“Super goofy,” I said. “He used to eat peanut butter andpicklesandwiches and thought that rocks got lonely if you didn’t take them home from the park.”
Joey wrinkled her nose. “He did?”
I nodded as I set the book down, realizing that story time would wait, this was more important. “When he was even littler than you, he did. One day I found a whole box of rocks under his bed, and I asked him what they were. He said he used to collect any rocks he found at the beach or park or on the sidewalk that were alone and bring them home so they wouldn’t be lonely and so they could have a family.”
“He made a rock family?” Andi asked.
“He did. He had hundreds of rocks.”
“Does he still have them?” Joey sat up straighter.
“I don’t know. He moved out of here about twenty years ago, his dad might not have kept it.”
Both girls’ faces dropped in disappointment.
“What else did he do?” Joey pulled her knees up.
I tried to think of the silliest thing Adam had ever done, just to try and make him less…intimidating to the girls. Putting myself in their shoes, it had to be scary for a man of his height, stature, and just presence to show up and then all of a sudden be told that they had to live with him.
“When I first met him, he used to wear rain boots, even when it wasn’t raining, just in case the clouds changed their mind.”
“I do that too!” Andi’s face lit up, and her arm shot straight up in the air. “I bring an umbrella to school in case the clouds change their mind.”
“You do?!” Wow. That had to be some sort of nature vs. nurture thing because I had never heard of anyone doing that. Unless maybe their mom told them that their dad did that. Would she know that about him?
Adam said they were only seeing each other for a few weeks. Was that something he would have told Jasmine? Thinking about him sharing that with her made me feel a certain kind of way. Jealous. It made me feel jealous, as if I had a claim to all his childhood memories or something.
Joey raised her hand, following her sister’s lead, as if they were in class. “Did you like him back then?”
“I did.” My chest ached, thinking about just how much I had, and how much I’d missed him. “He was my best friend. I lived right next door.”
“Do you still live next door?”
“No, I don’t, but my sister does and so do my nephews, who are twin boys your age. Luke and Leo.”
Andi grimaced as if she’d just tasted the sourest lemon. “Boys.”
“Your dad was a boy, and he was my best friend. We used to play together every single day. I raised my little sisters, andhe helped me with them. They loved himsomuch. I think they loved him more than me. He waswaymore fun.”
“He helped you like you’re helping him with us,” Andi pointed out.
“Yep.” Andi was bright. She didnotmiss a thing.
“Why were you best friends?” Joey asked.
“Um, he was really funny, he made up good games, and he was a really good listener.”He had the best smile, eyes, and made me feel safe, happy, and loved and he smelled really good. “We would ride bikes, talk on walkie talkies, and go worm and ladybug hunting. We liked a lot of the same things, except I liked horses and he liked dinosaurs. Oh, and he gave really good hugs.”
“Is he still your best friend?” Joey followed up.
“Oh, um, well, I haven’t seen him in a long time."
“Why not?” Joey’s face turned worried.
“Because after high school, he moved away.”
“My friend Mallory moved away, and she Zooms me,” Joey pointed out.
“Yeah, that wasn’t really a thing back then.” But the phone was, and so was the post office, so he really had no excuse. “Plus, when your dad moved away, he went into the military, so he was really busy.”
