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“Let’s go.”
It takes a little less than ten minutes for us to make it to The Bookery on Market Street, but there’s no parking. Caleb agrees to drop us off in front of the shop and he sets off down the street to look for a space. The frantic short drive across town combined with the sticky August humidity has me feeling a bit woozy and overheated. When we enter the cool interior of The Bookery, I grab the edge of a wooden table and draw in a long breath.
The sweet smell of old books is intoxicating. It transports us to another time and I instantly know that this is the right place. This is where we’ll find the perfect gift.
Jimi stops at the mouth of a long aisle of books and glances at me over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”
I nod as I let go of the wooden table and set off behind her. The aisle we’re in is designated for 19th-century classics. I don’t know which of these books Claire has liked or read, but it seems like a good place to start.
“Have you read this?” Jimi asks, holding up a copy of Jane Eyre.
“Yeah, we read that last year. I don’t read much, but it’s one of my favorite books. Does your mom—” Jimi raises an eyebrow. “Does our mom like Jane Eyre?”
“She has at least two copies of it. It’s one of her favorites,” she says, putting the book back on the shelf. “Why is it so hard for you to call her Mom? I haven’t heard you call them Mom or Dad the whole time you’ve been here.”
I swallow hard as my heart begins to race. This isn’t the kind of conversation I expected to have while perusing the shelves.
“I don’t know. I guess… I guess I just wonder if it would sound weird. You don’t think that would be weird? I’ve only known them for a few weeks.”
She shrugs as she grabs a worn paperback copy of Great Expectations off the shelf. “I don’t know how these things work. But it seems more weird to me that you don’t call them anything at all. Like, what do you call them inside your head? Chris and Claire?” She laughs at this suggestion as if it’s ludicrous and I feel the heat rising in my cheeks. Her eyes widen when she sees my reaction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I mean, of course that’s probably how you think of them. Shit. I feel like an idiot. Just forget I said anything.”
I gently take the book from her and turn it over in my hands a couple of times. “Does she have this one?” I ask, viscerally aware that I just referred to Claire as she. And now I just referred to her in my head as Claire.
“I don’t think so. I haven’t seen it in the library. Have you?”
I chuckle at the awkward tone in her voice. “You’re right. After everything they’ve done for me, and for Caleb, I should at least try to break that large wall of ice standing between us.”
“Hey, don’t do it on my account.”
“Don’t do what on your account?” Caleb asks as he enters the aisle, his face flushed pink from the heat.
Jimi glances at me as if to say, “This is all yours.”
“Nothing. I just… I think I want to go back. I want to go home.”
“But we didn’t get anything.”
Jimi smiles as she squeezes past us to leave the aisle. I look up at Caleb and he’s confused. “We can’t find anything here that she can’t get on her own. Let’s go.”
His shoulders slump with frustration. “Fine. Just wait in here while I go get the car. It’s hotter than Satan’s ass crack out there.”
We make one stop at a local bakery to pick up the birthday cake Jimi ordered, then we pull into the driveway a few minutes before the forty-five-minute deadline. Caleb carries the cake into the kitchen and Jimi helps him make room for it in the refrigerator while I look for Claire. I’m not surprised to find her upstairs in the laundry room, working on her birthday. She slams the dryer shut and when she spins around to leave, she jumps at the sight of me.
“Oh, my God. You scared me,” she says, clutching her chest. “Do you have something you need washed?” I shake my head and she looks confused. “Are you okay? Are you out of medicine? What’s wrong?”
I shake my head again. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything couldn’t be more right. And I have you to thank for that. So I just want to say… Thank you… for everything you’ve done for Caleb and me. And… Happy birthday… Mom.”
Her whole body trembles as she reaches up to cover her mouth. “Oh, God,” she whispers.
Her chest is heaving so hard and her hands are shaking uncontrollably. It actually scares me.
I lightly place my hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She nods furiously, but she still can’t speak, so I do the one thing I hope will help. I slowly wrap my arms around her waist and she lets out a soft cry as she takes me in her arms.
“Oh, Abby,” she whispers. “I have never heard anything so beautiful in all my life.”
We hold each other a moment longer until she’s no longer trembling. When she releases me, Jimi comes bounding up the stairs. She looks a bit surprised when she sees us both standing just inside the laundry room, crying. Then she smiles as she realizes her little pep talk at the used bookstore worked.
But her smile disappears quickly. “Someone’s here.”
“Who?” I ask, but Jimi doesn’t answer. She casts us an ominous look as she turns around and heads back down the steps.
I turn to Claire and she’s wringing her hands as she looks me in the eye. “Your… your parents are here to take you home.”
My chest aches with the force of my heart pounding. I race down the steps and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. My mom and dad are standing in the living room. My dad’s arms are crossed over his bulky chest and my mom’s lips are pressed together in a hard line across her face.
My dad speaks first. “Get your things. We’re going home.”
“I’m not leaving right now. I’m leaving with Caleb on Tuesday.”
My mom rolls her eyes as sh
e steps forward. “Just get your things and get in the car, Abby. We’ve allowed you to live your little hard-rock fantasy long enough. It’s time to go home and get ready for school.”
“Hard-rock fantasy? Are you kidding me? This has been the best summer of my life and you’re calling it a fantasy?”
“Oh, please, Abby. Of course it’s the best summer of your life. And who knows how much damage you’ve done to your heart in the meantime?”
Caleb comes up behind me and places his hands on my shoulders and my dad casts a vicious glare in his direction. “Abby has been doing great,” Caleb says, squeezing my arm. “She’s been taking all her meds and I think the physical activity has been helping. She has less—”
“Physical activity?” My dad cuts him off. “Are you two having sex?”
“Don’t answer that!” I shout at Caleb, then I round on my dad. “It’s none of your business what Caleb and I do, just like it’s none of my business what you and Mom do in the bedroom. I’m an adult and I’m not stupid. A little trust wouldn’t hurt, Dad. I’ve never given you a reason not to trust me.”
Chris and Claire come down the stairs and I must admit that I’m happy to see the angry look on Chris’s face. Then I remember how Claire already knew my parents were coming, which means Chris probably knew, as well.
“Did you know they were coming?”
Chris nods his head. “I’m sorry, Abby. We wanted to tell you, but they asked us not to. And we really didn’t want to cause any more trouble for you all. It’s really hard being in the middle of this. We really just want whatever makes you happy.”
My mom laughs at this. “Of course. Take the path of least resistance so we’re the bad guys. You were right, Brian. You knew this would happen.”
“Lynette, I think there’s been a grave misunderstanding here,” Chris continues. “We’ve done everything you asked of us seventeen and a half years ago. We stayed away. We didn’t tie you guys up in an expensive legal battle. We did it all for Abby’s sake. Which is why I have to set my foot down here. I truly believe what you’re doing is not in her best interests. I think it’s time for you all to step aside and let Abby make some decisions for herself. She’s an adult and a very intelligent soul. She deserves for all of us to put some faith in her.”
