Page 37 of Someone to Remember
“Can I call Mommy?”
“Do you think Daddy misses me?”
Just when we think they’ve asked us every knife-sharp question they have, there’ll be another one to shred us.
We’ve fallen into the habit of texting the questions to each other, to the only person we both know who’s going through the same exact thing.
I catch him watching me when he thinks I’m otherwise occupied, and each time that happens, a bolt of heat travels through me, landing in a flush on my face that I’m sure he must notice.
Do I care if he notices? Not the way I should. This entire situation has left me fresh out of fucks for things that would’ve been unthinkable before my husband died suddenly, leaving me with two grief-stricken little kids and a baby who’ll never know his father. The only fucks I have left are for getting myself and my kids through each day and then getting up and doing it again the next day. Anything other than that barely registers with me.
However, Brad Albright is registering with me, and to be honest, that feels better than anything has since disaster struck.
He’s tall, blond and muscular. The hint of blond stubble on his face and jaw is sexier than hell, and so’s the way his faded jeans cling to his ass.
I’m going straight to hell for noticing another man so soon after I lost the husband I loved for more than ten years. Eighteen months later, I feel like I’m starting to come out of the state of deep numbness I’ve been in since that awful day at Camp David when Spencer wouldn’t wake up.
Part of me wonders if my infatuation is the direct result of that disaster. Sometimes I feel like Brad and I are the only two adult survivors of an apocalypse, left with five kids to guide through the unthinkable on our own. We’re both blessed with tremendous family support and friends who’ve shown upconsistently since our losses, but at the end of the day, we’re alone with our kids in homes we used to share with our spouses.
The loneliness of those long nights must be experienced to be understood.
Brad gets it like no one else, and I find myself turning to him more and more often when things go sideways—which they do far too often for my liking. Such as the day last week when Jack somehow managed to clog the second-floor toilet, and water was spilling onto the floor at an alarming rate.
I called Brad. He told me to shut off the water to the toilet, which hadn’t occurred to me in my panic. Then, while his kids were at school and daycare, he came over to unclog the toilet for me.
Way above and beyond the call of new friendship, but he shows up for me, and I do for him, too. When Daphne spiked a high fever a couple of weeks ago, he brought Drake to my house while he took her to urgent care.
At some point over the last year, we’ve become each other’s go-to person.
I sit at the island in his kitchen, holding Josh, while Brad supervises the four kids placing pepperoni on their pizza. Then he goes to the fridge and returns with a container of pineapple that he hands to Jack.
Jack smiles as he takes it from him. “You remembered.”
“I did.”
The look that passes between the two of them goes straight to my heart.
“What do you say, Jack?”
“Thank you, Mr. Albright.”
“You should call me Brad. The mister thing is too formal for close friends like us.”
“My mom says we have to be respectful to our elders.”
“That’s very true, unless your elder gives you permission to call him by his first name.”
Jack shoots a wistful look my way. “Is it okay, Mom?”
“Since Brad suggested it, I think it’s fine.”
Brad extends a hand that Jack takes and gives a shake. “Looks like we have a deal, my friend.”
I’m going to cry, and I can’t do that in front of the kids. I get up and take Josh into the living room to cuddle with him.
Brad comes after me a few minutes later. “Pizzas are in the oven, and the kids are coloring at the table.” He sits next to me on the sofa and puts his feet up on the coffee table. Photos of his late wife are all over the house, but the one from their wedding on the side table gets me every time. They were such a gorgeous couple.
“Thank you for getting the pineapple. That was very nice of you.”
