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Further down the road, he gestured to a corner shop with a faded sign. “And that’s where I first met your mom.” Luke’s eyes twinkled with the memory. “I was trying to act all cool, buying a soda. Dropped my change everywhere when she looked my way. She helped me pick it up.”
But the memories took a somber turn when they reached the end of the street. An old, crumbling apartment building stood there, its windows broken, graffiti marring its walls. “That’s where I lived with my father,” Luke murmured. “It wasn’t much, but it was home.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened. “You lived there?”
Luke looked toward the second floor. “Up there, apartment twenty-six. My mother left me and my dad when I was a kid, and he struggled to pay our bills. I remember the time our power got cut off, and we had to sleep in the car to have heat.” Luke paused, pushing down the lump in his throat. “I told myself this wouldn’t be my future. So, I worked as hard as I could to get into Harvard. After your mom and I got married, and when you came along, I found a high-paying job. It demanded a lot of me, but I stuck with it because I thought it would give both of you the best life possible. Or what I thought would be, back then.”
Jeremiah nodded and stared at the building without saying a word.
When they arrived home the next day, Jeremiah and Luke had lunch together.
“Dad?”
“Mm-hmm?” Luke swallowed a bite of his sandwich and reached for his water.
Jeremiah let out a sigh. “I shouldn’t have said what I said to Ms. Wright. She didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry I embarrassed her in front of the entire class.”
Luke put down his sandwich and wiped his face. “I know you are. I think deep down she knows that too. But it’s not me who deserves the apology.”
Jeremiah rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes darted downward. “I don’t want to go back to Hadley Cove High.”
“I thought you liked it there?”
“I do,” Jeremiah said, “but I can’t face Ms. Wright after what I did to her. Maybe I can transfer to another school? Bridwell High? It’s not too far from here.”
“You know, it’d show a lot of maturity if you owned up to what you did and went back,” Luke said. “I’m sure she would forgive you if you apologized to her.”
“I just can’t, Dad.”
Luke paused, giving Jeremiah a long look. “You can. You’ll see.” He hesitated, searching for a change of topic to lighten the mood. “How about you mow the lawn while I finish up some things around here? Might help clear your head a bit.”
“Yeah, sure,” Jeremiah said, standing and bringing his plate to the sink.
The sun was setting by the time Jeremiah came inside from mowing. Luke, who had been compiling a stack of freshly printed papers into a neat folder, looked up and passed it to his son. “Your assignments for the week. I’ve been in touch with your teachers.”
Jeremiah took the folder and flipped through the pages with a furrowed brow. “I can’t do this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need a graphing calculator.”
“Don’t you have one?” Luke asked.
Jeremiah shook his head. “Yeah, but I lost it.”
“Alright. Give me the model you need, and I’ll check the store.”
Jeremiah jotted down the model number and ripped off a slip of notebook paper, handing it to Luke.
He folded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket, then grabbed his car keys from the counter. “Be back in a bit.”
37
Emma
“Okay, I’ll make it happen.” Emma hung up the phone and glanced over at Riley, who was looking up at her expectantly. “I’m sorry, I haven’t fed you yet, have I?”
Riley responded with a resounding bark. Emma chuckled as she grabbed the bag of dog food from the pantry and filled Riley’s dish. Kara had just called and told her about an upcoming fundraiser at Second Chance Rescue. She needed to double her usual order of Riley’s Recipe for the event.
