Chapter 5
Nicole
Ethan was home with me all day because of his cough. But Lila had to be picked up from her after-school science class at the town’s recreation center, so Ethan had to come with me.
After that, I got Dylan from the mall. He’d wanted to check out shoes with his friends.
Of course, the kids didn’t let me just get Dylan. Not when the mall had a candy store.
And, of course, they got their way. Three against one. I was a very young grandma, but a grandma after all; it was my job to spoil them. Each walked out with a bag of candy from the gummy bear bar.
Then we went back home, and I ordered pizza. Another pushover move, since I had planned to cook a veggie risotto. But they were so convincing, especially when they all fought for the same cause.
And, to top things off, they talked me into buying the new Minions movie even though I’d said no screen time today. Convincing Grandma of anything was their superpower.
But the house was a bit chaotic, so at least the movie gave me time to do laundry.
The kids sat on the couch, eating pizza for dinner and watching the movie.
I grabbed the laundry from upstairs and headed for the basement, peeking in on the kids on the way. Their eyes were glued to the screen. Even Dylan’s.
The basement was colder and darker than the rest of the house. I set the basket on the dryer and accidentally clipped a candle off the shelf. The thing shattered across the concrete floor.
“Damn it.”
I bent down and collected the glass pieces, careful not to cut myself. A large piece had somehow landed behind the dryer, glinting in the light. Then something else caught the light behind the dryer.
A vise squeezed my heart.
A glass bottle.
I stretched for it and pulled it out. It was a thin bottle of whiskey.
“I heard a noise.” Dylan’s voice came from behind me.
I turned, still holding the bottle. He noticed it before I could hide it.
“What’s the date on it?” he asked, unfazed.
It took me a second to catch up. “Oh. Umm. Let me see.” I squinted at the label. “The stamp says the bottle is ten years old.”
He nodded. “Then it’s an old one.”
I looked at Dylan in a mix of admiration and sadness.
Admiration for how mature he was. Standing there like that. Calm and composed. So mature.
Sadness because that bottle was a reminder of darker times.
When Brian’s parents died in their sleep from a carbon monoxide leak, it shattered the family. Brian fell into drinking, unable to cope with the loss.
It was Lacey, as always, who held everyone together and helped him through it.
“I’ll throw it away,” I said.
Dylan nodded again. “I better get back to Ethan and Lila.”
He turned and headed back upstairs. I followed on his heels and tossed the bottle into the kitchen trash just as the phone rang.
Brian.
As if he knew we’d just been talking about him.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey, it’s me. Did you talk to Lacey?”
I checked the clock on the kitchen wall: 7:01.
“Yes, she called me when she was finishing up her shift to check in on the kids. Is everything all right up there?”
“Yeah … just … just wanted to see how you guys are doing.”
His tone wasn’t alarming or overly sweet. Just neutral.
“We’re good. Let me get the kids on the phone—”
“No, no. I’ll talk to them later. Amanda … she needs my help with something.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Talk soon.”
“Okay. Bye.”
I hung up and glanced toward the living room. The kids were still glued to the screen. Then I armed myself with a broom and dustpan and headed back downstairs to finish cleaning up the glass.