Page 32 of The Two of Us

10

NOW

“Oh honey, I can’t watch any longer. It’s hurting my eyes.”

I’m on my knees, attempting to pull rusted nails out of a dilapidated porch stair. I broke a sweat ten minutes ago when I managed to lift the nail maybe an inch. Laura watches me with the most pitiful look I’ve ever seen.

I wipe the sweaty hairs from my face. “Very funny. Are you on your way out?”

She’s still wearing the top from her scrubs, but she’s changed into a pair of jeans. “I am. My sister was a no-show at my nephew’s school today and they just called me to come pick him up.”

I pick at a frayed thread on my work gloves. “Anya, right? Yeah, I think I met her.”

Laura frowns. “You met her when?”

“The other day. Ambrose invited me to the zoo with him and Matty. We saw Anya when we got back.”

What I don’t tell her is that Anya looked strung out. She also looked like she wanted to feed me to a group of sharks. Which, thanks to Ambrose and his uncanny knowledge of animals, I know is called a shiver.

Laura fiddles with her bag. “And how was that?”

“She seemed like a nice girl!” I say, my voice pitchy.

“Ha! Now I know you’re lying. Listen, Mara… I love my sister. Lord knows I do. I would walk through fire for that girl, but she has baggage. Where she goes, trouble follows. That’s just the name of her game. So, trust me when I tell you to keep your distance. No use in spending time around the things or people in her orbit.”

Her subliminal warning is about as subtle as a freight train.

I tug on the nails with a heightened level of aggression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah and I’m Beyoncé. Don’t think I don’t see you staring at that house all day long, pining like a teenage girl.”

My mouth drops. “I do not pine.”

“Honey, you pine. She pines. Hell, even I pine. That man is someone worth pining for. All I’m saying is, be careful. You have a lot on your plate here.”

Some might think Laura is overstepping her boundaries, being my dad’s nurse and all, but I no longer see her as an employee whose only job is to clock in and out. She’s a friend and I’m thankful for her presence. She’s made my stay more bearable, considering the circumstances. If she has advice to offer, I’ll gladly take it.

“I hear you, Laura. Ambrose and I are just… well we aren’t even friends really. We’ve just known each other since childhood, that’s all.”

Laura cackles as she descends the stairs. “‘That’s all.’”

I roll my eyes as she peels out of the driveway. I’m rewarding myself with a ten-minute break, chugging my third glass of water, when I hear a knock at the door. Otso races ahead of me, barking like I’m a damsel in distress and he’s my protector—the enemy being whoever stands on the other side of this door. Jumping on his hind legs, he scratches the door as his first plan of attack.

“Down, boy! I just repainted this, you little shit.”

I grab his collar, doing my best to pull him behind my small frame before opening the door a crack. Ambrose stares back at me, a large duffel slung over his shoulder.

“Ambrose… what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to work on the house.”

I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”

He looks down at Otso who’s soaking my hand in drool. “I came to fix some things around the house. I do it all the time, Solomon already knows about it.”

Why didn’t my dad or Laura mention anything? “That’s nice of you… but that’s unnecessary. I’ve been fixing things myself.”

Ambrose glances behind him at the porch stairs I’ve been working on with a look of amusement. “I can see that.”

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