“You all set for Fall Fest?” Jade asks Marjorie, clearly trying to change the subject.
How had I forgotten Still Springs’ annual fall festival? There are craft fairs, parades, and too many competitions to name. In a few weeks, Main Street will look like Halloween drank too much hot apple cider and threw up everywhere.
“Of course we are. Jack’s ordered double the amount of hay as last year.” Marjorie turns to me and adds, “For the scarecrows,” as if I’m supposed to know what the hell that means.
I smile like I get the joke. “What’s Fall Fest without scarecrows?”
“Exactly,” Marjorie cackles as she snags a few squirt bottles. “I’d better get back to work before my boss fires me.” She winks again and then disappears into the bathroom.
I turn to Jade, who seems to be having a hard time meeting my gaze. “I guess I’ll see you around, neighbor.”
Her throat colors pink. “I’ll see you around.”
The moment Jade disappears down the stairs, my phone starts going nuts in my pocket. I consider ignoring the call, but I figure if I’m paying for this session anyway, I may as well answer. I step into the stairwell so the cleaner can’t overhear. When the call connects, all I see is the top of a pair of thick glasses, a creased forehead, and a silver bun.
“Hey, Sarah? You have to tilt the screen a bit if you want me to see your face,” I say.
“Oh, you don’t need to see my face,” Sarah replies in her breathy voice, even as she follows my instructions. A bunch of crystals hang in the window directly behind her head, shooting rainbows all over the rust-orange walls. “That better?”
I can’t help but smile. My therapist looks nothing like Mom, but something about her calm demeanor and lack of technological skills makes me think of her anyway. “Yeah. It’s better.”
Sarah pushes her glasses up her nose and gets right down to business. “How are you feeling after the funeral?”
I let out a sigh. “I’m surviving. Being around my sisters helps.”
“Have you been doing your breathing exercises?”
“I have.”
“And are they helping?”
Hard to tell since I haven’t done them. “Yes.”
She gives me a coffee-stained smile. “Excellent. Keep practicing any time you’re feeling anxious. Have you had any attacks?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” All things considered, I feel like I’m doing okay.
“Are you still in Maryland?”
“Yeah. And it looks like I will be until Christmas to help with my niece.”
She looks up from her notes and blinks at me from over the rim of her glasses, but her expression gives nothing away. “Do youwantto help out with your niece?”
“It’s the least I can do.” It’s not like I know what to do over at the superstore. Hayley may have already ditched us, but I don’t have it in me to do the same.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Sarah never pulls her punches, something I both admire and loathe about her.
My chest expands with a deep breath. Do I want to help with Ella? I love that kid so much. If Iris and her husband lived anywhere else in the world, I wouldn’t be nearly as annoyed about it. It’s this place I can’t stand. But maybe crossing over that town line had been the worst of it. Maybe the hardest part is over. Maybe it’ll only get better from here.
“Yeah. I think I do.” I’ll figure out the work stuff. I’ll need to fly back to Austin to get my computer and cameras, but I can order anything else I need online. It’s not like it’ll go to waste.
“Then it sounds like you made the right choice for you,” Sarah says. “Remember to check in with yourself periodically and that it’s okay to change your mind if you feel like it’s too much. Boundaries are important in these situations. Have you given any thought to what we talked about before you left?”
Her question is like a shot of anesthetic straight to my heart. “No.”
Although her lips purse, she nods her head and moves on.
