spot they had when I’d asked him about the message he’d gotten in the truck earlier. Noah hadn’t mentioned any friends from school, particularly girls. I’d have to hit up Ainsley for some information, make sure this Pepper wasn’t going to be a bad influence.
“She’s in my English class and is going to help me with my homework. Please?”
Who was I to refuse my son his education? Particularly since English certainly hadn’t been my strong suit, so if someone else was going to help him with his studies…
“Sure. But don’t forget we still have to finish your room.”
He beamed, the earlier sadness gone from his expression. “Thanks!” Then he got up from the sofa and bounded into his bedroom.
Alone once again, I found my own phone.
Seth: Hey, sorry to bother you on the weekend. Can I ask you something?
I didn’t expect a reply straight away. Ainsley could have been out on a date, busy catching up on school stuff, or have a friend over for dinner. But I wanted to know about Pepper. I didn’t want history repeating itself.
Ainsley: No problem, I wasn’t busy. Shoot!
Seth: Who’s Pepper? Noah’s going over to her house tomorrow to ‘study’.
Ainsley: Pepper Smart. She’s in Noah’s English class. She’s a good kid, although not without her own problems.
So far, she was corroborating what Noah had said.
Ainsley: Noah will be fine going over to her house. And he’ll get better grades in English as a result.
Seth: Thanks, good to know.
I didn’t want to end the conversation there. Ainsley had taken the time to reply to me, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to stop talking to her. She was really helping me out with Noah, and I appreciated everything she’d done so far. Maybe more than appreciated it. Impulsively, I opened the camera app and snapped a selfie of me on the sofa. I sent the picture to Ainsley and added a comment.
Seth: I’m all alone on the sofa. Noah’s in his bedroom. We decorated it today and I’ve moved all my stuff out.
Ainsley: That’s great! I mean, not that you’re alone on the sofa but that Noah has his own space.
