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“Let’s meet for coffee soon,” she said before taking down my number. “Then, I’ll tell you everything I know about David Stratton.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
A SEA OF SAUCE & PARANOIA
“So, then Jay showed me this really cool game he has, called Super Mario Odyssey.”
I nodded absentmindedly and continued to push the broom as Noah trailed behind me, talking a mile a minute abouthistime he'd spent at a friend's house after school.
Ray had said he’d be okay, walking home by himself after hanging out at his friend’s house. But it would be dark, and there was a bogeyman lurking in the shadows. We never knew if or when he would strike again. Noah’s friend’s house wasn’t far from The Fisch Market, and so I’dmade the suggestionfor him to stop by after hanging with his friend. I said I could keep him company on the walk home, and of course, Ray had beencoolwith it. I was more than glad to have him chill with me for a while—I always was—but as it turned out, my head wasn’t in the greatest place.
Come to think of it, it hadn’t been ever since I’d run into Billy’s mom.
And it wasn’t that I hadn’t enjoyed seeing her and making peace with that part of my past. We had both needed it desperately, and it was good that fate had allowed it to happen. But we had agreed to meet for coffee at Black & Brewed, and she had promised to tell me everything she knew about the man my mother had watched die. The possibilities felt endless. I knew she had to know something of substance because otherwise, why would she want to take the time to come all the way here just to say,Hey, sorry, butyou’re shit out of luck?
My nerves couldn’t handle the anticipation and anxiety.
“… friggin’ listening to me?”
I realized I had, at some point, gotten so tangled up in my thoughts that I stopped pushing the broom, and Noah was now standing beside me. I glanced at him to read his annoyed expression and quickly offered an apologetic smile.
“Yeah, I am. Sorry.”
Noah wasn’t an idiot though. “No, you’re not,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes.
I pushed my hair out of my face and huffed a sigh. “Noah, seriously, I’m sorry. I’m just distracted, so—”
“Why? Are you pissed at Mom?”
“What?” I narrowed my eyes, taken aback. “No, why would you think I’m pissed off at her?”
“Because my dad gets really distracted and annoyed when he’s pissed off.”
Every now and then, the reminder that Seth could father this cool, amazing kid barreled against my chest like a raging elephant. I was able to forget most of the time, but on those rare occasions, I had to bite my tongue from declaring to the world that Noah deserved better than that piece of shit. He deserved the best.
He deserves me.
“Well, I’m not,” I said, keeping a stillness in my voice. “I’m just thinking about an old friend’s mom. I saw her a few days ago when we were at your grandparents’ house.”
Noah’s features contorted with his immediate understanding. “Ohh, that lady we saw you with?”
“Right.”
He nodded, accepting the offered information. “Did you see your friend too?”
“Sort of … well, not really.” I resumed my cleaning, an image of Billy’s black marble headstone flashing through my mind. “He died a long time ago.”
“Oh …” Noah dropped his darkened gaze to the floor I’d just swept. “So, um … why were you thinking about your friend’s mom?”
“Because I’m going to see her tomorrow.” I swallowed, keeping my eyes ahead at the Produce sign I used to repeatedly smack my head against.
“Why?”
“Because …” I sucked in a massive breath of air, puffing my chest out until I couldn’t take any more in. “She just wants to tell me some stuff … about, uh, my friend. And … I guess I’m just nervous about it … because I don’t know what she’s going to say.”
Noah nodded, browfurrowedand eyes squinted. I knew he didn’t quite understand what I was saying and didn’t know what to say in reply.
So, I cleared my throat and said, “Anyway, what were you saying before? Something about Mario?”
