Chapter Thirteen

“Please. I’ll take all of your calls for the next two months. I need this time, Thalia.”

Nico’s tone bordered on hysteria. Thalia pulled the phone away from her ear. “What is so damn important? I’ve not had a weekend off in three weeks. I’m tired and I have a date.”

“Tony’s art installation is this weekend. I promised to help him and totally forgot to ask for time off. Dad won’t cover me, and neither will Dominic.”

“That asshole has a lot of nerve. I’ve covered for him.” Thalia paced her kitchen. “I don’t want to have to cancel on Amari, Nico. You know how my Sunday calls go.”

“Dominic hung up on me. He’s still mad about me saying he sucked as a plumber.”

“Well, according to our sister he sucks as a husband too.”

“Please. I’ll do anything. I really need to be there for Tony. He can’t do it alone, and none of our friends are willing to help.”

“If he didn’t work in concrete, you might have more takers. Fuck.” Thalia chewed her lip.

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” Nico’s voice was tender. “This is big. Tony has a solid chance of making some sales. And we could use the money. Hannah needs braces and our insurance doesn’t cover it.”

“Okay. Nico. Okay, but you guys owe me.”

“You’re the best.”

“Right.” Thalia disconnected the call.

★

I have to cancel coffee. I have an emergency call that’s going to take me most of the day.

Amari read the text from Thalia twice. She placed her phone on the side table and walked to the kitchen. Lucy was stretched out on her back, paws in the air, snoring softly. Brianna sat at the table, a watercolor pad and a box of watercolor tins at her side, her face a mask of focus. She applied delicate brush strokes as she worked on her painting of Lucy sleeping. The comical position of the dog added to the whimsy of the scene.

Amari watched for few minutes before she tiptoed out of the kitchen and back to the living room. She picked up her phone before she lay down on the couch. Her temples throbbed with the beginning of a headache.

K.

It was all she could muster before she threw her phone down on the coffee table. It skittered across the smooth surface and knocked the TV remote to the floor. Swearing under her breath, Amari stood, picked up the remote, and placed it on the table. Another text showed on the screen.

I’m sorry.

So am I.

Three small dots appeared, flashing, and then disappeared. Amari rubbed her brow as her headache bloomed in full. As she sat on the couch and cradled her phone in her lap, the screen faded to black. After setting the phone to “do not disturb,” she placed it facedown on the coffee table. Gooseflesh prickled her arms. Amari pulled the crocheted blanket from the couch and curled up on her side. Sunlight glinted off the black lacquer frame of the wedding photo on the wall behind the television.

Rebecca’s eyes were bright even as the rest of the photo had faded. Amari shifted her gaze to her phone. She scrubbed her hand over her face and rolled to her back. The scrape of a key in the lock announced Cora’s arrival.

“What are you doing lying down? You’re going to be late.”

Cora closed the door. Lucy bounded in from the kitchen, her deep bark shattering the quiet.

“Enough, Lucy.” Cora rubbed Lucy’s ear.

“I’m sorry. I should have called you. Thalia canceled.”

Cora hung her coat on the hall tree and turned back to Amari. “Why?”

“Some ‘emergency.’” Amari pushed herself to sitting.

Cora sat on the sofa next to Amari. She reached over and took Amari’s hand in hers. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“I do. Not that it matters.”

“Why are you acting like this? So, she had an emergency. Ask her again. All kinds of things can happen. Don’t assume she doesn’t want to see you.”

Amari pulled her hand free from her mother’s grasp. “It’s fine.”

“The hell it is. You were lying here staring at the ceiling looking like you lost your last good hope. Do you remember what you told me after your father died, and I wouldn’t get out of bed?”

“That’s different.”

“No, it’s not. You can’t quit life, Amari. You like this woman. Ask her again. Don’t assume. You know what happens when you assume.”

“You make an ass out of you and me,” Brianna called from the door.

Cora’s guffaw and Brianna’s perfectly timed delivery melted Amari’s rotten mood, and she joined Cora in her laughing. “Brianna, who taught you that?”

“Grammy. Come see my painting.” Brianna turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Cora stood. “Call her, Amari. Don’t screw this up.” She patted her leg. Lucy woofed once and then followed Cora to the kitchen.

Amari picked her phone up and flipped off the “do not disturb” setting.

Call me, please.

The words scrolled across the screen. Amari tapped the message and waited while the call connected.

Thalia picked up on the second ring. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I had to take Nico’s call, and there was a disaster at the Y.”

“We could reschedule for later today.”

“It’ll take all day. I’m waiting for my dad and nephew to get here and help me. Are you free another day this week?”

“No. Brianna has appointments, and I’m hosting a speaker this week.”

“Next weekend? Saturday, at eleven? Coffee at Bella’s?”

Thalia’s voice, edged in hope, stirred the desire in Amari’s gut. “Saturday is good. Coffee at Bella’s at eleven.”

“I’ll be there,” Thalia shouted over the rumble of a truck in the background. “Dad’s here. I gotta go.”

“Bye.” Amari disconnected the call and shoved her phone in her pocket. The creak of a floorboard made her turn. “How long were you listening?”

“Long enough.” Cora turned and walked back to the kitchen humming “A Sunday Kind of Love.”