Page 21 of The Fall Back Plan
She nods.
“You’re good with that?”
Another nod.
“Great. Let’s go. This is Tina, by the way. She’s a server here, and I’ve known her since high school. And that’s my cousin, Ry.” He waves and gets a small nod.
We walk in the direction of the Clothes Closet, and I try to put Brooklyn at ease. For me, the best approach at that age would have been noninvasive questions that didn’t ask me to do too much work. Nothing that sounded like it was trying to dig.
“Have you lived in Harvest Hollow long enough to know the stores well?” I ask.
Brooklyn takes a few seconds before she nods. “Two years.”
“I grew up here, but I moved away for a long time. I haven’t been back long, but a lot of things have changed. Is there anywhere you’d recommend besides the Clothes Closet? I’m going on what I remember.”
Another pause. “No. That should be good.”
This creates the first opening I can see. “School started not too long ago, right?”
She nods.
“Where did you do most of your back-to-school shopping?”
It’s the wrong question. Her shoulders hunch. I shoot Tina a quick glance, unsure if I should wait Brooklyn out or change the subject.
Tina says, “My younger sisters all still like to shop at the Clothes Closet, but two of them are into thrifting. You into that?”
Brooklyn shakes her head. “I didn’t get any clothes this year.”
I stop dead on the sidewalk. “Did your uncle forget about back-to-school shopping?”
Brooklyn shakes her head fast. “No. He asked me a few times, but I didn’t want anything.”
“Oh, got it. Not so fun shopping with guys, huh?”
“It’s not,” Brooklyn says, and I want to cheer. She’s taken a baby step. We’re getting somewhere.
“I have an idea,” I say. “Do you have a lot of schoolwork today?”
She shakes her head. “No. We’re not learning anything new yet.”
My heart squeezes again. She’s speaking at a normal volume, and she’s saying words that are painfully familiar—the words of a bright girl who isn’t being challenged by her work. I know the feeling well.
“What if we do some school clothes shopping now?” I ask. “I’ve got time.”
“If my boss says I’m good, I’m good,” Tina adds.
“You’re good,” I tell her.
“Shopping!” she cheers.
“I’ll check with Lucas to make sure it’s okay with him, but if he says it’s fine, what do you think?” I ask Brooklyn.
She looks from me to Tina and back again. It’s the first time she’s met my eyes since we talked about books, and I notice that they’re the same gray as her uncle’s. Strong genes in that family. “I don’t know?”
Her hesitation kills me. She’s so afraid to ask for what she wants and needs, and I have to be so careful here to make sure this all feels safe and healthy.
“I get it if you’re not into it,” I tell her. “Don’t worry. You won’t hurt my feelings. But I grew up with my dad, and he was pretty checked out, so he never noticed if I needed stuff. And honestly, I would have felt weird asking him to take me shopping for underwear or whatever. Or even socks.”
