Chapter 03
I received an email from Sadie’s Snapshots the following morning during carpool. At first, I ignored the email as it came through, taking the time to tease Kendall about his new friends before picking up two of his teammates for morning practice.
It was a bit hard for me to believe a bunch of middle schoolers functioned well through the day arriving an hour earlier to school than normal twice a week, but Kendall had no problem being out the door by six to pick up his friends. Until then, I’d keep my mouth shut and support his colorguard journey the best I knew how.
“I’ll pick you up at the Rouses’ after school, okay?“
I pointed down the street away from the carpool lane.
Kendall yanked his flagpole out from between the side of the door and the seats. The frigid fall winds burned his pale cheeks red as he leaned into the passenger seat to grab his book bag.
“I know. I know.“
He shuffled the straps over his shoulders. “Don’t be too early.”
“I want to go home too, bub.“
I chuckled. “I’ll see you at three-thirty, alright?”
He huffed, but made no sly comment, bobbing his head.
“Three-thirty.”
“Thank you.“
I waved to his friends as they hovered nearby. “Have a good day!”
Kendall forcefully shut the car door. If the cold hadn’t burned the tips of his ears pink, I would have thought he was rushing into the school to hide from my embarrassment.
I pulled from the mostly vacant carpool lane and glanced at my phone in the cupholder. A message from Hayley, checking in on Kendall’s birthday plans, lit up my device.
The email from Sadie sat under the two messages from my sister-in-law. The Hey, Eloise! barely visible in the smaller print previewing the message.
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel as I pulled up to the intersection. The light sat on red as the Lake Charles morning traffic flooded by, far too long for my liking.
The phone buzzed again.
Kathryn’s contact popped up. Hayley must have messaged in the group chat. It wasn’t enough to push the notification from Sadie down far enough. SADIE’S SNAPSHOT sat in bold letters, staring up at me.
I jostled in my seat as a loud car horn blared behind me. The light had turned green.
Without a wasting a second, I pressed on the gas and tossed my phone face down into the passenger’s seat.