Page 20 of Love in the Storm

“Want to watch something besides the weather?” he asked.

“Yes, please. I can’t look at the photos anymore.”

Asa followed her into the living room, and he muted the TV as they sat down. “Want to talk instead?”

Lyric curled her legs under her on the couch. “You talk. I’ll listen.”

He chuckled. “I was thinking you could do the talking.”

“I’m not awake enough yet.” She hummed as shethought. “Did I hear you talking about your son earlier?”

“Jacob. He’s ten.” A surge of pride filled Asa’s chest. “He’s awesome.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“I talked to him right before I wrecked. He wasn’t too happy with me.”

Lyric straightened. “Why?”

Asa scratched the stubble on his chin. He was in dire need of a shave. “I’m not the best at remembering all the school activities. It’s a lot.”

“You mean like dress-up days?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, those.”

“That’s not that big of a deal, is it? Doesn’t his mom help out with that?”

An image of Danielle flashed in Asa’s memory. She would have done all those things and loved them.

“It’s just me. Well, my mom helps, but Jacob’s mom passed away four years ago.”

Lyric gasped and covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

It was the expected reaction–one he’d become immune to in the last few years. He still hadn’t figured out what to say in response. He couldn’t say, “It’s okay,” because it wasn’t.

“Asa, I’m sorry.”

“It’s been a rough few years.”

“I can’t imagine. Is Jacob with your mom tonight?”

“Yeah, and she takes good care of him. She takes him to school and picks him up on days when I work over, so they spend a lot of time together.”

Lyric watched the muted TV for a moment before turning back to him. “I bet being a single parent is tough. No wonder you’re forgetting dress-up days.”

“Actually, this time I forgot to send money for the book fair, but Danielle wouldn’t have missed any school activity. She was a middle school science teacher, and she loved everything about the school experience. Field trips, experiments, pep rallies, ball games–she was in the middle of everything.”

“And you’re feeling like a failure because you’re not as good as the MVP?”

Asa lifted his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Asa let out a single laugh. “Look who’s talking.”

She chuckled. “Fair enough.”

A zap followed by a loud, electric sizzling had both of them sitting up and alert. Lyric covered her ears as the roar of the wind grew louder. Seconds later, the TV went off.

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