Page 76 of Someone to Remember
And so what if it does?
I like Brad. I like talking to someone who freakinggets itin this strange aftermath of disaster. We both had our lives upended by the same criminal enterprise.
Are we building something real for ourselves, or is it a house of cards built on shared catastrophe? And how would I even know the difference at this point?
Eighteen
Angela
Iwalk into the house through the back door to the kitchen and hear Josh crying, so I drop my bag on the table and go to relieve Tracy.
“There’s your mommy, buddy,” Tracy says when she sees me.
Josh immediately calms when he sees me coming. He’s the sweetest, easiest baby, and I’m so thankful for his presence to give us all something new and exciting to focus on, and I’ll always be thankful to Josh for that and so many other things.
“How were they?” I ask Tracy when Josh is happily snuggled into my arms on his way back to sleep.
“A few tears at bedtime, but otherwise, they were great. We played Chutes and Ladders and two games of Candy Land. Ella won the second one, to Jack’s great dismay.”
I laugh as I picture my competitive son being outraged to be bested by his baby sister. “I hope he wasn’t mean to her.”
“Nah, he was a gracious loser.”
“He was? Really?”
“Well, not really, but aunties don’t tell tales.”
“Ah, I see how it is. Thank you so much for always being willing to help me out.”
“I love every minute with them. How was the meeting?”
“It was a tough one this week because one of their widow friends lost her second husband. She was one of the cofounders of the group after she lost the first one.”
“Jeez.”
“Did you see the thing on the news about the construction worker who fell from the scaffolding?”
Tracy nods. “I did. They said he had two kids and a baby on the way.”
“Sounds familiar, right?”
“All too. Did they say how the wife is doing? Which sounds like a stupid question the minute I ask it.”
“As you would imagine. Such a tough thing, and the news has hit some of the widows in the group like a fist to the gut.”
“Understandable. Is it having that effect on you?”
“No more than anything else. I think I might still be numb in some ways. I don’t react to things the way I used to. Who knows if I ever will again?”
“You will. Eventually.”
“Something happened recently that made me good and mad.”
“What’s that?”
“Jack told me how Spencer said he’d want us to be happy if anything ever happened to him.”
Tracy gasps. “When did he say that?”
