As her video feed went live, his expression turned to one of surprise.
Click.
“Roar Wilson? Is that you?” His face lit up in excitement.
She hadn’t expected that and found herself grinning. “It’s me. Although I go by Aurora Brown now.”
“Of course. How have you been?” His smile hadn’t changed at all. It still looked like it belonged in a toothpaste commercial.
“I’m doing well, how about yourself?”
“Great, I’m just great! I can’t believe you’re on this committee.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
“Why is that so strange?”
He paused for a moment. “Well, uh …” He cleared his throat. “Out of all of us, you’d be the last one I’d think would come back to Riverton Park.”
“It’s still a good school. My daughter goes there now.”
“I see. So, will we be meeting Mr. Brown at the reunion?”
“I’m afraid not. Jeff passed away five years ago.”
A cloud fell across Duncan’s sunny face. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Aurora tried to reassure him. “Thanks.”
“I would have liked to shake his hand.”
“I would have warned him to check it for glue.” Aurora’s attempt to lighten the mood succeeded.
Duncan howled. “I forgot about that! I almost had you too.”
“Oh, please. You were offering me a ‘truce’ with that shit-eating grin on your face. Anyone would have been an idiot not to think you were up to something.”
“Yeah …” He snorted at the memory. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“Anyway, my daughter Katie is in Jen’s photography club. That’s how Jen asked me to help with the reunion.”
“And she wants you on decorations.”
“Well, she said someone moved to California and can’t be here to do much.” She crossed her arms, teasing him. “Where are you living now?”
“A little place called Sunnyvale.”
They bantered a little about Aurora’s cousins that lived near Los Angeles. She started to relax.
“What do you have so far for this red-carpet theme?” Her Skype flashed a notification.
“I’ve sent you some files. We have the actual red carpet, but I can’t find anything else within the budget.”
“Okay, let me look here.” The preview window blocked half the screen while it loaded. “It might take a minute. My daughter’s playing a multiplayer game with her friends.”
“How old is she?”
“Katie turned seventeen last month. They grow up so fast. Do you have kids?”
“I have one son. Ryder is nineteen. He…lives with his mother.” Duncan sounded sad.
