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He cringed as he sat on a chair at their kitchen island and then chuckled. “When my kids were teenagers, they were always out of the house. It was all my wife and I could do to get them to sit down for a dinner together.”
“How old are your kids?” I asked, leaning on the counter across from him.
“Forty-two, thirty-eight, and twenty-nine. Now we get all the time with the grandkids we could ever want.”
I smiled at his natural use of “we” even though I hadn’t seen or met his wife yet.
“Your mom said you’re a senior, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “I just turned eighteen.”
“I have a sixteen-year-old granddaughter who lives in LA. Maybe you two can meet sometime.”
“Sure,” I replied, knowing it would probably never happen. Or matter if it did. I’d be gone in a year. I just hoped someone would take my place to walk Heidi.
“I better get back home,” I said.
He nodded. “Take some cookies with you?” He patted his flat stomach. “My wife made some, and if they stay on the counter, I’ll be eating them all before the grands get here.”
“I’m not about to turn down cookies,” I replied with a smile.
He waved his hand and went to the corner of the kitchen. Just as he’d mentioned, there was a plateful of cookies resting on the countertop. He reached into a cabinet and pulled out a plastic bag, his hands shaking on the seal. It took all I had not to offer my help, but he eventually got it open and packed it to the brim with the cookies.
Then he reached into his pocket, opened his wallet, and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said. I definitely didn’t need the money. Mom’s business was making more than enough to support us. “It’s nice to just walk on the beach.”
He pressed it into my hand, then held out the bag of cookies. “Every kid deserves some money they don’t have to ask for. Enjoy.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Pfanstiel.”
“Jesse,” he said with a smile. “Same time tomorrow?”
I took a deep breath and smiled at the man. “Absolutely.”
When I got outside his house, the sky was tinged pink with the sunset. Jesse lived on Coral Loop, and I walked east until I hit Starfish Lane. My footfalls blended with the constant crash of the ocean. It had been so quiet in Kansas, but here there was always background noise.
I walked a little farther from the beach and saw the peach-colored home that was officially ours. Its dark blue shutters and white trim seemed so stark in the dimming light.
The front curtains were open, and I looked through the picture window, seeing Mom on the couch, her legs tucked under her and her laptop on her thighs. As I got closer, I could see the bandage on her hand, the lamplight glowing on her face making the circles under her eyes seem darker.
As if she could sense me, she looked up and smiled. She got up from the couch and met me at the door, taking me into a big hug. “How was your day? Did you make any friends?”
I held up the cookies in my hand. “Just Jesse.”
She cupped my face with her hands, drawing them over my hair, and pressed her forehead to mine. “I’ll get some milk.”
I went upstairs to my room, changing into pajamas, then went back downstairs. Mom was sitting outside at the patio table, and I joined her, enjoying the fresh air. So far, the weather here had been a big improvement from the last few places. Kansas had been so windy, Colorado had huge weather changes from scorching heat to freezing cold, and I’d felt like a fry in the oven in Oklahoma.
Mom nodded toward a cup of milk on the table. “That’s yours.”
“Thanks,” I said. I reached for an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie on the plate and dipped it into the milk. “How was Dad after I left? Did you make it to his appointment?”
She chewed on her cookie for a moment. “Dr. Sanders thinks he should be in a day program.”
The cookie instantly felt like soggy cardboard in my mouth. “What does that mean?”
Without any inflection in her voice, Mom said, “I’d drop him off at eight in the morning and pick him up at five, starting on Monday.”
