“I am too.” She brushed the cracker crumbs into a neat pile on the table. “I’m going to miss her.”
“I know you are, sweetie. I will too. But you can...”
“Visit?” Britt looked up.
Amy nodded, although she knew that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Not unless she went with Britt, and even then, she couldn’t see the trip being easy. At times, she wrestled with not pushing Britt a little to be more social. Maybe they should have taken more trips during the summers when she was off from school. But up until five years ago, Amy had either taught summer school or took classes herself, and there was no time, money, or energy to go on a real vacation. By the time there was, Britt was still in therapy, and even more adverse to leaving the confines of Allen and Plano.
Britt stared at the crumb pile for a moment.
“There’s plenty of time to decide,” Amy said. “And you don’t want to go too soon. They’ll be newlyweds, after all, and who wants to be around all thatromance.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Who wants that?” Then she lifted her head. “Where did you go tonight?”
Amy paused. Should she tell Britt about Max and the movie? No, not until she figured out their relationship, if it existed at all. There was no point in bringing him up if she wasn’t going to see him again, even as a friend. If they started hanging out more often, then she’d explain it to her daughter.
Britt was the major reason why Amy had never pursued a relationship, although she’d never tell her that. With her anxiety disorder and her father’s abandonment, she didn’t want to add to Britt’s problems by bringing a man into the dynamic, only to have her attach to him and then be devastated if the relationship didn’t work out. She wouldn’t put Britt or herself through that again.
“I went to the Mango Movieiplex,” she said, deciding on a half lie. “They had a one-night showing ofVertigothat I wanted to see.”
“Since when did you become a Hitchcock fan?”
“I like a suspenseful movie every once in a while.” She swirled the ice in her tea. “And it was something different. I hadn’t been to the movie theater in a long time.”
Britt pressed her lips together but didn’t say anything.
Amy wondered if Britt was blaming herself for that. She hoped not. Time for a topic switch. “Let me know what I can do for the shower.”
“Savannah texted me a list of her bridesmaids, and she’s stilldeciding on a theme.” Britt shrugged. “She wants it to reflect her wedding theme, but in a particular way.”
“That sounds like Savannah,” Amy said. “In a way that makes your job easier.”
“That’s probably why she’s doing it.”
“Are you nervous about the shower?”
“Not as much as I thought I would be.” She smiled again. “I want it to be perfect for her.”
“Then we’ll make sure it is.”
They finished the snack and Britt headed to her room for the night, while Amy went to the living room. She glanced at the book lying on the table beside her recliner, a novel she was struggling to get into. It was one of those celebrity book club picks, and while the writing was good, the subject matter was a little dark, not exactly her preferred reading material. Instead, she picked up her phone and decided to watch a couple of Britt’s videos.
She watched the latest one that Britt had uploaded last week about painting on wood. She was hand-lettering the wordsTake Riskson a thin, rectangular piece that looked like the kind of blank signs K&Bs carried. Her letters were perfect, and so was the painting that followed. Amy’s grandmother had artistic aptitude, but nothing on Britt’s level. Her daughter had incredible innate talent, but she was successful because she paired it with hard work, practice, and discipline.
She glanced through the comments, as she sometimes did after watching a video. Most of them were glowing, but occasionally, some blockhead would write something cruel or offensive. Amazingly, Britt did a great job of not letting those comments get to her, probably because she was so confident in her skills.
Amy just wished Britt could be more confident in herself.
The comments scrolled past her until her eyes landed on one.
Hi, honey. This is your best video yet. <3
She sat up straight and looked at the name. Sober4lyfe. Who was this guy? Or girl? Quickly she shot off a text to Britt.
Who’s Sober4lyfe?
***
Britt was shoving her arms into her vintage Jackson 5 T-shirt when her phone buzzed. She pulled down the shirt and picked up the phone.
