Page 111 of Let It Breathe
Reese walked back inside her house, not bothering to take off the rain-slick boots.
“Everything okay?”
Reese looked up to see Dr. Wally standing in her living room. She’d forgotten he was there.
“Fine,” she said, licking her lips. “Everything’s fine.”
“I see you’ve turned to thievery.”
“What?”
“You stole Clay’s jacket.”
Reese looked down. “Oh.”
She started to turn, thinking maybe she could chase him down the driveway and give back the coat, but his taillights had already faded down the gravel drive.
And she knew the jacket wasn’t the reason she wanted to chase him down. She dropped onto the edge of the couch, glum with that thought.
Wally sat down beside her, his knee brushing hers. “Sorry about stopping by so unexpectedly. I just wanted to see you and make sure you’re okay. I got worried when you didn’t answer your phone, and then I heard about the fire.”
She gave him a halfhearted smile. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely.”
He reached out to adjust a stem in the vase, then dropped his hand to one of the picture frames adorning the coffee table.
“Who’s this?”
“My grandfather, Axl. This was thirty years ago.”
“No kidding? Is that his Harley?”
“Yeah. And that’s a barrel of our Reserve Pinot in the sidecar.”
He set the photo back down and picked up another. “This must be your parents?”
Reese took the photo from him and polished a spot off the corner with the hem of her shirt. “That’s their tenth anniversary party. I was nine.”
“They look so young.”
“They were.” Reese stared at the picture, annoyed by the stupid stab of jealousy poking her right below the breastbone. She should be proud of her parents. She was proud of her parents. Just because she wasn’t capable of having that kind of relationship with someone didn’t mean other people shouldn’t get to enjoy it.
She cleared her throat. “They met in first grade, started going steady in middle school. They got married right after high school, put each other through college, have been living happily ever after since.”
Wally gave her a funny look. “That’s a bad thing?”
“No, why?”
Wally shrugged. “You sounded a little tense. Thought maybe I’d struck a nerve.”
Reese set the photo back down on the coffee table. Her eyes settled on another photo of her parents, this one taken at the edge of the vineyard just a couple years ago. They were smiling into each other’s faces, oblivious to the camera, the vineyard fanning out behind them like a postcard view.
Leon hovered ominously beside her father.
“I love my parents,” Reese said finally. “My mom is my best friend in the whole world, and my dad is the ultimate great guy. They’re both amazing people.”
Wally nodded. “I’m waiting for the but.”
She tucked her bare feet up under her and looked at Wally. “My parents are great. Their marriage is pretty much perfect.”
