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“Oh? Is something bothering you?”
“Yeah.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“No. Not unless you can turn back time.”
He chuckled. “No. I don’t have that kind of power. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could erase the past or remake our lives like pizza dough? Oh, I would—”
“What did you say, Mario?”
He pressed his lips and looked up at the ceiling. “I said it would be nice to start over—”
“No, the part about erasing the past.” I grinned at him. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?”
“Thanks, Mario. You’re the best.” I stood from the table, stuffing my phone in my back pocket.
“Oh, anytime,” he said and poured some green sauce all over his dough. “My wife always says she doesn’t know what she’d do without me. Of course, she rolls her eyes when she says it. But I think she means it.” He laughed and his belly bounced with each chuckle.
“I’ll see you later,” I called as I rushed out of the kitchen. My heart raced as an idea formed in my head. I wondered if it could work.
As I climbed into my car, my phone rang.
“Hey, Colton. What’s up?” I turned the car away from the curb and merged into traffic.
“Why aren’t you at work?” he growled.
“I’m going to be out for the rest of the day. Grace has the files she needs and Daniel is on top of anything else that may come up. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”
“Luke! I swear—”
“I know, I know. And I’m not trying to be an asshole right now. There’s just something really important I have to do right away.”
“It better be worth it.”
“She is.”
“She?”
“Uh, I meant, ‘it’. It’s worth it. Okay, talk to you tomorrow.” I ended the call and drove toward a street I hadn’t been to in nearly ten years.
My knee bounced impatiently as I approached the building. The marquee with the school insignia was still the same and the grass looked better than I remembered. The custodian, Old Jerry, must have retired.
As I walked up to the front doors of my old high school, I wondered what excuse I would use to persuade the admins to let me in. Alumni meeting, no. Picking up a student, but I didn’t know anyone here.
“Can I help you?” a voice asked through the video camera at the door.
“Yes. Um… my name is Luke Crawford… and—”
“Crawford, did you say? As in the Crawford brothers?”
“Um, yes.” I wasn’t sure if this was a good or a bad thing to admit. My brothers and I didn’t have the best reputation in the media.
“Oh my gosh, Melanie. Luke Crawford is at our door.”
“Then let him in,” a monotone voice said through the speaker.
