Page 59 of Out Of A Fix

The look on his face, like he was suddenly worn down, changed my mind. “Okay, then, come on,” I said, heading again for the stairs.

Only when I reached the second-floor landing did I realize Darwin was there too.

“Why aren’t you downstairs?”

“How come you took Wink by yourself?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question. Answer me first.”

“Lots of people, at the same time, make me tired.”

I smiled at him. “Me too. And I went alone to Wink’s appointment because you guys were having a good time with your dad and then with the other people who came over. It was nice to see you all happy, and I didn’t want to interrupt that.”

“I just…I like it better when you’re here. Even if you’re in a different room, I still like to know where you are.”

“I texted you where I was.”

“I left my phone up here,” he said miserably.

I gently took hold of the back of his neck, drew him to me, and kissed the top of his head. “I’m here, buddy, don’t you worry.”

He nodded, and then I proceeded toward the end of the hall and Tatum’s room, passing by Griff’s room, the guest bathroom, Darwin’s room on the left, the enormous linen closet on the right, and knocked on her door.

“Go away!” she yelled.

“But Wink had to get shots and a dewormer,” I said through the door. “He could use some lovin’ because he is big mad at me.”

The door was unlocked and thrown open, and I put Wink in her arms.

She kissed his little head, petted him, kissed the bandage on his right leg where they took a tiny amount of blood, and then gave him to Darwin before turning on me. I saw it then, her red, puffy eyes, her blotchy face, and heard her stuttering breath.

Going to one knee, I opened my arms, and she immediately filled them, wrapping hers around my neck, which is when it became clear how hard she was shaking.

“What the hell happened? I was only gone two goddamn hours.”

“Aunt Shelly,” she said, her breath shaky.

“What’d she say?”

“She was upset when she saw how we changed the front room,” she whispered. “She said how hard Mom worked to make it perfect, but I told her that Mom was gone, and it was our house, not hers anymore, and she was so angry and said that wasn’t true and that I was a spoiled brat.”

“Then what?”

“Then I ran out of the room, and I was on my way up the stairs, but another lady, not one of Aunt Shelly’s nice friends, but someone else, grabbed my arm and told me that making Shelly cry right after her mom died was a mean thing to do.”

“Okay,” I soothed her, rubbing her back.

She sniffled. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I think I did wrong?”

“Nope.”

Easing back, she looked at me. “How come?”

“Because I know why your mother’s friend is sad, and that’s because she lost her mother. She needs things in her life to cling to, things that haven’t changed, but that won’t be this house or any of you. Because all of you are moving forward, and she has too as well. But right now, she needs time to grieve, and she should.”

She nodded.

“That being said, it’s good to sympathize with others, but you can’t let anyone take their emotions out on you.”