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“Now, I’ll drive by the theater when I leave here. Want me to drop these posters off there? Or would you rather keep them here?”
“I’ll keep them, thanks. Helen is stopping by later to take another look at them. We’ve both been frustrated that our purchases have been dribbling in since January. But one good thing about it is we can revisit our sisters’ trip when each box arrives. We enjoy that.”
“Do you have another vacation lined up?”
“No. We’re talking about it, though.”
“Where do you want to go next time?”
Genevieve smirked and said, “My sister hasn’t convinced me yet. We’re discussing the South Pacific.”
Gage said his good-byes, and Genevieve shut the door behind him. She liked Gage Throckmorton. He’d become a true friend the past year, and she enjoyed working on the theater project with him. He was good company. And then there was the whole Kevin Costner doppelgänger thing he had going on, which set the hormones Genevieve still had left aflutter. Of course, it didn’t hurt that a time or two, she’d caught masculine appreciation in his gaze as he gave her a surreptitious once-over.
Not that he ever came close to doing or saying anything flirtatious. Genevieve was good with that. At this point in her life, she needed friends more than she needed a lover.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
She returned to the dining table, where the posters lay neatly stacked. She began to flip through them again, her mind racing with ideas for a film noir festival at The Emily. Then Genevieve heard a car door slam in her driveway, and she assumed that Helen had arrived. As she turned toward the door, intending to greet her sister, Genevieve’s cell phone rang.
Willow. Genevieve glanced at the clock on her wall. She still had forty-five minutes before she needed to leave to babysit the grands.
Her daughter probably wanted to ask Genevieve to arrive early.Well, dear, you’re out of luck.Helen had dibs on Genevieve’s time for the next little while. She was not bailing on her sister or rushing her along to play the grandmother. She’d done it twice last week. Although Helen refrained from saying anything, Genevieve had picked up on her sister’s disappointment.
Genevieve had sworn to be more aware going forward. However, the transition to local nana from long-distance one had presented some unexpected speed bumps. Learning to balance Genevieve the sister, Genevieve the grandmother, and Genevieve the woman was challenging.
“Hello, Willow.”
“Mom, where are you?”
Genevieve straightened in alarm at the tight, anxious tone in her daughter’s voice.
“Are you at the lodge?” Willow asked. “Is Drew with you?”
“No. I’m still at home. Why are you asking about Drew?”
Willow exhaled a troubled sigh. “That boy. He asked to walk up to the lodge to buy a candy bar in the gift shop with his allowance money. He should have been home half an hour ago, so I called the shop. He never came in.”
“Oh no!”
“I’m not frantic about this,” Willow continued. “He’s probably sitting somewhere playing his Switch and lost track of time. I need to go look for him, but Emma’s asleep. She felt a little warm when she went down for her nap. I think she’s having a hard time shaking this ear infection, but I can’t be one hundred percent positive about that. I’d planned to check her temp at the top of the hour and cancel with you and the vendors if she’s febrile. I don’t want anyone to catch something from us. But now, oh, Mom, you understand how it is. Could you come over early so I can look for him? Or, if you don’t want to get near Emma, could you go look for him for me?”
“Of course.” Genevieve walked toward her kitchen and gathered her purse and keys as her sister swept into the house. Helen’s wide smile died a bit as she spied Genevieve lifting her keys from the key rack. To Willow, Genevieve said, “I’m not worried about being around Emma if she’s feverish. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
When she ended the call, Helen asked, “Now what?”
“It’s Drew.” Genevieve quickly summarized the situation. “I’m sorry, Helen. There’s probably nothing wrong beyond a boy lost in his video game, but I can’t tell Willow no.”
“I know that.”
“Would you come with me? We need to catch up. We haven’t talked all week.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Mine. I know. I know. Come with me, Helen? Please?”
Helen hesitated. “I’ll join the hunt for Drew. I don’t want to babysit.”
“I’m not asking you to babysit. I can multitask, you know. But I’d like some sister time.”
