I couldn’t do anything but stare at her, note and duck forgotten in my hand. I’d barely scratched the surface of the new information by the time Adair and Miss Trish stepped into the hallway, followed closely by the EMT I didn’t know. Adair looked our way, but then Miss Lenny materialized out of thin air, hands on her hips as she demanded his attention.
I kinda hoped she was roasting Miss Trish.
“I take it class is over for today?” Adeline—Delly—asked.
“For today,” I agreed. “But you’ll come next week?”
“Even if it’s sunny,” she said with a bright smile.
I gave her a little tap on the arm with my longboard. “Good. I’ve gotta go. Tell your brother I won’t need a ride home.”
Her smile brightened impossibly further. “Sure thing, Miss Indy.”
I snorted. “See you later, Delly.”
With one last look to make sure Trish was walking out of here of her own volition, I made my way down the hall and pushed out the heavy doors, dropped my board onto the wet ground, and stripped off my black leather ballroom heels. My toes scrunched against the sandpapery texture of my board as I tucked my duck and note into my skirt’s pocket for later. My key and phone were in the other, so it was a good thing the duck wasn’t heavy, or I’d run the risk of my skirt falling to my ankles.
The light drizzle shimmied over my skin as I kicked off toward Camellia Lane. To the house I shared with a man I… liked.
Very much.
And now respected even more. Him and his sister both, but him especially.
He moved to a new state to be close to someone important to him, even if it was only for the summer. Someone he had no obligation to care for, if obligations were only determined by blood.
I regretted the passing negative thoughts I’d had about him last month when he hadn’t been back to visit Wilbur.
I rolled right up to the house, thankful for the lack of steps, and hovered there for several long seconds.
Only for the summer.
That was the reality. His and mine.
I may have two new roommates, but they weren’t forever.Thiswasn’t forever or even for a while. I needed to remember that.
I kicked the board up, tucked it back under my arm, and got out my key, but… there was nowhere to put it.
For a mindless moment, I considered that I’d accidentally come to the wrong house. I glanced at Miss Lenny’s pineapple decor next door and shook off the wild notion.
The shiny silver lock had two rows of numbers and an ovular opening below it. I shifted my board to my other arm, and it bumped up against the lump in my pocket. I fished around in my skirt and pulled out the duck and note, something bittersweet tightening my chest as I read it.
Coffee, Tea, or…?
P.S. Code is your bday.
P.P.S. Happy Belated Birthday,
Indigo Girl
How….
I swallowed hard and wiped the rain from my face, then keyed in the code.
0-5-0-7.
A mechanical whirring sound, and then the door unlocked.
Quiet welcomed me inside, and I propped my board in its usual place in the corner by the door.
