Page 33 of Finding Home
“Okay, what about Everett makes him your type?”
I put my drink down on the table and run my finger through the condensation, my eyes focusing on it and not my best friend. “He’s good with Lila. Watching them together and the way the two of them love each other is special. He’s willing to do anything for his family. He picked up and moved to Willow Valley for his Grandma. He may speak mainly in grunts, but I know he listens. I don’t feel like I’m talking into a void when I say something to him.”
“Oof,” she huffs as she sits back. “You’re falling, girl.”
I shake my head vigorously. “Nope. Not falling. Can’t fall. I can guarantee he doesn’t do relationships, and I’m not doing some fling that can be the centre of small town gossip for the winter until something new and scandalous takes over.”
“Whatever you say,” she says.
“Why did I even invite you out if you were just gonna be like this? I should have called Aspen or Lennon.”
She chuckles. “You would have called them if you wanted someone to tell you everything’s going to be okay. And as much as we love them both, we both know shit’s going on with Lennon and James even if she won’t tell us about it yet, and Aspen is either planning her wedding or wrapping her head around Beau being back. That means neither of them are in the advice-giving headspace.”
I throw my balled up napkin at her. “Why do you have to be right?”
She puckers her lips and air kisses me. “You love me.”
“Yeah, I do,” I sigh. I check the time and jolt up. “Shit. I need to head to Mrs. Simpson’s.”
I kiss Brinley’s cheek as I go to leave, and she calls, “Have fun,” over her shoulder, and I shake my head as I push out of the café.
NINETEEN
CHLOE
Pulling up outside of Mrs. Simpson’s place is strange. I’ve never been inside, but Mom and I have walked past her house and she’s commented on how much she loves her rose bushes out front. Being here is weird. I have no relationship with Mrs. Simpson outside of knowing her from around town and now living with her grandson and great-granddaughter.
I step out of my car with the bouquet I stopped and grabbed on my way over. Taking a deep breath, I head up the stairs to the front porch and knock. I hear Lila’s excited voice and footsteps on the other side of the door before it’s pulled open and I see Mrs. Simpson.
I offer her a tentative smile and hold out the bouquet. “I got these for you.”
She takes them, and a sparkle fills her eyes. “Come in, dear. We were just working on the finishing touches on dinner. You’re right on time.”
I follow her inside, slipping my shoes off and padding behind them into the kitchen. The kitchen smells amazing, like fresh-baked cookies. I notice Lila hunkered over a brown board on the kitchen table as she holds her tongue between her lips and perfectly places pieces of salami alongside an assortment of cheese and crackers.
Mrs. Simpson notices my gaze and says, “Lila and I thought we’d do a charcuterie board for dinner and some fresh baked cookies for dessert to go with a movie.”
I nod. “Sounds like fun.”
Lila looks up at me. “Daddy would never let me do this for dinner. He’d say I’d need to eat real food.”
I pull out the chair beside her and sit before taking a piece of salami and helping her finish the board. “Well, it’s okay to do these every once and a while for fun, but you’re dad’s right to want you to eat filling food for dinner. I’m sure we can convince him to do one of these for dinner one day, but right now, it must be fun to have them with Grandma.”
“Yeah. You’re right. It is fun with Grandma.”
I mention convincing Everett to do something in the future, but I don’t even know how long I’ll be around for. I push that aside and focus back on the task at hand.
“Well, this is a beautiful charcuterie board,” I say, and Lila beams at me. “What movie are watching tonight?”
Lila doesn’t even look up from what she’s doing. “Tangled.”
“That’s a good one,” I say.
“It’s my favourite.” She stops and looks at me now. “What’s your favourite?”
“Aladdin.”
Mrs. Simpson grabs the last tray of cookies out of the oven and lets them cool on the stove while she grabs side plates and I help carry everything for dinner into the living room. Lila easily pulls up the movie, and we settle in the living room. I notice how Lila’s able to recite some of the lines and how every time she does, Mrs. Simpson smiles at her with such fondness. After the movie, Lila says her goodnights and Mrs. Simpson gets her settled into bed while I help with cleanup.
