Page 35 of Afterglow
“And where’s my birthday present?”
“Hmmm.” I tap my forefinger to my chin. “It shoulda been there already.”
“I didn’t get it.”
“Oooh. I think I know what happened. Do me a favor and give the phone to your mom.”
“Okay, one sec.”
The kid’s getting too big. I still remember holding her at the hospital.
My oldest sister takes control of the phone. “Hi, Fletcher.”
“Hey, Pipe. How’s the party?”
“I’ve got seven ten-year-olds, five eight-year-olds, and three six-year-olds running the house into the ground. How do you think it’s going?”
“Sounds like Christmas at the Donovans.”
“Worse, I’d say.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “I see. Now, what’d ya do with the box I sent last week?”
She sighs. “It’s too much, Fletcher.”
“Oh, come on, she’s ten now. And it’s only a Nintendo Switch. I don’t get to spoil them as much as I want.”
“Fine. But take it easy at Christmas this year. I can’t have the kids expecting bigger and more expensive gifts every year.”
“Yeah, yeah. Can you give it to her now? I wanna see if she likes it or not.”
Lila returns to the screen. “Mommy said she’ll be back in a sec.”
Her face lights up when she’s handed the box, and a giddy shriek sounds out when she opens it.
“You like it?”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She hugs the phone, and my heart grows.
“I’m sorry I missed the party.”
“Come visit soon, okay? I wanna go on the jet skis like we did last summer.”
“You got it, kiddo. Have fun.”
“Bye, Uncle Fletcher!”
We wave to each other before she ends the call.
I lie back on the pillow and sigh out again, glancing at my hand and tracing the space between each finger, memorizing how Behraz’s fingers felt between them.
A crash follows a loud clang. What was that?
“Fletcher?” her voice calls weakly.
Oh, no.
Chapter 14
