Page 67 of You Wish
Jake looked behind him and saw a kid racing toward him, the driver a ten-year-old brown-headed kid with freckles and a smile so large, Jake thought his face might split. “Holy shit!”
“Language,” his mom said with zero heat.
“But Mom, it’s Jake Evans.”
“You are allowed to say it just this once.”
“Holy shit,” Ben yelled again. Jake already liked this kid. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard someone was having a birthday.”
Ben looked at his mom. “Can I say it one more time?”
Nadine smiled. “Only because it’s your birthday and?—”
“Jake fucking Evans is here,” Dan added. “In my house.”
With a toss of the hands, Nadine gave up. “Would either of you like anything to drink?”
Jake dropped to a knee, so he was eye level with Ben, and the Santa hat Georgia had given him flopped over one eyebrow. “Is there still hot chocolate, or did the elves drink it all?”
Ear-piercing squeals followedGeorgia and Nadine into the kitchen. She watched Nadine walk over to the table and collapse in a chair. Head between her hands, she sat very still.
Georgia knew not to ask if she was okay, because she knew she wasn’t. The highs were as intense as the lows. And when you were emotionally beaten over a long period of time it was hard for the body to tell the difference.
After a long, thick moment, Nadine straightened. “I’m sorry. This is all just so?—”
“Overwhelming?”
“Yes,” Nadine said on a laugh.
“I get it,” Georgia said. “My brother, Connor, had spina bifida.”
“Had?”
“He passed away a long time ago, but it only feels like yesterday.”
Nadine gave a solemn nod. “Does the pain fade?”
“Yes, but it never goes away, clinging to you like an old friend,” she said, knowing that it was what Nadine needed to hear in that moment, instead of what advice she’ll need on the other side of Ben’s death.
“I guess it would,” Nadine said with a watery smile. She walked over to the stove where a big batch of cocoa was simmering.
“Would you like some?”
“Would I like some?” Georgia said teasingly.
Nadine filled up two mugs, stopping halfway to the top. She reached into the cabinet above the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of peppermint vodka.
“Spice or no spice?”
Georgia smiled. “Lots of spice.”
“I knew we’d be friends.” Nadine handed her a mug and the two sat at the table. “Can I ask a question?”
And here it goes, she thought. Better cut it off at the start. “We’re just friends.”
“Oh.” Nadine bit back a smile. “I was going to ask you about your job. But if you want to talk boy talk, I’m here to listen.”
