Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
A Thank You from The Trappist Monks of St. Francis:
I left you a little surprise in the refrigerator.
Perking up, I opened the fridge. On the shelf was a small baking pan covered in foil. There was another note attached to the top.
A Thank You from The Trappist Monks of St. Francis:
I made your new favorite this afternoon, pumpkin bread! Don’t knock it till you try it, Mathers.
A smile spread across my face as I peeled back the foil, grabbed a fork, and took a bite.
It was surprisingly good—not too sweet, very moist, and she’d even added chocolate chips. Lately I was starting to like a lot of things I’d never anticipated I would.
After a few mouthfuls, I put the pumpkin bread back into the refrigerator and joined Scottie in the living room, where he was still playing on his iPad.
“It’s just you and me tonight, dude.”
He grabbed me by the hair, pulling me toward him to take a good whiff as a montage of commercials from the eighties played on his device. That was another one of his things: vintage jingles.
“You know, I think you might have the right idea. Living this simple life—no women, no complications. Just good chicken, music, and sleep. Repeat.” I slapped him playfully on the knee. “Not a bad life, dude.”
He looked me in the eyes for a few seconds. That was always rare. Like a gift, really—not only because those looks were few and far between, but because through his familiar eyes, I got to visit with Brad again. For a quick moment in time, my best friend would come alive through Scottie.
“God, you look so much like Brad. Maybe that’s him coming through to remind me exactly why I shouldn’t care about what Carly is doing right now.”
As Scottie turned his attention back to his jingles, I continued to talk to him.
“I wonder how much you can understand sometimes. Something tells me it’s a hell of a lot more than we think. There’s so much I should probably explain to you about life, but maybe it’s better if you don’t know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, too.” I stared up at the ceiling. “I’ll give you an example. I wish I didn’t know Carly was on a date with Neil right now. Not knowing that would be freaking fabulous.”
Scottie and I had a grand old time that evening. Focusing all of my attention on him was a great distraction. Rather than just going through the motions like I typically did, I took time to study him, enjoying each moment, and trying to engage with his sometimes bizarre nuances as best I could.
We had dinner together, took our shower, and I even let him hold the blow dryer over my hair, which he seemed to get a huge kick out of. Everything was going awesome until I got the bright idea to pump up my air mattress before Scottie had gone to bed. Normally I did it after he was asleep, but I decided to risk it. Then I went to use the bathroom only to come back and find the bed deflated. Scottie must have thought it was a giant balloon and had popped a big hole in it.
Great. I could probably figure out a way to patch it, but right now I didn’t have the materials. I’d be sleeping on the hard-ass couch again tonight.
I shook my head. “I can’t even get mad at you, Scottie, because it’s my own damn fault.”
He rocked back and forth on the couch.
Scottie usually hit the sack around 10 PM, so when the clock struck ten, I situated him in his bed with all of his devices. Then I hung out with him there for a bit.
After he started to doze off, I left him alone and shut his door. My plan was to break out that container of pistachio ice cream. Maybe pile it atop some pumpkin bread.
Just as I headed for the freezer, though, I heard the front door open.
CHAPTER 15
* * *
CARLY
“WHY ARE YOU back so soon?” Josh asked.
“It’s not that early. I’ve been gone a few hours.”
“I know. I just thought you’d be out longer.”
I threw my purse onto an end table. “How did tonight go?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
Taking off my coat, I said, “Tell me how Scottie was first.”
“Well, we had a blast. He’s already out like a light, but not before ripping a hole in my air mattress.”
Looking over at the corner of the room, I noticed the lifeless rubber laying on the floor. “Oh no! How did that happen?”
“Fuck if I know. That’s what I get for trying to be efficient. I blew it up early, then left the room and came back to it all deflated. Never found the weapon.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.” I covered my mouth. “I shouldn’t laugh, but it’s kind of funny.”