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Oblivion
“Hi,I’m Isabella, one of the gazillion Adamos in town. I won’t bore you with the family tree. Call me Izzy — everyone elsedoes.”
Her smile is so engaging I can’t help smiling back as she turns to my daughter. “And this must be Sophie. I have a little boy around your age. His name is Logan.”
Sophie regards Izzy uncertainly, not quite withdrawn, but nowhere near as friendly as she was with Vic and Dante. I have a terrible suspicion that my daughter is going to grow up to be a huge flirt. “She’s met a lot of new people today,” I say by way of apology.
“No worries. Logan is more of an introvert too. He’s at home with my mom, so the car seat’s available and I think it’ll work just fine for Sophie. If it’s all right, I thought we could just hang out at my place. We’ve got spare bedrooms, so if you need to put her down for a nap you can. And maybe tomorrow we can hit the kids’ playgrounds intown.”
I start to agree before I remember I won’t be free to go to any parks, because I’ll be working off my car repairs. Izzy is too nice to say anything as I go from a smile to a grimace and back to a smile, this time a stiff, polite one. Dante’s right; I’d make a terrible actor.
“Thanks. That’s really nice.” I give Sophie a quick cleanup job with baby wipes. “Does the bathroom have a changing station?”
“Yeah.” She points. “It’s right back there.”
Five minutes later, I find Gina and tell her I’m ready to settle up. “I thought you were going to be working here,” she says. “To pay off your car repairs?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“We all get free meals as part of our employee compensation. So don’t worry aboutit.”
Did Vic arrange this whole thing so he could give me free food (at Dante’s behest)? I can’t very well ask Gina if he’s lying about his waitresses leaving him. “Okay. Thanks.” I’ve been saying that a lot today.
“If you’ve never waitressed before, believe me — you’ll earn those meals and need every calorie. This place doesn’t really have downtime.”
“Good to know. Say bye-bye, Sophie.”
Cait, Gina, and Vic all wave goodbye, and I wave Sophie’s little hand back at them. Isabella drives a Subaru station wagon, and the car seat in it is top of the line; I remember it from my research. I get Sophie buckled in, and we’re on theroad.
It feels like an eternity ago that I drove into this town, and it’s only been a few hours. Izzy keeps up a stream of light chatter, telling me about the history of the town, pointing out landmarks and places of interest, and generally playing tour guide in a low-pressure way that lets me converse if I want to, but demands nothing.
“So how many Adamos are there?” I ask when she pauses.
She laughs. “A gazillion is about right. Dozens, at least, and probably more. Some of my cousins are into the genealogy and have actual family trees doneup.”
We turn onto a wide, leafy street, and Izzy hits the garage opener for a spacious two-story house about halfway down. This is a nice neighborhood, nicer than I’d expect for a young couple. I instantly feel shabby in my thrift-store outfit, but shove those emotions ruthlessly aside.
The garage has a covered breezeway that leads into the house. We enter into a big, airy kitchen and go through to the living room, where a gracious woman in her fifties is playing with a littleboy.
“Mom, this is Heather, and her daughter Sophie. Heather, my mom, Elina.”
Sophie chooses that moment to yawn hugely. “Do you want to go ahead and put her down?” Izzyasks.
“I probably should,” I say apologetically.
“It’s all right. You can use this room here.” She shows me to a guest bedroom that’s decorated in light pastels and has a crib along one wall. “We have little cousins or friends over a lot, so we’re set up for extras.”
“This is great. Thanks.”
“If you need to stay with her until she’s asleep, feel free to use thebed.”
I smile at her. “Thanks. I’ll do that; sometimes she’s a little fussy in a new place.”
Once I get Sophie into the crib, I curl up on my side on top of the bedspread. There’s a throw folded at the foot of the bed, and I pull it up over me since the house is air conditioned. I just need to make sure she’s sleeping soundly, and then I can go back out and be a good guest.
I close my eyes -- just to rest them for a moment -- and drop into a deep well of oblivion.
