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“You’re our fun friend, honey. We love you for it.”I wish this elevator would hurry and the doors open.
“The loser friend,” she adds. “I’m sorry to be a pain.”
“You’re not.” I tighten my hold around her waist. “You’ve had my back countless times, and I thank every day for having a friend like you.”
“You know I can vouch for you,” Ethan quips. “You’re the friend everyone needs.”
I’m taken aback by his kind words. Only I don’t have time to dwell as the elevator door slides open, and we stumble out to the ground foyer and toward the exit.
With his spare hand, Ethan pulls his phone from his pocket.
“I’ll take Amy to mine,” I tell him. “She’s only home for the weekend, and her mum gets funny when she’s this intoxicated. It sets a poor example for her younger sisters.”
“You can’t stay when you have a baby, and with Sam’s work hours, he wouldn’t want to be disturbed.”
I stare at Ethan. For months I have witnessed him become a better person. “Where do you suggest?”
“Mine, of course. I live alone, and sleep hasn’t been my friend for months. It’s overrated.” He smiles, and it reminds me of the playful Ethan I knew back in high school.
“Is it why you’re at work at the crack of dawn?”
“Nothing else to do.”
The doors to the event center open, and we assist Amy outside. There’s a slight breeze in the cool night air. Music, cheering, and the familiar sound of revelry come from further along Hindley Street.
“An Uber is five minutes away.” He drops his phone into his trousers pocket.
“I can’t let you watch over Amy alone. God knows what will happen when she wakes. Frankly, she’ll probably assault you.”
Ethan chuckles. “Nothing I don’t deserve.”
“We all make mistakes.”
“Yet I don’t sleep, reliving the times I messed up my life.”
“Hey, you have a pretty good life now. A secure job and your own place to live. And—”
“Here it is.”
We help Amy into the car first.
“If you vomit, you pay,” the driver snaps.
“All good,” Ethan replies. “I’ll pay extra when we arrive because you’re a good sport.”
Amy is snoring by the time the Uber pulls up in the street behind Monte and not far from my home.Why didn’t I know this?
“When did you move here?”
“Three weeks before you moved out of Monte.”
“You didn’t mention it.”
He shrugs. “I had to move on with my life. And it’s personal and nothing to do with business. Who knew I’d love the beach as much as you?” An amused expression quirks up the side of his mouth. “And I can walk to work. Beats driving in peak-hour traffic.”
The streetlight shines bright enough to see Ethan has a relatively new gray-rendered brick townhouse on a small block of land yet close to the beach, which makes it prime real estate.
“This would have set you back,” I remark.
