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The question surprised me. “That’s a little out of nowhere, Nate,” I said. “I don’t see why it’s any of your business, but yes, actually I have.”
“And where is she now?” he continued.
I took a long drink of my cocktail instead of answering.
“I see,” he said. “Why don’t we make another little wager? For the amount you just lost…half a million dollars? If you prove me wrong, I’ll return every dime. If you win, you match the sum.”
I swirled the contents of my glass, feeling the alcohol go to my head and reckless because of it. Or it was just easier to blame the drink for the tumult of emotions that suddenly flooded my system.
“I’m listening.”
Nathan leaned forward. “There is one thing I bet you cannot do. And that is, go back to the place you came from and make amends with the one who got away. If you make her fall in love with you again, you’ll get your money back. If you fail, it’s a million in my pocket. What do you say? Will you accept this bet?”
I tipped my martini glass into my mouth and drained the contents. The liquid ran like a trail of fire down my throat. I snapped my fingers, motioning to a passing server to bring me another. Then I looked my opponent straight in the eye.
“Game on.”
Chapter Two
SAMI
Feeling as though I had just begun to drift off to sleep, I was startled back to wakefulness by someone tapping my shoulder. There was only one person it could be. I rolled over and willed an eyelid open.
“Mommy, guess what?” Camden asked in the semi-darkness, standing at the side of the bed in his Batman pajamas that he grew out of six months ago but still insisted on wearing every night.
“Couldn’t whatever it is have waited until morning?” I asked as my mouth opened in a wide yawn.
“But it is morning already, Mommy,” my son said, pointing in the direction of the digital clock on my nightstand.
I glanced toward it. Sure enough, the faint blue numbers were flashing 4:56 am. A whole four minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. Oh well, sleepless nights were nothing new for me, but I still dreamt of the day when I could sleep in again.
Sighing, I reached over and moved the switch on the device to shut the alarm off and sat up, gathering the warm child that smelled like fabric softener and grass into my arms while my pupils adjusted.
Dawn was breaking in Love and the sky beyond the gauzy curtains hanging over my window was lightning by the second. If today was anything like yesterday, temperatures in the prairie would be soaring into the 80’s before I even set foot in the café. But I didn’t mind. I loved the little part of the world in north central Texas we called home even in the summertime.
“I’m sorry honey, you’re right,” I said, ruffling Camden’s chocolate-colored curls. “What did you want to tell me? Did you have an exciting dream last night?”
“Even better!” Camden crowed as I planted a kiss on his forehead. He held out his left fist and opened it. “Look!” he said, pointing to the object that lay inside.
I gasped.
“Your tooth!” I said, picking up the tiny incisor that had refused to come out for nearly a week despite Camden’s constant wiggling.
“I woke up, and it was right there lying on my pillow!” Camden explained and I noticed his speech was now accented with a slight lisp. He opened his mouth wide to give me a view of the gap in his upper row of teeth and stuck the tip of his tongue through it.
I laughed and waggled my eyebrows up and down suggestively. “You know what this means, right?”
He nodded and clapped his hands. “The Tooth Fairy’s going to come tonight! Do I have to go to school today, Mommy? I don’t want to miss her!”
I laughed again and shook my head. “Nice try baby, but yes, you do have to go to school. Miss Greenly will miss you otherwise. And besides, the Tooth Fairy only comes at night. She’s shy, so she doesn’t like to be seen when she leaves children their coins.”
Camden’s forehead furrowed. “That’s too bad, but I understand. Ashley’s shy too. That’s why we’re such good friends.”
“But you’re nothing like Ashley,” I said, thinking of my best friend Heather’s daughter who experienced anxiety attacks whenever she was separated from her parents right up until kindergarten.
“Exactly,” said Camden, hopping off the bed. “I’m not shy at all. So, we like each other because we’re different. Miss Greenly lets us sit at the same table. Actually, I think I should go to school today after all. What if Ashley needs me?”
“Good point,” I said, throwing the quilt Gramma Nettie and I had sewed together aside and rising from the bed. The wooden floorboards were cool under my bare feet.
