CHAPTER THREE
Amelia
Harper and I are sorting her Halloween haul when the doorbell rings. I know immediately who it is. My best friend shows up more often than my own family, especially when she knows I’ve had a rough day.
Harper’s big blue eyes pop wide. “Ellery?” she asks, already bouncing in her seat. It sounds more like El-wee with her four-year-old pronunciation.
“I bet it is,” I say as I push back my chair and stand.
Harper slides out of her seat and races for the front door ahead of me.
Ellery looks so fresh and happy, standing on our front porch in one of her big-skirted dresses with pictures of books all over it. Her dark curls are pulled up into a springy ponytail, and she’s wearing earrings shaped like books.
“Hi, y’all,” Ellery says. “Do you have any candy for me?”
“Yes.” Harper grabs her hand and pulls her inside. “We have lots.”
Ellery works at the local library as the children’s librarian, and Harper loves Ellery’s weekly story times. They became friends before Ellery and I did.
“Momma,” Harper says as she wiggles into her seat at the kitchen table. Her little face is smeared with chocolate. “I want more candy.”
“Please?” I say.
“Please,” Ellery and Harper say at the same time.
“One more candy,” I say.
I grab a caramel from Harper’s pile because I know it’s Ellery’s favorite, and Harper hates caramel. I hand the candy to my friend. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Don’t thank me,” she says, her eyes twinkling. “I just want to hear the whole story. I don’t believe Shaleigh said you’re too mean to be promoted.”
“Momma, you’re not mean,” Harper says, intently watching Ellery as she removes the wrapper from her dessert.
Harper’s watching so intently that she’s not paying attention to her own candy, which is clutched tight in her palm.
“Looks like that chocolate’s starting to melt,” I say.
Harper shrugs and shoves it in her mouth, getting chocolate all over her hands and face.
“Harper’s going to need a bath,” I say to Ellery. “Want to wait to hear the whole story, or do you want me to call you later?”
“I’ll wait,” Ellery says.
“Ellery, read to me, please.” Harper slides out of her seat.
“Of course I will,” Ellery says.
“Just don’t read Peter Pan without me,” I say. I’ve been reading aloud to Harper since before she was born, and we’ve been reading big chapter books since she was about two. She can’t read at all, but her comprehension is well beyond her age, at least according to Ellery.
“You can listen,” Harper says, her tone and her expression taking on a familiar look of stubbornness. “Ellery does the voices best.”
Ellery winces as she looks over at me. “I’ll help you clean up the kitchen after.”
Listening to Ellery read to my daughter sounds like a lot more fun than cleaning alone. “Fine. But bath first.”
Harper cheers and races for the bathroom, tossing clothes as she goes.
I follow, picking up behind her. Harper’s singing to herself and dancing naked in the bathroom by the time I get there. I run the bath water and plait her curls into two braids, because her hair doesn’t need to be washed tonight. The tangles take less time and tears to work out than I’d expected.
Harper takes the fastest bath I think she’s ever taken in her life and runs naked to her bedroom after I dry her off.
“Get dressed and come back to brush your teeth,” I call after her.
“Not tonight.”
“Yes, tonight. We brush teeth every night. Especially after dessert.”
She flies back in, and I can tell she’s too hyped up to brush her teeth well. I grasp her shoulders and kneel to her level. “Take a slow, deep breath.”
“No,” she shouts. “We need to hurry.”
“No, we don’t. Ellery isn’t going anywhere. She’ll wait for you as long as it takes. Please take a deep breath with me so you can get your teeth sparkly clean.”
She rolls her eyes, something she only started doing last week. “Okay.” Together, we take three deep breaths, and I can see a tiny change in her almost immediately. She’s still excited, but she’s a bit calmer, and that’s enough to get her through brushing her teeth.
I’ll be forever grateful to Brittany Reynolds, owner of the preschool Harper attends and an expert on all things children, for her parenting class where I learned this trick.
I make Harper stay in the bathroom long enough to cap the toothpaste and put her toothbrush back where it belongs, but I clean the toothpaste out of the sink while she runs off to get Ellery.
Ellery is most likely curled up on my couch reading, but she won’t keep Harper waiting.
By the time I get to Harper’s room, Harper’s tucked up in bed, looking cozy.
Ellery sits on the bed next to Harper, and I take a seat on the beanbag chair my brother, Asher, got her for her fourth birthday. It’s surprisingly comfortable.
Ellery reads like a trained actor and does all the voices exactly right. The story is a fun one, and I’m in no danger of drifting off by the time she’s finished the chapter. Luckily, Harper’s lids are drooping as Ellery kisses her forehead and leaves.
I hug and kiss Harper. “Sleep tight, baby.”
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” she mumbles sleepily. I’m grateful to be blessed with a child who loves sleep as much as I do.
Ellery’s waiting for me in the living room, sitting on the edge of the couch. “Okay, spill,” she says.
So I do. I tell her all about Mrs. Simms, Aiden, and the scholarship program.
“You have to get that scholarship,” Ellery says.
“I don’t know.” The scholarship hasn’t been far from my mind since Shaleigh told me about it, but I just can’t wrap my brain around making it work. “The hours would be so long. I don’t want to miss out on spending time with Harper.”
“It wouldn’t be forever,” Ellery says. “And I’ll help with Harper.”
“You can’t commit to that. You don’t know what the future will hold for you. What if you finally get serious about someone?”
She waves a hand. “Why would I do that when I have so much fun being very unserious about several someones?” Her eyes go wide, and she sits up straight. “That’s it. You need to get unserious about someone.”
I laugh, and it feels really good. I don’t think I’ve laughed this heartily in days. Weeks maybe. “Like I have time for that.”
“You need to make time.” She crosses her legs under herself and gestures with her hands as she speaks.
She is such the perfect children’s librarian, so animated and energetic.
“Think about it. All you do is give to other people all day every day. You take care of Harper and your parents, and every animal you find. It makes sense that when you’re faced with a difficult human, your well of kindness and compassion is dry. You need to feed the well, Amelia.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” My eyes are damp from laughing so much.
Ellery blows out a breath, clearly annoyed. “I’m serious. You need some fun in your life. Some adult fun.”
“I don’t think that’s the answer, El. I’m just blunt and short of patience. I always have been.”
She rolls her eyes. “You aren’t with Harper. You aren’t with your parents. With them, you suppress it.”
I shake my head. “You’ve never seen me with my parents. Not for any length of time.”
“But I’ve heard you talk about them. I know they frustrate you, and I know how much of your limited patience you expend on them.
Your choice is to find a kind of release that doesn’t involve telling off citizens with animal problems or releasing your attitude on your own family. Which do you choose?”
I’m not a perfect mother or daughter. I don’t always manage not to be overly blunt or impatient with my family, but Ellery’s not wrong.
Around them, I do suppress the harsher parts of my personality.
“Maybe the citizens need a little bluntness. What am I supposed to say? Sure little Johnny, go ahead and pet rabid animals?”
Ellery laughs. “Right. That’s what I suggested.”
She leans back in her seat and just waits. Sometimes, she knows me too darn well.
I fold my hands under my chin and rest my elbows on my knees. “Let’s say you have a point. Where would I even find this unserious person to spend time with?”
"Online.” She’s practically bouncing in her seat. “That’s the perfect place to find someone for unserious fun.”
I rub a hand over my face. Why can’t being charming to everyone I meet just come naturally to me? “At this point, I guess I’m willing to try anything. What’s your favorite dating site?”
“Like I’m going to just tell you and expect you to get a decent profile set up. Hand over your phone and I’ll do all the legwork.”
I give her my phone and sink back into the couch, hoping I’m not making a huge mistake.