Page 71 of The Summer Request
He made a face. “I mean, I feel sorry for Dad, but I don’t know. I’m twenty-five, I’m an actual adult – ”
“An actual adult, eh?” Lisa had to stifle a laugh. “That sounds like something an adult would say.”
He broke into a smile. “You know what I mean. It’s just like, you know, Dad acts like it’s so hard and…I don’t know. It isn’t that hard not to be a total jerk.”
Lisa let out a sigh. His gambling addiction made things harder. It always had. It wasn’thim, though. It was the illness. It was the addiction. Still, Lisa had to admit that at times it was hard to tell who he was anymore.
She cleared her throat. “Life is hard, Avery.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Sierra said. “I mean, obviously this is your life, and I know that I’m the kid and you’re the adult, and whatever. But if you’re only staying with Dad because of us, I want you to know you don’t have to. Okay?”
Lisa’s vision got cloudy again. Today was a weepy day, that was for sure. “I don’t want you to worry. Just promise me that, okay?”
Sierra sighed. “Okay.”
“I’ve got to run,” Avery said. “I’ll call you later?”
“Sure.”
“Just think about it, Mom,” Sierra added. “Think about yourself for once.”
She forced a smile and nodded. “Yes, yes. I have a lot to think about. Be good.”
For the first time during the entire conversation, Sierra smiled. “Good. I love you! Bye!”
“Love you!” Avery added before disappearing from the call.
Her phone went dark just as the laundry went off.
She was about to get it, but then stopped herself. Instead, she grabbed her laptop and settled onto the couch. If she only dared to dream…
Twenty-eight
Val’s email became quite the source of angst over the next few days. First was Michelle’s long message about Lou returning to the house, Lisa coming to her rescue, and the arrest of the famous Mr. Emerald.
All of that was extremely enjoyable to read, especially since she’d expected Michelle’s email to be a long, well-deserved scolding.
There was no scolding at all, actually, and the less fun part of the email came second. Michelle claimed to have a new theory about Justine’s death.
On first pass, Val found it all hard to believe. Justine had been sad, sure, and she’d found some kooky new guru to follow, but how did that lead to her death? How did they know Lou hadn’t messed with the cameras to look innocent?
Val wasn’t convinced. She and Tammy were waiting on the coroner’s report.
Finally, at the very end, Michelle invited her to come back to San Juan Island to spread Justine’s ashes at her favorite park.
That was kind, sort of, but how was Val supposed to face them after the things she said?
Anyway, she didn’t have enough money for a plane ticket. She was pathetic.
She didn’t know what to say, so she simply didn’t respond.
A week later she was busy cleaning houses and trying to bury Debbie’s bad review on Skillz when she got another interesting email.
This one was from Chloe. The girl didn’t know when to quit, and Val loved that about her.
Apparently, Chloe had been so disgusted by Lou that she launched a campaign to find more of his wrongdoings in the Emerald community.
“I had to be careful, because as you know, the entire Emerald community is a mix of dedication and paranoia. But I found people willing to talk.”
