“Garrison.” I brush the glass into a dustpan and instinctively check on Moffy by the fridge. He’s quietly awake in his bouncer beside Jane, both entranced by dangling mobiles. Hers: stars and planets, a solar system. His: lightning bolts and stuffed superheroes like Wolverine.
I smile as he focuses on the red Spider-Man. Even though my kid has the cards stacked against him with addicts as parents, I think he’s going to turn out all right.
“Do you think he planned to come tonight?” Lily asks me.
“No clue.” I dump the glass in the black trash bag and check my cell for missed calls. None. I’ve called Ryke about five times, and he texted back: I’ll call you in a second. It’s been an hour. I pick a green wrapped present off the ground, the box smashed.
I open it and inspect the damage.
The wooden picture frame is bent, a fissure running along the glass. I carefully slip out the photo that I framed for my brother. One of the few we really have that’s ours, not taken by paparazzi. From this summer, we’re sitting on the edge of the pool outside. Daisy called our names, and we turned our heads the same time she snapped the photo.
Even caught off guard, we look happy. It’s in our eyes, in our fleeting, rare smiles. We even look like brothers.
“Did you pick one out yet?” Rose’s voice cuts into my thoughts. I put the picture in a drawer and chuck the rest of the broken present.
“I like the dark gray leather since the cream suede gets dirty,” Lily says.
Rose hovers over her sister’s shoulder, peering at the laptop screen. “It’s ugly.”
“It’s a couch,” I tell her. “It’s not fine China.”
“It still has to match,” Rose retorts. “What’s your second choice, Lily?”
Lily bites her nails and shifts on the stool. My muscles tense as I walk around the bar counter, and I notice she has her heel pressed up against her crotch. At least she’s not in an ice cold tub, crying. In our fucked up world, she’s doing pretty good tonight, all things considered.
I can tell that this is our forever. Lily won’t ever be one-hundred percent. I won’t either. But these small bumps are easier than any brick walls we’ve faced.
“This one,” Lily says and squints at the screen. “…the beige tufted sofa.”
“Can we have it shipped tomorrow morning?” Rose asks and unsurprisingly slides the computer in front of herself, typing away as she discovers these details. We all wanted to piece back our house as much as possible for Daisy.
And Rose has been pouring her energy into these preparations since Daisy hasn’t returned her calls either.
Screw it.
I’m not waiting for another hour. I dial my brother’s number for the sixth time and press it against my ear. On nearly the last ring, the line clicks.
“Hey, I’m fucking sorry. I’ve just been…” He takes a deep breath like he’s expelling the night. “Are you okay? Is everyone—”
“We’re all fine.” The minute I say the words, Rose lets out a surprised gasp.
“You got ahold of them? Put it on speaker.”
I shoot her a look. “No please?”
“Loren,” she snaps.
I talk to Ryke in the receiver, “Queen Rose wants to be on speaker.”
“That’s fine,” he says.
I drop the phone and press the speaker button. Connor even slips into the kitchen, leaning a shoulder on the door frame. “Where are they?” he asks us.
Ryke must hear the statement because he answers, “We’re spending the night in a hotel downtown. We’ll be back in the morning.”
I nod at this. That’s good. We’ll have time to really fix this place up before Daisy returns.
“How is she?” Rose asks, her voice higher than normal. We all moved in together for Daisy, so that we’d offer her a better kind of security. It hits me all of a sudden.
We failed her. Our whole plan went to shit.
Story of my life.
You think you’ve figured it all out, the one gear in the cog that’ll solve your problems. And it only makes a mess of everything.
Life is a big shitty bag of trial and error. And the error always seems to come at someone’s expense.
“She’s still fucking rattled,” Ryke tells us. “I’ve calmed her down some…but I think she’ll be better in the morning.”
Lily practically whispers, “Is she going to move out?”
The weirdest feeling washes over me. It takes me a second to process it. Jesus. I don’t want Daisy to move out. Not alone. Not even with my brother. I like having everyone here. One house. Together.