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The glint in Tyler’s eyes makes me nervous. “It’s actually a funny story—”
“Tyler’s son, Krew, is in my class,” I cut in. “That’s how we know each other.”
“Krew’s in your class?” My dad’s face lifts. “He's such a cute little boy.”
“You know Krew?”
“Yeah, he hangs out at the cemetery with us.”
He sticks his hand out in front of Nigel. “Hey, I’m Tyler.”
“Nigel Faartz.”
Faartz?
Charlene didn’t mention that part. There should be blind date stipulations. The first one: Does your last name sound like a bodily function? If the answer is yes, the date is automatically off.
I can feel Tyler's amusement rolling off of him in waves.
“So you hang out at the cemetery?” Nigel asks, and I shrink with embarrassment.
“It’s where the party’s at,” Tyler says.
Nigel nods like he doesn’t catch the sarcasm.
“Actually, my wife died almost two years ago.”
“How did she pass?”
Why is Nigel asking so many personal questions? He’s supposed to be getting to knowme, not Tyler.
“Car accident. The driver of the other car was texting while driving.”
Nigel points to me. “Hands free. That’s what I say. I go hands free for everything.”
Tyler’s brows raise. “Really?Everything?”
I cringe. This conversation is sucking the life out of me.
The doorbell rings again, and I don’t even have time to recover. There's only one person missing. Anna Mae. I'm not sure how much more I can take.
I hear her sweet voice before I see her face.
Don’t cry, Meg. Don’t cry.
I look around the room. Everyone else seems to be fine.
And then she walks in.
I know my mom is dead, but for a moment, it’s like my heart forgot. Her black hair and the shape of her face are identical to my mother’s. Even her makeup and clothes remind me of Mom. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn it was my mother.
A hole in the pit in my stomach opens up, and my heart drops down inside. It’s all I can do to smile and make it through introductions. Everyone is a ball of excitement, talking to her, getting to know her.
Everyone but me.
I nod and give thinly veiled smiles. I slink to the corner of the kitchen, letting the conversation fly around me. I glance at Tyler. He’s already staring at me with a look so soft, it breaks me.
My dad offers to give Anna Mae and Nigel a tour of his house, and that’s when I make my escape. I open the back door and head into the backyard.
