Page 111 of Last Call

“Do you think Dora will come home?”

“Dick wants to bring her home. She managed to say “no” yesterday,” Ida said.

“No is a good start.”

Ida nodded.

“Riley tells me you might be making a trip to see Sylvia.”

“Maybe in September.”

“It’ll be good for you,” Andi offered. “And for Sylvia.”

Owen ran into the yard faster than his feet could carry him and fell flat on his face.

“Are you okay?” Andi called to him.

Owen hopped up, smiled, and waved.

“You must be excited,” Ida said. “Becky could go into labor any day.”

“I am.”

“Still worried about the kids?” Ida asked.

“More about Becky than Dave. I believe her when she says she wants to be here. I also know it isn’t always easy for her. So much hurt for her to handle.”

“Her sister seemed lovely.”

“She is. She must have thanked me a million times before she left on Monday. I just worry about Becky finding her tribe. Right now, everything is new, and her focus is on the baby. We both know she’ll get restless faster than she realizes. We all need friends, Ida.”

“You should talk to Riley.”

“About Becky? She knows I worry.”

“Mm. Riley also understands why you’re concerned. It hasn’t been easy for her. Everyone inhertribe was part of Fallon’s first.”

“True.”

“Besides, something tells me Riley and Becky will have more things in common to discuss sooner rather than later.”

“We might need to expand the town limits, Ida.”

Ida laughed. “We might."

Barb picked up the coffee cup from the holder and took a grateful sip. Why had she agreed to drive four kids three hours to summer camp in New Hampshire, only to turn right around for a four-year-old’s birthday party? She’d gotten up at five, spent an hour coaxing Summer and Emily out of bed, packed the car, picked up their friends, crammed more gear into the trunk, and endured a full-scale Taylor Swift and Beyoncé sing-along. At least the steady beat of the stereo—and the kids’ off-key singing had kept her awake.

What shewantedwas to drive straight home, crawl into bed, and sleep for the rest of the day. But she’d promised Fallon she’d be there for Owen’s birthday. She’d missed enough family gatherings.

For months, Barb had let Ida or Beth take Emily and Summer to events. It wasn’t that she wanted to avoid Fallon. She just needed time. Time to accept what her life had become and make peace with the losses. Everyone else seemed to be moving forward—or at least not standing still in the shadow of Liv’s wreckage. She wanted that too. She still wasn’t sure how to carry her questions and sadness while tending to the jagged grief of two little girls who still cried at night for the mother they couldn’t understand losing.

Letting the girls be with their family helped. Letting herselfnotbe with anyone helped, too. But Barb was tired of being alone. When she had time to think, she realized she’d felt alone far longer than since the day she left Liv or even the day Liv died. That loneliness didn’t stop her from missing Olivia Nolan—or loving her. Maybe she always would. Maybe she’d never loveanyone else again. Barb wasn’t sure she wanted to take that kind of risk.

Working at the university had been a reset. It was a place to meet people who didn’t know Olivia. It was refreshing to have a cup of coffee with someone who didn’t want to play twenty questions or tiptoe around loss. There was something grounding about being around people whodidknow her, people who knew her story, her kids—the mess of it all. Finding balance wasn’t easy. She’d tipped the scale too far away from the people who had known her the longest. It was time to center it again.

The car lurched. Barb frowned and pressed the accelerator. Nothing. The engine stuttered, then dropped into a strained, sluggish hum. The dash lit up:Check Engine,Transmission Fault,and something else she couldn’t read without her glasses.

“Oh, come on,” she muttered, glancing at the clock. Still twenty minutes from home.

---