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I knew there was no reason to sugar-coat it. Richie looked like a junkie the last time I’d seen him which was the night before the break-in.
“Bad. He looked bad.”
“If he looked bad, why didn’t you call us?” Mary’s voice raised. “We’re his parents! Why didn’t you call us?”
Worried that Luna—who was in her room playing with the new dollhouse that Hank had built her after he learned how much she loved the one at Mrs. Birch’s—would overhear any part of this conversation, I stepped out onto the newly screened-in, covered porch and shut the back door behind me. I was trying to gather my thoughts to respond when Mr. DiNardo beat me to the punch.
“Mary, calm down. It’s going to be okay,” he comforted his wife before addressing me once again. “We just got a call from him. He said he needs fifty thousand dollars or he is going to die. Do you know anything about that?”
Unfortunately, I did.
“Um…”
“And where are you?” he continued. “We went by your place and your neighbor, the babysitter, told us you’d moved out.”
“Yeah, I—”
“She wouldn’t tell us where you are.” Mrs. DiNardo was crying now. “Where are you? Where’s Luna?”
“I’m in Georgia. We’re in Georgia. She’s safe.”
“Georgia?!” Mrs. DiNardo was near hysteria and I didn’t blame her. Richie was her only child and I couldn’t imagine the emotional roller coaster she was on. Actually, I could imagine. I’d been riding it myself for the past five years. I wished that they would have taken me more seriously when I’d tried to speak to them six months ago after I learned he was deeper in his addiction.
“Why didn’t you tell us you moved?” Mrs. DiNardo cried. “She’s our grandchild. You can’t just take her away from us.”
“I would never keep Luna from you.” I didn’t point out that we’d lived less than two hours away for five years and they’d come to visit their grandchild a total of zero times, despite me inviting them dozens of times. Or that the only time they’d seen her was when I’d driven her to them. I didn’t think that now was the time to bring that up. “I was going to call you after I got settled.”
There was a knock at my door, and I looked at the time. It was close to nine p.m. The only person who ever came over was Hank, but he’d said that he wouldn’t be around for the next few days.
“Listen, there’s someone at the door. Can I call you back tomorrow?”
“Fine,” Mr. DiNardo curtly agreed. I could still hear Mrs. DiNardo crying in the background when the call disconnected.
I was using whoever was at the door as an excuse to get off the phone. The call had shaken me up, and I needed some time to collect myself and prepare for the difficult and private conversation that I needed to have with them. I needed to tell them everything. The break-in, Richie taking my money, all of it. But I didn’t want to do that with Luna in the house. I’d see if I could drop Luna off an hour before my shift tomorrow and call them then. I’d even make a list of all the things I needed to say to them to make sure that I didn’t forget anything.
My mind was starting to put the list together when I peeked out the side window next to the front door. Hank stood on my front porch holding a stack of books and wearing the bracelet. My heart practically jumped out of my chest. Just seeing him made all the tension that I’d been carrying around leave my body. I hadn’t even realized how upset and anxious the call had made me until I saw him. I wanted to open the door and fall into his large, capable arms, but I knew that I couldn’t, so I did my best to pull myself together.
I pasted a smile on my face and opened the door. “Hey, I thought you said you weren’t going to be around for the next few days.”
“I won’t. What’s wrong?”
The intensity in his question and his stare took me by surprise. I blinked. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”
He didn’t say anything, just continued staring at me. I felt like he could see into my soul and as unnerving as that sounded, it actually made me feel seen for the first time in my life.
I lowered my voice. “I just got off the phone with Richie’s parents and it just…” I didn’t know how to explain why the call had caused me so much anxiety or why I was upset. It had to be a culmination of everything rather than just the single call. “I think it’s all just catching up to me.”
Without saying a word, he stepped inside, set the books down on the entryway table, closed the door, and pulled me into his arms.
I’d never been a big hugger, probably because neither of my parents had been affectionate people. When Ashely was born, I poured out all of the affection that I’d been missing onto her. And I’d done the same thing with Luna. But that was it.
As far as romantic relationships, I’d never cuddled or snuggled or even hugged unless it was in the context of sex. But as soon as the act was over, I didn’t want to be touched.
But when Hank put his arms around me, I never wanted him to let me go. I melted into him, absorbing his strength, his security, his comfort. It felt intimate and safe.
If I could freeze time in that moment I would. Because it was perfect.
“Mr. Hank!” Luna screamed excitedly seconds before she wrapped her arms around both of us in a three-way hug.
Scratch that, this was the moment I’d want to freeze in time.
