Page 39 of At First Flight
Pulling up Ashvi’s number—because of course I made it a priority to get info on Lila’s best friend for safety reasons—I type out a message, hoping she’ll spill the details on Lila’s ex.
It’s not long before she replies with a name and nothing else: Prescott Hoolihan.
I recognize the last name immediately. The Hoolihans are notorious political figures with bad attitudes and even worse secrets. There had been rumors circling for years that they dealt in the black market for their own personal goods. I can’t imagine Lila being wrapped up in that family. She didn’t have a cagey bone in her body.
My investigation ends abruptly when Talon calls to tell me that Rory just got out of her regular doctor’s appointment and she’s dilated. The baby could come at any time now. I canhear the nerves in my best friend’s voice, but Talon is the best man I know, and he’ll be an amazing father.
Meetings fall into consecutive video conferences, and before I know it, my growling stomach alerts me that it’s well past lunchtime. For someone who only turns a small profit on my investments, I feel like an hourly employee who’s worked too many hours of overtime and has nothing to show for it.
When I scan the fridge's contents, nothing jumps out at me. With a glance at my watch, I decide to head into town and check out a restaurant to grab something to eat. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll run into Lila and the kids at the park. I'm not sure when they headed out exactly, but I can’t imagine they’ve been gone long.
I’ve finally convinced Lila to drive the SUV I ordered and return her rental. It was missing from the garage as I start my Lamborghini.
The drive into town is a peaceful twenty minutes. Farms and fields pass by in a blur, and I wonder if any of them belong to Lila’s family. I need to take Claire up on her standing reservation for dinner.
With an idea in mind, I make a quick call just as I pull into a parking spot along the street in front of a hamburger joint located on one of the town’s alley streets. I step out of the car, and the smell of barbecued meat makes my stomach cramp in anticipation.
Taking a chance, I order four burgers and enough fries to feed an entire hockey team, then make my way toward the park two blocks down the street.
As I walk, I let the scent of the salty air calm my nerves. The town lends itself to a movie set. The faded brick buildings, weathered shutters, and bright flowers in window boxes areidyllic. I can visualize Lila growing up here, and I know I’ve made a good choice in bringing the kids here. It’s a far better life than wondering if their mom will come home or if food will be on the table at night. I love my sister, but she had clearly lost her way.
My breath hitches as I reach the park and witness the families milling about.
Fuck, my sister could have had this. I could have had this.
I take a deep breath and move closer to the mulch-covered, fence-lined area containing multiple plastic and wood playsets. That emptiness in my chest, the one that I suppressed as I got older, bubbles up to the surface. My parents never took us to the park as kids. It’s not that we were home much outside of boarding school, but they didn’t even have a swing set installed in our massive estate. Their idea of playing with us was taking us on the vacations they planned for themselves.
I find an unoccupied bench and set down the bag of food and drinks. Even though the chilly air is still crisp, the sun warms my skin in a way I haven’t felt in a while. Even in Miami, I rarely took the time to soak in the sun.
Slipping my jacket off my shoulders, I glance around the park. I look for Oliver and Evelyn, ignoring the appreciative glances from a few moms as they stare in my direction.
When I don’t see them, I move closer to one of the larger playsets, the yellow swirling slide catching my eye. As a kid, that is undeniably something I’d want to try.
As I approach, I see a group of four older boys, around the age of ten, squaring off against Lila, who’s shielding Oliver and Evelyn as they stand at the entrance to the slide.
“Let me make this very clear. You push any kid out of the way one more time, and I will make sure that you’re not allowed back at this park… ever.”
“You can’t do that,” one little kid touts with puckered, defiant lips.
“I can, and I will. There are eight different slides in this park. If you’re that impatient to wait for your turn, why don’t you try out one of them instead?”
Watching the scene unfold, I’m not surprised the older kids huff and walk off the play set toward another. Lila waits patiently for Oliver and Evelyn to go down before she takes the steps downward. Oliver and Evelyn waste no time climbing the stairs to go down the slide a few more times.
“Hey,” I say when Lila spots me.
“Hi. I didn’t expect to see you here today,” she says as she unscrews the cap of her water bottle.
“What just happened up there?”
“Oh, you know, just trying to teach some kids manners. Their parents aren’t even here monitoring them.”
“Should they be?” I ask naively.
“Always. Anything could happen at a playground. What if one of their kids fell and broke a bone? Or worse… you know… someone comes and takes them.” Lila shivers as she sips from her water bottle and recaps it.
I didn’t want to push that it’s a silly playground in a small town. I know she has her reasons, and the longer I ponder, the more I can’t imagine not watching the kids and something happening to them.
“Besides, the one that kept pushing the kids out of the way? I went to school with his mom, and let me tell you, the apple clearly didn’t fall far from the tree.”
