Page 33 of What Are the Chances
This turn of events was happening so quickly the gravity hadn’t fully seeped in. A movie night with Ryan, Riley and her roommate? It was both normal and crazy. But one thing for sure was that it was certainly going to mess with my head.
As I opened the front door to warm up my car, I almost walked straight into a courier waiting on the doorstep. Dressed in a high-vis coat, the man smiled at me, age lines creasing around his eyes.
He handed me an envelope. “Good evening, sir. A couriered letter for you to sign.”
“I actually don’t–”
“Just sign here, thank you.”
The man’s lips were quivering. I felt guilty making him stand out in the cold to call Parker or Riley over, so I took the pen from him and scribbled on the digital line. The signature didn’t look at all like my real one.
“Thank you,” he smiled. “Have a nice evening.”
“Yeah. You too.”
I moved back into the entryway to set the envelope down. That’s when I noticed a stack of mail already sitting on the entry table. All addressed to the same person. Denise Dover. Riley’s mum. But it wasn’t the name that had me fucking stumped, it was what preceded it.
Lots of things had changed for both Riley and me these past three years, but this change hands down had to be the biggest.
The envelope in my hand was addressed to the Estate of Denise Dover.
Riley’s mum had died.
*
After an awkwardly silent car ride, I quietly followed Riley up and down the grocery store aisles. I was holding a basket which she was continually dropping snacks into. She stopped in front of the potato chips, scanning the flavours.
“Doritos or Cheetos?”
I shrugged. “Whatever.”
She placed both in the basket. I hadn’t forgotten about her sweet tooth. Candy. Chocolate. She loved it all. I used to keep a draw of snacks in my room when we were dating. I couldn’t leave them in the pantry. Not with Levi, Ryan and Tripp’s bottomless pits they called stomachs.
“What do you want, Caufield?”
“I’m good.”
She rolled her eyes. “Have a treat. It won’t destroy your abs.”
Something tugged at my chest. Satisfaction perhaps.
My mouth quirked into a smirk. “Did someone get a good look on Saturday night?”
Riley whipped back around before the heat climbing up her neck settled in her cheeks. It was cute as hell. She was still dressed in her athletic shorts, coupled with crew socks and sneakers. I guess she’d still been warm from her run after her shower. She clearly wasn’t anymore. Goose bumps broke out across her legs when we rounded the ice cream aisle.
“So,” she exhaled, her eyes roaming along the line of freezers. “Your friend is dating my friend, huh.”
“Seems that way.”
“Is Ryan serious about her?”
I shrugged. “He threw a whole campout to impress her.”
Chuckling quietly, Riley stopped in front of a freezer and pulled open the door. A wave of icy air hit us, causing goose bumps to appear even beneath my thick jacket and hoodie. After settling on a flavour, Riley placed a tub in the basket.
“Let’s get some soda,” she said. “I feel like something fizzy.”
I followed obediently. I knew better than to get in the way of Riley and a craving.
