Page 216 of Finding Us
“What was that noise?” Garret asks as I’m walking into the house.
“The wind blew the trash can over. We should put something in it to weigh it down. Otherwise it’ll just tip over again.”
“I took the trash out twice this week. There are at least two bags in there.”
“No, there’s nothing in there. I just checked.”
“That can’t be right. I know there were two bags in there.”
“Maybe the garbage guy came early.”
“They don’t pick up garbage on Sundays.” Garret gets his phone out. “Did you see anyone out there?”
“No. Nobody.”
He swipes through his phone. “These are all fuzzy. The wind must be shaking the cameras.”
“What are you looking at?”
“The video from the security cameras.”
“Why? You think someone stole our garbage?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Why would someone want our garbage?”
“To get our bills, our receipts, anything else that has personal information on it. Like that cop said, that robber might have friends. They could be searching our garbage trying to find out who we are to see if we’re worth stealing from. Or they could be looking for stuff that would let them steal our identity.” He sets his phone down. “You’re sure there was nothing in the trash can? Not anything?”
“You can look for yourself but I know it was empty.”
He goes outside to check. I follow him and watch as he opens the lid. He pulls out a black garbage bag. And then another. “Jade, there are two bags in here. Just like I said.”
“I see that, but I don’t understand. I was just out here and it was empty.”
“It’s a deep garbage can and these were way at the bottom. You just didn’t see them.”
“Okay, well, anyway, let’s go inside. I’ve gotta tell you what Ryan said.”
When we’re back in the house, Garret asks, “So what’s new with Ryan?”
“You gotta sit down for this.” I push him down on the couch. “Frank, as in the-man-I-consider-my-father-Frank, went out on a date tonight!”
I wait for Garret’s reaction.
“Good for him.” He says it casually, like this happens every day.
“Garret!” I climb on his lap, straddling him. “You’re supposed to have more of a reaction. This is Frank we’re talking about. The man who hasn’t been on a date the entire time I’ve known him. And get this—she asked HIM out!”
“Did Ryan tell you anything about her?”
“Yeah, she’s a tall blonde who runs half marathons. She’s a nurse, widow, no kids. He met her at the hospital. She picked him up for their date tonight.” I’m talking fast so I stop to take a breath. “This is so crazy.”
“Why is it crazy? Frank’s a good guy. I’m sure a lot of women would want to go out with him.”
“It’s crazy because he never acted like he was interested in dating.”
“Because he didn’t have anyone he wanted to date. Now he does.”
