Donnie sniffles and my heart trips over itself. Goddamn Jack. “Will he be here to pick us up?”
I catch his eye in the rearview mirror. “I don’t think so, buddy, I’m sorry.”
“Probably because you guys were arguing the other day.” When I look in his direction, Rafe is staring out the window, his shoulders slumped and his mouth pulled down in a frown.
Pulling up to the drop-off zone, I turn in my seat to look at them. “Or he’s just busy,” I say.
“He was always around before you came here,” Rafe retorts.
Before I can snap off a response, Rafe jumps from the car and onto the sidewalk. Donnie just gives me this pitiful look and then both boys trot off down the sidewalk.
Neither of them look back at me.
A horn beeps behind me and I glance back at an impatient soccer mom frowning through my rearview. “All right, all right,” I mutter, pulling away with one last look at my brothers’ retreating backs. Day one as responsible sister is a complete failure.
My new job as a tech analyst for a local private investigations firm pays nowhere near what I used to make at my old job, but the people seem nice, and it has a great insurance plan for the boys. After I drop them off at school, I head over to the office to finish some last minute paperwork and to meet the interdepartmental secretary, Anita.
“I sure am glad to get another female in this department,” she says as she gives me a tour of the facilities. She’s around fifty with salt-and-pepper hair and a mile-wide smile. “These boys are great, but they aren’t much for socialization and a lady gets damn crazy without a little chitchat.”
I’m not exactly what you’d call the gal-pal type, but I can’t help the responding smile when she beams up at me. “I don’t know how much good I’ll do with the chit chat, but I can try,” I tell her.
She pats my arm as we walk through the break room. “Don’t you worry, child. I’ll do all the talking. All you have to do is listen. Which is more than I can say for any of these fellows.” She gestures around the room at the four or five guys on break. They’re all submersed in their phones or laptops. The only sounds in the room are the humming coming from the appliances or the click-clicking from the laptops. She gives me a raised eyebrow. “See what I mean?”
Laughing, I follow her out of the break room. “Must drive you crazy.”
“Well, me, not so much. I could talk to a wall if I had to, but my husband…he likes to say I store up all the chatter just for when I come home. I’m sure he’ll be so happy to hear that I’ve got someone else to talk to during the day.”
God, it’s been a long time since I’ve just been able to have polite, easy conversation with someone. Conversation that doesn’t involve the past or even more recently, the present. “Well, I’m happy to help,” I say. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around Nassau before. How long have you lived here?”
“Me and my husband, John, we moved here about five years ago to retire.” She plops down in the big swivel chair behind her desk in the center of the large room that houses all the tech analysts. “We just couldn’t stand the cold weather up north anymore. Too hard on our old joints, the doctor said. John’s family used to live here a while ago, and we used to vacation here when our kids were little.”
“It’s pretty here in the summer,” I say.
“Damn sure is,” she says with a smile. Leaning close, she adds, “It’s been like a second honeymoon!”
We share a laugh. “I think I’m gonna like you,” I tell her.
“You’re too sweet. So tell me a little about yourself. What brought you to Nassau?”
Since I haven’t officially started work yet, I don’t for a couple more days, I sit back in the guest seat next to Anita. I don’t have any plans until the boys get out of school, and honestly, the sympathetic ear is welcome. “I used to live here when I was younger. My mom passed away a couple weeks ago and left my two younger brothers. Since my dad died of a heart attack when they were still little, there just wasn’t anyone else to raise them.”
“Oh, you poor thing. I’m so sorry to hear that.” She clucks around and offers me a cool can of soda and a homemade lemon square. “You eat this, okay? I bet your brothers sure are a lucky pair to have a sister like you.”
I nibble on the sweet and sip the drink. “I wouldn’t say that. Right now they’re pretty upset with me. I’d like to say it’s just teenage angst, but I wasn’t there for them as much as I should have been.”
She waves that away. “I wouldn’t be too worried. Boys are always getting upset about one thing or another. It’ll blow over.”
I contemplate the thought over another bite of lemon square. “I guess. I just have no idea what I’m doing. I never planned on having kids and now I have two.”
“And teenagers at that, bless your heart. Well if you ever need any advice, I’m here to help you, sugar. Mine gave me all this white hair so I have plenty of experience.” She gestures to her head of all-white and giggles delicately.