Page 114 of Now to Forever

She frowns.

“Halloween was weeks ago.”

“And?”

She stands, going to the door and waiting for me with a flat look I match. Inside I’m throwing a celebratory parade as I swipe the knives and go to the porch.

We do not talk as we stab the pumpkins. I haven’t done this in years—maybe ever—so when I look inside and see the amount of slimy seeds, I gag.

“The hell? Why do people do this?”

Her nostrils flare. “Your idea.”

“It was a bad one,” I say, stabbing my knife straight into the stupid gourd and letting it stay.

She fights a smile, following my lead and stabbing her own knife into her pumpkin. Legs dangling off the porch, we look at the water. The trees that were exploding with color just weeks ago now form a sea of sticks. When the wind blows, it’s bone chilling. The lake is empty, the sky is grey. One lone bird flies across the sky.

“Will you take a picture of us?”

I look at her. “Like a selfie?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes.Like a selfie.”

“Okay.” I take my phone out and hand it to her, confused.

She tucks her hair behind her ears, leaning into me as she holds the phone out, pressing the button about six hundred times as we make an assortment of faces. She selects a few and emails them to herself then hands the phone back to me.

“What was that for?”

“They play a slideshow at the homecoming dance of all the students and asked us to submit pictures with friends and family.”

I nod—slowly—swallowing around the instant thickness in my throat. “You’re using a picture with me?”

She looks at me like I’m an idiot. “You’ve blackmailed yourself into being my best friend, Scotty. Of course, I am.”

I blink away, unshed tears burning my eyes.

“Well make sure you use one where I look hot.”

She snorts as Molly circles around our pumpkins with a disinterested sniff.

“You still want to come over and run in the afternoons?” I ask.

She’s quiet a beat, and I take that as my answer. My disappointment at this realization is foreign.

A female cardinal lands on one of the feeders—it pecks at seeds and flies away.

“I think women your age are at an increased risk for falling,” Wren finally says without looking at me, kicking her dangling legs over the edge of the porch. “Pretty sure it’s my duty as a citizen to not let you run alone.”

I don’t even bother hiding my smile.Little shit.

Forty-Two

“HowdoIlook?”

Ford and I still as Wren walks into the kitchen of the A-frame. She twirls, her midnight-blue dress covered in sequins catching the light. Her makeup is subtle, her hair is down, her smile is bright. Simply put, she’s stunning. Even though she isn’t my kid, the pride in me replicates what I imagine a mother would feel.

Ford clears his throat multiple times, taking in how pretty she looks. How grown up. Though the dress has long sleeves, his eyes linger on the hemline that hits mid-thigh and the pair of silver strappy heels. “Why can I see so much of your legs?”

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