Page 66 of Safety Net
"Background?" Finn asked with a furrowed brow. "We sat through three entire movies."
"Three?" I asked. "Holy shit, where was I?"
"Sleeping," Henrik said.
"And you didn't wake me? Some friends."
"It was like a six-hour ordeal because he kept pausing," Finn said. "You didn't want to be up, trust me."
"I only kept pausing because you kept missing the turning points," Henrik defended. "You were constantly putting your head down."
"I was at a very critical point in my pattern," Finn said. "I've never done cables before."
"You're doing the cable sweater for me?" Naomi perked up. "The pink one?"
"Trying," Finn nodded. "Don't get too excited, I think it's going to take me a few decades to get it right."
"I'd wait forever," she promised with her hands clasped and pulled to her chest.
A car pulled up right outside our driveway, interrupting Naomi's attempt to convince Finn to show her his progress so far. It took us all a moment to realize who it was before Sam stepped out.
"What do we have here?" he asked. "How many hockey players does it take to load a van?"
"You're late," Henrik said with a smile, and was the first to pull Sam into a hug.
"Strategically," Sam said, voice briefly muffled by Henrik's shoulder. "I thought you'd all have everything loaded by now."
I got in line for a hug after Naomi placed a hat on his head.
"Thank you." He leaned in so their brims bumped into each other. As nervous as I was to tell him about Anthony, having him here was worth it. No place felt home without everyone present. And our tapestry was almost complete.
"Where's Aderyn?" I asked, giving him a shoulder squeeze after our hug. "I thought she was coming down with you?"
"She's coming down next week to help me move Eden in," Sam said. "For now, there’s a girl's trip to the mountain. Last week of summer, you know? Gotta make it count."
"Which is why we need to get this show on the road," Henrik said. "It's an hour drive there and back. We want to be back in time to watch the final rehearsal."
Sam smiled. "That's tonight?"
"You're going to love it," Naomi said. "Celeste's music is magic, Halle's voice is breathtaking, and the sets Lincoln and Jack worked on are incredible. "
"Jack?" Sam chuckled. "The Jack I know? He's working on this musical?"
"I didn't give him much of a choice," I confessed. "But when school starts, I owe him a favor. Fair trade."
"I am so ready to see this," Sam said. "But first…Lincoln, isn't today a practice day? With Anthony?"
And there it was. The anvil on my foot. The cliff on which I should jump off.
Sam raised a brow expectantly.
"You're right. It's Wednesday.” Naomi smiled faded.
Henrik had to check his phone to be sure. "I completely forgot to set my alarm. Sorry about that, Lincoln. I was so caught up in the prepping."
Sam and I watched each other, waiting for a crack in the dam. I didn't have to tell him; he already knew. He'd possibly known right after it happened and hadn't said a damn thing.
"What's going on?" Henrik asked, taking note of our quiet staring.
