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We always ordered a tomato pie, even if no one wanted a slice. My chest ached as I looked at my two best friends, and the empty armchair that should have been Logan’s.
“Anything else?” I asked, my voice tight. In the months following the accident, it surprised me how grief could crash into a moment without warning. After all these years, I’d grown to tolerate the shock, even if the pain felt the same.
Theo and Aiden shook their heads and pretended to watch the game.
Chapter four
Rowan
“Shoot,” Mom said aswe drove down Sullivan Street the next morning. “I meant to wrap up some pie for Cal to thank him for fitting you in. Should we go back?”
She stopped in the middle of the road in front of the Hilberts’s Cape Cod, which sat on the corner of Sullivan and Broad. It had fresh blue paint that echoed the distant mountains and a new porch swing. The lawn was well tended, the sidewalk swept. I couldn’t imagine Brad maintaining an entire house with such care by himself. It’d taken me a year to convince him to put his dirty clothes in the hamper and carry his dishes to the sink. I eventually gave up any expectations that he’d toss in a load of laundry or run the dishwasher.
“Does he live alone?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Mom glanced at me.
“I just meant that’s a big house for one person.”
“It is a lot of space for just him and Skye.”
“Who’s Skye?”
Mom smiled. “The dog.”
“Oh,” I said, clearing my throat. “If Chris walks Skye today, he could drop off the pie.”
“You’re right,” Mom said, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. “No sense lugging pie all over town. I’ll send your brother a text later. Do you think Cal would like apple, cherry, or pecan?”
I wish I knew the man well enough to say. “I’ll put together a Tupperware with a couple slices of each when I get home,” I said.
Mom made a low humming sound in her throat and turned onto Broad Street for a couple blocks, then Church, which some locals called Saints and Sinners Street. The street began at the Lutheran church and passed by the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches until it ended at Main Street where Church Street Brews occupied the corner lot. The bar was quiet as we passed, but every night it came alive with “sinners going to Church.”
When we turned onto Main, the sidewalks were empty since most shops hadn’t open yet, but all along the street, store owners prepared for the day. Mr. Wilson stopped sweeping the pharmacy entrance to wave. The small tables outside Karma, Lauren’s café and bookshop, overflowed with women in running gear. Mom’s floral shop, Red Blossoms, was located across the street with its cheery striped awning and twinkle lights. Unlike my life, nothing much had changed in Peace Falls.
Mom’s shoulders crept closer to her ears, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened as we continued down Main. Just past Centennial Park, a four-story brick building rose above all the other businesses and shops. Everyone in town referred to it as “the Main doctors.” There were other medical offices scattered across town, but the large building housed suites for different specialists. You could have your eyes examined, your in-grown toenail removed, and a Pap smear all without leaving the building.
Mom pulled up to the curb and shut off the engine. The color drained from her face, and her fingers shook as she fumbled for her purse.
I reached across the car and laid my hand on her arm. “Mom, if it’s ok with you, I’d rather go in alone.”
“Rowan—”
“No,” I said, talking over her. “This is embarrassing enough without bringing my mom along.”
Newsflash: Mom wouldn’t make it any more embarrassing. Truth be told, I’d rather she come with me since I was a complete physical, emotional, and mental mess, but ever since Dad lost his battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Mom avoided medical offices. The only good thing I can say about Brad was he listened when I came to on the sidewalk and begged him not to call my family unless I died. I know now that was a little dramatic, but at the time, I didn’t know the extent of my injuries. Whether he didn’t call because he was afraid to confess what an asshole he’d been or because he respected my request didn’t matter. Either way, I was thankful Mom hadn’t gone to the hospital because of me.
Her fear had gotten so bad that Dr. Evers, our family doctor, started making house calls whenever she needed him.
“Are you sure?” Mom asked, her death grip on her purse loosening. “You could barely walk into the house yesterday.”
“Positive. I was sore from the drive. I’m moving much better today.”
“You are,” Mom said, tugging at her thumbnail. “I’ll just wait in the car then.”
“Aren’t you prepping for a wedding this weekend? I’ll call Chris or Poppy when I’m done.”
“How’d you know?”
