3. RJ #2
“I’m sure that’s not true. What makes you think that?”
A shudder wracks his body as he slowly pushes up to sit, wrapping his arms around his legs, pulling them tight to his chest. The move pushes up his sleeve, revealing an insulin pump. Is that why he feels this way?
“Most restaurants cater to all diets, and diabetes is totally manageable, especially with a device like that.”
“That’s not why.” He doesn’t offer more, and I feel like an ass for putting my foot in my mouth.
I’m about to get up and give him some privacy when he speaks.
“I’m allergic to eggs too. Like bad allergic, Mom-has-EpiPens kind of allergic.
And one time we went to a restaurant and the lady said there was no egg in my food, but she didn’t know that the noodles were made with eggs.
My throat swelled up and I couldn’t breathe.
Mom said I could’ve died, and she never wanted to go out to eat again. And it’s all my fault.”
Well, fuck. My heart breaks for the kid.
“Hey, I’m one hundred percent certain that wasn’t your fault.
And I also know that your mom loves you and was probably terrified.
I’d be terrified. She probably doesn’t want to go out to eat because she’s scared it’ll happen again, and she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to you. ”
“Yeah. But sometimes I want to be normal and go out to eat like my friends.”
“I get that. I’m sure you’ll get to again one day. It may take some time for your mom to not be scared.”
“Yeah.”
We sit there in silence for several minutes.
I’m not sure what else to say to the kid, and I can’t imagine having to deal with that on my own as a parent.
Jessica and I have been divorced since Sophie was a toddler.
Even though it was amicable and we stayed friends, we split custody, so I’ve never really felt like a true single parent.
We’d moved to upstate New York for her job, and after the divorce, I thought about moving back to Chestnut Mountain, but I didn’t want to lose time with Sophie or have her travel that much in order to keep sharing custody.
So I stayed in town, got my own place, and focused on my career when I wasn’t spending time with my daughter.
Jessica got remarried when Sophie was six, and the three of us have been coparenting successfully ever since.
Tim is a great guy, a wonderful stepdad, and the two of us have become good friends on our own.
When his job transferred him to the Denver office and they told me they planned to move to Colorado, I was thrilled.
I’d been wanting to be closer to my sister after her husband died a couple years ago, and Chestnut Mountain isn’t far from Denver.
I’d been hopping from job to job anyway: managing a sporting goods store, working in a hotel, serving as a park ranger for a short stint before funding was cut.
Nothing ever really felt satisfying. But shortly after I moved back, I saw that the Chestnut Mountain Fire Department was looking for new recruits, so I signed up.
I’ve always been athletic, and I’m great at rock climbing, so it came naturally.
Being the oldest rookie is tiring at times, but they’re a good crew.
For the first time in my life, it feels like I’ve found a place that fits. The only other time I’ve felt this way was my weeklong fling with Summer. I knew then that she was it for me.
Logan sniffles next to me, wiping the tears from his face, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Maybe I can talk your mom into getting something delivered. If so—no promises—what would you want to eat?”
His eyes go wide as a grin spreads across his face. Pride surges through me that I did that. “Pizza! With pepperonis.”
“That should be easy. I don’t think there are eggs in pizza.”
“There is if they make it gluten-free and use egg whites.”
“Well, sonofab?—”
“Swears.” Logan frowns.
“Sorry. I promise, I’ll work on that.” I had no clue Summer was such a stickler about cursing. She never used to care when we were younger. “Does Summer—I mean, your mom—get mad when people curse?”
“No, that’s my rule.”
I cock my head, waiting for him to tell me more. “My dad used to swear at my mom a lot. He would yell when he thought I was asleep, and he called her bad names.”
A heavy breath escapes my nostrils as I bite my lips from sharing how I feel about his admission. Why didn’t Raven tell me about this? Did she know? They’re best friends—surely Summer would have confided in my sister when her husband was being a dick.
Once I have my anger under control, I speak. “Thank you for telling me that. I’ll do my best not to swear around your mom.”
He nods. “I almost have enough for her library.”
“Library?”
“Yeah, she likes to read, like me. But she says I’m not allowed to read her books.
And she has so many, but they’re all boxed up in her bedroom.
She calls them her babies. And she always talks about having a library one day with a rolly ladder.
She says she can’t get one because we would play with it and break it.
But I would make sure that doesn’t happen.
She showed me the bookshelves she wants, and I almost have enough in my Venmo swear account to buy it for her.
Well, shit. I need to step up my game if this is how her kid treats her. “Don’t worry, kid, we can definitely make that happen for your mom.”