She thought about it for a minute. “I mean, maybe? Things have been crazy lately. And then with the media being ugly, but that’s nothing unusual. They always have something to say. But she has been dressing kind of frumpy.”
“What do you mean?”
Love rolled her eyes. “She hasn’t worn a dress in a few weeks. Even at the game, she wore sweatpants with your jersey. Honestly, it’s kind of like she’s hiding her body.”
“Nah, that’s not it,” I denied, even as a voice in the back of my head agreed that was exactly what my wife was doing. “I think she’s just exhausted. You go on up. Love you, princess.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
I gave her a full two minutes to get away from the kitchen before I fished my phone from my pocket. Jagger picked up, warning, “You’re on speaker.”
“Hey, girls,” I told Grier and Fallon and got tired greetings back. “Jags, I need a minute.”
I heard the shift in the line from Bluetooth to his AirPods. “What’s up, man?”
“Has Shaw mentioned anything about Vi?”
I felt an instant tension from over the line. I knew he cared about Violet. He and Shaw were more than our best friends. Our connection went deeper. There was never any sense of jealousy when it came to Jagger like I felt when other guys got too close or even looked Vi’s way.
I knew if anything ever happened to me, he would be right there to take care of my family—especially my wife. Lyric would too, without hesitation, but it was different with Jagger.
“No, brother,” he said after a moment. “She hasn’t said anything to me. But…”
“Tell me,” I choked out.
“I don’t know. I noticed something off the other day. And then when I picked up Love Bug earlier, I went into the office to give her a hug.” He blew out a breath. “I don’t know, I thought maybe I was overthinking it. She just seemed to shrink when I kissed her cheek. Not a flinch, but…”
“Shit,” I groaned. “Something’s up with her, for sure. Do you think she’s tired?”
“Maybe,” he muttered, but he didn’t sound any more convinced than I was. “But I am. And I know Shaw is.”
When I got a text notification, I glanced down to see one from my brother. Telling Jagger to hold a moment, I read it.
Lyric: Valentine’s Day is this weekend.
“Shit,” I said again. “It’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday.”
But it wasn’t just that for her. Us. Remington had passed away on February 14th all those years ago. For a few years after his death, the anniversary was a dark day for her. But slowly, she began pushing down the mourning. Then we started doing something special each year. Helping her not dwell on who was no longer there.
For the past few years, she hadn’t even talked about him to Love Bug on that particular day. It had been years since she last mentioned him on the death anniversary of her first husband.
His birthday. Love Bug’s birthday. Their wedding anniversary. Those would still make her go silent and weepy, but it wasn’t nearly as bad now as it had been years ago.
I suspected whatever was bothering her at the moment had nothing to do with Remington. He was a ghost I’d helped her lay to rest when we got married. But Valentine’s Day, in general, could have been a problem for her.
Me: Maybe that’s why Vi is acting weird.
“Yeah. Ma and Dallas are taking the granddaughters out for a little Galentine’s Day,” Jagger said with a laugh. “The dads are taking Hendrix to something. I don’t really remember. But it’s going to give me some alone time with my wife. And Mia and Barrick are having a date.”
“I forgot about it,” I admitted. “But I still have time to arrange something.”
Thank fuck.
Another text came in from my twin.
Lyric: Still??? She seemed off at the game over the weekend. I thought she was just tired. And cold. Didn’t see her without a hoodie on except for a few minutes at the game and that was to show you the jersey she was wearing. It was snowing in Buffalo, though, so we were all freezing.
Me: She’s been wearing hoodies for days.
