If It Makes You Happy(15)

“My mother was a very giving person,” Michelle says. It might be a sentence that’s usually paired with a wistful smile, an echo of a delightful memory from childhood. But she only gives the slightest twitch in the corner of her mouth. Not terrible, but tainted by something.

“I believe that,” I agree skeptically.

Carol sighs. “She loved this town.”

“Birdie won the costume contest last year,” Brittany blurts out.

“Oh yeah!” Emily says. “She dressed as Freddy Krueger. It was so rad.”

“Have you met Lisa and George yet?” I interject.

Michelle shakes her head. “Who are Lisa and George?”

“Good friends of your parents,” I say. “And nuisances.”

“George and Cliff fight like cats and dogs,” Carol pseudo-whispers to Michelle with a grin.

“Maybe if he didn’t demand fresh-baked goods in the afternoon, I wouldn’t have to,” I announce—not as much of a whisper.

From below, I hear a dog’s inhale, followed by slobbery teeth gnashing. I pull up the floral tablecloth and balk at my daughter feeding the border collie pieces of her sandwich. He licks the remainder from her fingertips.

“Britt, don’t feed the dog.”

Michelle’s cheeks flush a deep red as she shifts her head under the table too.

“Rocket!” she hisses. “Be polite.”

The dog, once again, does not pay his owner any mind. Michelle tongues her cheek. Our eyes snap together underneath the table.

“He likes to ignore me,” she says.

Carol sputters out a laugh.

“Sorry,” Carol says. “The dog having a personality—that was a little funny.”

Suddenly, the phone rings from the kitchen. Every person stiffens, including me. Michelle’s eyes swivel over all of us.

“We don’t answer the phone during dinner,” I explain.

“But it might be Josh,” Emily pleads.

It might be Tracy, finally calling for her weekly check-in with her daughters.

I force a smile. “Can’t wait to hear what he has to say, then. Think it’s about savings?”

“You’re so mean.”

“And you’re so laughing.”

Emily harrumphs, but my ears catch each subsequent ring.

I want to answer the phone, but I’d be a hypocrite if I stood up now. She could leave a message, but would she pick up if I called back?

Another ring.

And finally a click, followed by my own muffled voice.

“You’ve reached Cliff, Emily, and Brittany,” Answering Machine Me says. “Leave your name and number after the beep, and we’ll call you back.” Then a three-person chorus of me, Emily, and Brittany yells, “Bye-ee!”

There’s a beep. An inhale of breath from all of us.

“Uh, hey. This is Josh.”

Exhales around the table.

“Calling for Emily. Um …” Emily shifts in her chair eagerly as Josh slowly continues, “Yeah. I’ll call back later, I guess.”

I decided weeks ago that Josh was undeniably a fig roll. Dry and boring.

He hangs up on his end, and I give her a side-eye.

“He seems nice,” Carol says.

Emily bites her bottom lip. “Can I be excused? Please?”

I’m not in the mood to argue, so I nod.

“But, hey, no more than one hour on the phone. And if you hear call-waiting, switch over!”

Emily is already out of her chair, swinging through the kitchen door with her dishes before I can finish.

I grimace at Michelle. “Anyway—”

“I should get going too,” she says. “Thank you for dinner. It was great.”

It wasn’t. Emily’s soup was atrocious, but Carol and I smile at her politeness anyway.

I scoot my chair out from the table. “I’ll walk you out.”

We walk through the kitchen, passing Emily with the kitchen phone pressed to her ear. I squeak open the screen door, allowing Michelle and her dog to pass in front of me. The amber scent of her hair catches me once more.

I lean against the doorway. “Thanks for putting up with us. And I’m sorry. We really loved your mother.”

“I appreciate that,” she says, and I believe her.

“Y’know, I promised Birdie I’d help you. Well, Sara, but also you.”

She raises an eyebrow.

I can’t help but chuckle. “What?”

“I should be fine,” she says, looking away. “But thank you. I just need to get by until December.”

Interesting.

Her aversion to this town reminds me of my ex. The people, the trees, even the leaves—she assumed the whole town, including nature, was conspiring against her.

“Copper Run isn’t so bad,” I say, tilting my head to the side. “Did Birdie leave you any instructions?”

“I found a binder, but I haven’t read it yet. I was hoping to review it tonight, but—”

I lean back, clicking my tongue. “Ah. My fault again.”

“It’s fine.”

She continues to not make eye contact, and my eyes rove over her of their own accord. Somehow, her being annoyed with me only makes her prettier. Flushed cheeks serve her well.