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“And… I apologized for not paying attention. For stopping so suddenly before him, and then he apologized for losing his temper,” she rushed out. She averted her eyes out of guilt, remembering that she hadn’t told her sister the full story of how the man had ended up ramming her Jeep.
Cora’s expression was contemplative before transforming to one of incredulity when she finally caught on. “Wait, what? Are you telling me that the accident wasn’t actually that man’s fault?”
“Well…” Andrea started off, keeping her eyes directed away from her sister’s face, “Technically, he ran into my back, so…”
“Drea, this is serious. Why were you so distracted?”
“I was thinking about how much I missed having my family and friends around me for the past twenty-four years. I don’t know… I guess I was just feeling guilty that I sort of cut ties with everyone, and then Dad died, and I couldn’t tell him how much I missed him.” Her voice broke, and she found it hard to continue.
She felt the bed dip before her sister’s arm came over her shoulder and pulled her into her embrace.
“I know it’s hard knowing that Dad is gone and that we didn’t get the chance to reconcile, but trust me. I’ve had some moments of sadness that felt as if I would break, but we’re here now, and we’ve got each other to get through this. We’re making new memories,” Cora encouraged her.
Andrea rested her head on her sister’s shoulder, happy for the comfort it provided just to have her this close.
“Thanks, Cora,” she said after some time of them sitting in the same position.
“Anytime, gummy bear.”
After Cora left, Andrea spent the next ten minutes drying her hair before putting it up in a messy bun. She then made her way downstairs to join her family for dinner.
“Before I forget, Captain Braun, one of your father’s old colleagues, called. He wanted to speak with you.”
Andrea looked up from scooping food onto her fork to see that her mother was looking directly at her from across the table.
“Me?” she asked, surprised. “What for?”
“He said something about making a page, or is it a website,” her mother replied, head inclined and a hand on her chest as she tried to remember the man’s exact words.
“I’m not sure I’m the person he’s looking for then, Mom. I do social media and Facebook Ads, not website building,” she explained to her mother.
“Why don’t you give him a call? He left his number, and I think I might have jumbled the message,” her mother implored her.
“Okay, I’ll call him after dinner,” she agreed.
Andrea and Cora cleaned up after the meal while their mother retired to her room. Cora left to call her daughters, and Andrea decided to call the captain to see what he needed.
“Hi, Captain Braun. This is Andrea Hamilton. You asked for me earlier?”
“Yes. Thank you for calling back. I know this might have been sudden and all, but I’m glad you’re choosing to take on this project—”
“Oh no, I didn’t…”
“Your father spoke so highly of you. He explained you were an expert at what you did, so when I heard you were in town, I knew I just had to ask you to do this for us.”
Andrea was surprised by his statement. Her father had been keeping up with her career. He knew enough to be boasting to his friends about her. This knowledge warmed her heart as a slight smile graced her lips. In that instant, she decided to do the project if only to honor the memory of her father, who thought so highly of her even if he didn’t get the chance to say it to her face.
“I’d be delighted to be a part of your project, Captain Braun. Just for clarity, what exactly is it that you need me to do?”
The captain explained to her that he needed her to revamp the fire department’s website to make it more user-friendly and informative about the programs and initiatives they have available.
“I’ll be sending my lieutenant over. He should get there in the next fifteen minutes. Any information you need, he’ll be able to give it to you. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“Thank you, Captain Braun. That’s completely fine. I’ll keep an eye out for him.”
After hanging up, Andrea decided to take her laptop out to the front porch to finish up some work while she waited for the lieutenant to arrive.
Fifteen minutes later, Andrea could see the headlights of a vehicle coming up the path. Placing the laptop down, she went to stand by the porch column as she watched the dark-colored SUV pull up to the driveway and come to a stop near the designated visitor's parking area. She was surprised at who stepped out of the vehicle.
