Chapter 15 #3
She wanted so much to be like that and not like Brandon. Brandon, whose letter said he’d spend the rest of his life being sorry for what he’d done. As if that helped.
“My mom has been sad for a long time, too,” Ally kept her voice low as footsteps came down the hall toward them. “I just hope whatever surprise this is, it makes things better and not worse.”
The delivery guys appeared with two huge, long, flat boxes and started cracking them open with a crowbar.
While Ally asked them questions they wouldn’t answer, Sarah noticed Mrs. Finley dart past the door every now and then.
She thought about going out there to keep her company—or offer to make mac and cheese for everyone—but her phone buzzed with a text.
Can I see you tomorrow?
Lucas.
She’d been thinking about him since they’d kissed in the woods during the tailgate party. She’d had to beg him not to come out and introduce himself to her father. She just wasn’t ready for that complication yet. But she could tell he’d been frustrated with her.
“Ally.” She showed her the message while the construction crew went to work hammering boards together for a large frame. “Are you going to Lucky’s tomorrow?”
“If the weather is nice, for sure.” Ally watched the guys work. “I’ll bet half my class will be there.”
Lucky’s? she texted back.
Her phone buzzed again a few seconds later.
How about some place quieter?
She didn’t show that one to Ally. She still hadn’t asked him about the rumors of his bad reputation, so she didn’t know how serious they were. How smart would it be to meet him somewhere private when she didn’t know that much about him?
Funny, she could practically hear Mathilda’s voice in her head telling her it was a bad idea.
I kinda like the idea of a reunion under the slide.
She hit Send, hoping he’d be okay with that. She felt guilty for the mixed messages. She’d been trying to forget about the letter from jail last night, and she’d gladly indulged in kissing and a little more than that to put everything else out of her head.
No doubt about it, she regretted misleading him since she was thinking they’d better put the brakes on the physical side of things until they knew more about each other.
Ok. But we need to talk.
She stared at his message while Ally texted her friends about the surprise construction crew in the basement.
Sarah didn’t want to be rude, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to stay the whole time they put the mystery furniture—or whatever it was—together.
Besides, Lucas’s message made her a little uneasy.
She needed time on her own to process it.
Would he give her a hard time about not introducing him to her father? She hadn’t had a real boyfriend in two years. She’d had fast, hot hookups that had been sorta physical while maintaining her virginity. She liked Lucas too much for that kind of thing.
And in the past week and a half, she felt she’d outgrown it.
She was eighteen now. She’d admitted the truth to her dad about the college application fiasco.
She’d told him about the letter. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was in the driver’s seat for her future.
She wanted to do better than she had in the past. Then again, so did Lucas. Maybe they could reform together.
Finally, she typed, Me, too.
“Oh my God. Sarah, are you looking at this?” Ally grabbed her arm.
Pocketing her phone, she looked at the project taking shape in the game room.
“He bought chalkboards?” She stared at the six-foot high trifold panels that looked like something a professional sports team would use in the locker room to draw up plays.
“The backs are filled with writing,” Ally whispered excitedly. “I peeked.”
“I don’t get it.” She watched one of the other guys fill a new bookcase with brand-new hardcover titles. “Fifty Most Romantic Dates,” she read aloud. “Best Weekend Trips: Southeast U.S. What is all this stuff?”
“It’s his plan.” Mrs. Finley stood in the doorway, her hands covering her mouth as she stared at the strange assortment of things her husband had ordered for the room.
Sarah had thought she’d seen tears in the older woman’s eyes earlier in the day at Last Chance Vintage, but now there was no doubt. Rivulets streamed down both cheeks.
She hurried over to stand on her one side while Ally stood on her other.
“It’s okay Mom, right?” Ally asked, brushing aside a strand of hair from her mom’s face. “This is a good thing, isn’t it?”
Mrs. Finley nodded, a sort of hysterical laugh breaking through the tears.
“I told your father he had no plan to save our marriage. That we’d never figure it out if we didn’t do something different.”
The delivery guys seemed to become aware of the developing drama and the oldest—the gray-haired man who’d told Ally it might be better to surprise her—quickly flipped over one of the chalkboards.
The other two men did the same, until the room was crammed full of words.
“Take date nights. See reference shelf one.” Ally read the first board and hugged Mrs. Finley. “There are footnotes, Mom.”
Mrs. Finley laughed harder. And cried more.
Sarah felt a little like she didn’t belong in their private moment. But hey, no one told her to leave, and it was sort of awesome soaking in the happiness of a special day. A happy mom.
Actually, maybe it hurt a little inside, too. Ached some and felt good.
What pained her most wasn’t missing her mom. It hurt more to think about her dad not having moments like this. She moved away from Ally and her mom to look out the window of the games room, back toward Erin’s house.
Through the rain, she could see lights were on. Downstairs…and up.
Was her father still there?
She hoped Heartache would be good luck for him and bring him happiness. She wished it with all her might.