Page 16 of Keepsakes and Kismet

Kevin tugs on the cuff of his Healthtopia sweatshirt. “What do you mean⁠—”

“Well, I should really get going, Kevin. Lots to prepare for. I want to thank you for this opportunity. I won’t let you down,” I say.

“I’m confident you won’t.” Kevin stands up and holds his hand out.

I wince and stare at his outstretched fingers. How can I avoid his touch? Out of any good options, I let go of my smoothie, and it spills on the floor.

My stomach drops, and a wave of guilt washes over me. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. Where are the napkins? I’ll clean it up.”

Kevin just smiles and shakes his head. “No problem. My first smoothie spill. I should mark the occasion.”

I chuckle sheepishly and reach up to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’m such a klutz. These things happen to me all the time.”

Callum folds his arms. “Do they?”

They don’t. After years of modeling, I’m the opposite of clumsy. I don’t really have time to explore the fact that Callum noticed such a small detail about me. His ability to see through a piece of my facade unnerves me as much as it interests me.

Kevin looks between us. “Feel free to head out. I have a few tasks to get finished on my end, anyway. Thanks, to both of you, for your time.” He turns toward Callum. “Callum, you’re welcome to join us on opening day. And if that sister of yours wanted to drop by and post something on her social media, I’d sure be grateful. Free smoothies on me.”

I get the sense that Callum’s default answer to going anywhere is a polite decline. But maybe I’m not as good at reading him as he is at reading me, because after staring at me for a half second longer, he says, “I’ll be there.” The answer appears to shock Kevin, my own surprise following closely behind.

Something unfamiliar in me glows at the promise of seeing Callum again, and I’m struggling to nail the reason why. Is it that he approaches me with intrigue instead of lust? Is it the unexpected entertainment factor, going back and forth with him?

I don’t know what it is, but I practically skip toward the door, buoyed by the faces he makes whenever he’s confused—which seem to be a lot around me.

Before I leave, I throw one last look over my shoulder and give Callum a little wave. “Good seeing you, Officer.”

Chapter 5

Callum

Unplayed Voicemails: (14)

“Hi, Cal! It’s Tammy.”

“And Jeff!”

Both of their voices sound a bit more weathered and a tad deeper. I’ve become accustomed to detecting even the smallest shifts in tone over time, especially on more recent recordings like this one.

I can’t resist wondering how they’ve changed. Does Tammy wear reading glasses now? Did Jeff ever decide to grow out his beard? Is it gray?

“We wanted to check in with you. Your mom told us that Zebra’s still kicking. I swear, that cat will live forever. Jeff’s allergies thank you for taking custody, by the way.” Tammy chuckles. “How’s she doing? Surly as ever? Or has she come around to anyone that isn’t her person?”

Jeff starts speaking, and I can practically hear the smile in his voice. “I still think about the argument you had at our house. The one where you swore you juggled the ball two hundred times while you were waiting for him to meet you outside. More than his personal best, but no one was there to see it. You ran inside the house to brag, and not a single one of us believed you. How could we? It was at least forty more than you’d ever done.”

Tammy laughs. “Do you remember how upset you were? You were all, ‘Zebra watched from the window!’ The fact that he picked up baby Zebra to ask her, and she actually shook her head no… It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I hear some rustling, then Jeff’s voice comes through again, more emotional than before. “We miss you, Cal. Maybe you feel like too much time has passed. But no amount of time passed would change our feelings about wanting to see you.” His voice quiets, almost like he’s trying to lower it so his wife doesn’t hear. “Tammy freezes a batch of your favorite soup every month, just in case. Please consider stopping by.”

My eyes are dry, but it feels like I’m drowning. The fucking soup. I lean my head against the couch behind me, and it bumps against the wall.

Jeff wasn’t wrong. I do feel like too much time has passed. Have I made things worse by staying away? By not asking for their forgiveness sooner?

“How are you feeling right now, Cal?” Dr. Jain’s calm voice interrupts my self-interrogation.

“Tammy and Jeff… They’re being nice, but if they saw me, I know they’d feel differently. It’d all come rushing back for them, and I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Do you know they’d feel differently, or is that an assumption you’re making on their behalf?”