Page 40 of Healing Hearts
“Sunday,” Em says, heading toward the door to the office. “If you’ll hang out with Amir, we’ll get everything categorized and inputted for you. Just leave sticky notes on everything you need done. We’ll use both computers, and I’ll bring mine, and we’ll get you sorted.”
I sit back in my chair, and I run my hands down my face. “I appreciate you, you know that, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, her gaze softening. “This is what friends do, Trent. It’s okay to need help. It’s okay to ask for it.”
And it reminds me a little that last time I didn’t ask for help, last time I didn’t reach out and tell people what was going on with me, I got myself into a lot of trouble.
“Thanks,” I say. “I just don’t want to fuck this up, and I’m a little worried I already am.”
“It’s going to be a lot of learning,” she says, leaning against the open door. “When I first started my own real estate business, I was overwhelmed with all the things I needed to know. But once you’ve got a base, it’ll become easier. Part of it is that it’s all on paper, and that’s not one of your strengths. You’re good with tech.”
I get out of my chair, and even though I know it’s a bad idea, I wrap her in a tight hug, and she hugs me back. I breathe in the peaches and try to keep my thoughts PG. She’s good for me, and I need to stop thinking about all the ways I can fuck up either of our arrangements.
Maggie’s pharmacy has a sign on the door saying that she’s closed for the afternoon, which makes me suspicious that Emily didn’t listen to me about who could and couldn’t help.
It should annoy me that she didn’t listen, but she was so excited to go in and organize my office and space that I can’t drum up the negativity. She had a whole game plan mapped out on pages she wouldn’t let me see before she left the house at ridiculous o’clock this morning.
If Amir hadn’t woken up through some sixth sense about Emily leaving the house, I wouldn’t have been up early enough to make her coffee and then the requisite thermos to take with her. Luckily, he came and got me when he saw Emily getting ready. He’s been hyped up the last few days about me taking him to a local inland lake.
This afternoon we’re rowing a boat and fishing, which Amir hasn’t done before. I’m not a great fisherman, but the lake isstocked, so we might be lucky enough to catch something small to throw back.
By eight o’clock at night, Emily still hasn’t texted to say I can come check out her handiwork, and I’m getting antsy. Amir has to go to bed soon.
There’s a knock on the door, and Amir races to answer it.
“I need to open the door, buddy,” I say, following behind him.
Amir peers through the side window at his level. “It’s Aunt Mia’s bodyguard, Pasha.”
I yank open the door, heart thrumming. “Everything okay?” Pasha’s normally attached to Mia, Tyler, and Victoria, not out wandering around Little Falls.
“Should be text from Emily,” Pasha says, nodding at my phone in my hand. “I watch Amir while you go to shop.”
And sure enough, my phone buzzes in my hand with a text from Em. They’re done, and she wants me to go there. But I still text her to check that Pasha should be watching Amir.
“I could just bring him,” I say to Pasha, and also to my phone as I wait for her reply.
“No distractions,” Pasha says with a shrug. “She worked all day.”
That she did. I ruffle Amir’s head and step out into the cool spring air. “He normally goes to bed in about half an hour.”
“Emily say you not be long.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling a bit better about leaving Amir with Pasha, who isn’t a stranger but isn’t far from it.
I get in my truck and navigate the familiar route to the shop. When I get there, Tyler’s truck is there along with Maggie’s car, my mom’s car, and Joanna’s car. Stepping out, I wonder whether they did more than digitize my files.
Opening the door, the lights are all off, and when I step through, the lights come on and everyone yells, “Surprise!”
I stand still for a moment and take in the new front office. It has a fresh coat of paint to cover all the scuff marks, grease, and everything else that had been left behind after years of abuse. The counter has been replaced with a black two-tiered system so we can deal with guests standing up or seated to discuss more complex cases.
The waiting room for people who have oil changes or other fixes that don’t require substantial time has been upgraded with new furniture, a coffee machine, a small fridge, and other homey details.
“Em,” I say, my voice rough. “You did all this?”
“We all did,” Emily says, gesturing to Tyler, Joanna, Maggie, and my mom. “Grady couldn’t leave New York City today, but he purchased some of the materials. Pasha came and did a lot of the grunt work of moving things around. Your mom and my mom did a lot of the bookkeeping. Maggie and I installed a system for scheduling shifts, holidays, and appointments. You can sync it all to your phone. We also set up email software and had your website upgraded thanks to Mia, who had someone on her team who does that stuff already.”
Even though I’m hearing that all these other people played a part in making this happen, all I see is her. I step around everyone, and I envelope her into a hug, bringing her off the ground. She squeezes me right back, and I wish I had the words to tell her how much it all means to me. Her faith in me, the time she’s spent to make this place better.
