“They’re fine? Are you sure?”
“Ethan seemed pretty steady, but I told him to call the police.” He tapped at his phone to activate the phone finder. “They’re on Canfield Road. I told him we were on our way.”
“We don’t have cars,” Carli said, her voice rising with tension. “How are we supposed to reach them?”
A vision of the collection of drunken Monroe Circle neighbors piling into the party bus to go rescue the children nearly made him laugh, but that was more from the stress than from humor.
“I guess we call an Uber,” he said. “You grab our coats from the bus. I’ll get us a ride.”
The ten minutes while waiting for the car had been the longest of Ben’s life, and now he and Carli were in the back seat speeding along toward Ethan and Mia. Carli had taken her phone out of her purse to discover three missed calls from Mia.
“She tried to get ahold of me, and I didn’t answer,” Carli said. He could hear the guilt in her voice where there should be none. She quickly dialed, and Ben could hear both sides of the conversation.
“Mom?”
“Honey, are you okay? What happened?”
Mia’s voice warbled with distress. “I’m fine. Just scared. I swear I was watching the road, but that deer came from out of nowhere. I’m so sorry.”
“I know, honey. You don’t need to apologize. It was an accident, and deer do that sometimes. All that matters is that you and Ethan aren’t hurt.”
“We’re not hurt, except for a couple little cuts from the glass flying all over, but Dad’s going to be super mad about the car. The front hood is all crunched up and the windshield is shattered, and the deer . . .” Ben heard Mia burst into tears and felt Carli trembling next to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. And she let him. She talked to Mia for another few minutes, uttering words of reassurance that he knew she didn’t feel, and then she ended the call so her daughter could preserve her phone battery.
“I think . . . I might be having a panic attack,” Carli said quietly, breathing erratically next to him.
Ben pulled her closer still. “This will be fine. I promise, this will be fine.”
“How can you promise that?” she asked.
“Because the police are on their way, and both kids are coherent and capable of talking on the phone. And we’ll be there in”—he glanced at the app on his phone—“thirteen minutes.”
“I make my kids keep blankets in the car, even during the summer. And twenty dollars in cash and a first aid kit. And jumper cables. I try to keep them safe, but then this happens.”
Her voice broke, and Ben started to feel as much worry for her as for the kids. She was trembling, and whether that was from the cold or her agitation, an overwhelming sense of protectiveness engulfed him. He wanted to fix this, somehow.
“I’m sure I’m overreacting,” she said, as if to convince herself.
“I’m certain that they’ll be okay, but I think you’re entitled to some overreacting. Do you want to talk, or would you rather be quiet? I could tell you a story about the time my brothers and I challenged each other to a unicycle race.”
She let out a chuff of laughter and dashed a tear away from her eye. “I think I’d like to hear about that.”
For the next ten minutes, Ben managed to completely fabricate a story about him and his brothers getting unicycles for Christmas and having a race that ended with Terrance getting a black eye and Bill breaking his wrist. None of it was true, but the more elaborate the story became, the more he felt Carli relaxing in his arms, and the more his need to engulf her in security grew. Someday he’d tell her how he made it all up, but for tonight, it seemed a suitable distraction.
Flashing lights from the police cruiser let them know they’d arrived, and Carli was out of the car and halfway to Mia before he even had his door open.
“This is the strangest place I’ve ever dropped anybody off,” the driver said. “Do you want me to stick around in case you folks need a ride back home? I don’t think that minivan is going anyplace without a tow truck.”
“Would you?” Ben asked. “That would be so great.”
The driver nodded. “No problem. Got kids myself.”
“Thanks,” Ben said. He exited the car and walked across the street, shattered glass crunching under his feet. It was dark and windy with a few meager streetlights illuminating the area, along with the flashers, making everything appear as surreal as it felt. The hood of the minivan was crumpled like an accordion, the windshield gone except for shards around the edges. A shiver ran through Ben as he acknowledged how lucky they were to have been wearing their seat belts, and as he spotted Ethan, relief poured over him like a hot shower. He realized then he’d been all but holding his breath since the moment they’d gotten off the phone.
“Hey, Dad,” Ethan said casually, but then he hugged him tightly, dipping his head down to Ben’s shoulders. Damn, the kid was tall. And he was fine. Everybody was fine. Except for the deer. That poor thing was done for.
Mia stood next to the police car, wrapped in a fleece blanket and Carli’s arms, while two officers were inspecting the minivan with flashlights. A light drizzle had started to fall, mixed with minuscule snowflakes.
“You hanging in there?” he asked a sniffling Mia. She nodded.
“You hanging in there, too?” he asked Carli, who gave him a weak smile and a tiny nod of her head. If he’d had another blanket, he might’ve wrapped her up in it, but there wasn’t one, and for the moment, the kids were the top priority. He talked to the police and confirmed that the car was going nowhere without some roadside assistance. They all gave their names, and both Mia and Ethan explained their version of events, which was basically the same as they’d told Ben and Carli. A policeman with a bushy mustache and wire-rimmed glasses took some notes on a small pad of paper, took Mia’s license, and then got back into his car while the other officer shined a flashlight at the carcass of Bambi’s mother.
“You folks like venison?” he asked, his tone light, and Mia burst into tears once more.
“No, I don’t like venison. I’m a vegan,” she wailed. Carli looked toward Ben, and he was relieved to see a tiny, indulgent smile at the corner of her mouth as she rubbed her hands up and down Mia’s back.
Chapter 27
The ride home in the Uber was mostly silent, with Mia tucked in between Ben and Carli in the back seat and her head on Carli’s shoulder, and tall, lanky Ethan in the front. It was raining in earnest now, the sound of it drumming upon the roof of the car, and Carli was grateful that it had held off until they were on their way home. The only thing that might have made the last half an hour more miserable would’ve been an icy-cold rain. She was grateful for Ben, too. He’d talked to the police and dealt with getting a tow truck arranged. He’d helped her get Mia’s belongings from the demolished minivan and load them into the trunk of the Uber, and he’d reassured Mia that there was nothing she could’ve done differently to have avoided hitting the deer. Ethan backed him up on that.
“You were just doing your thing, Mia,” Ethan had said. “One minute the road was clear and the next minute, bam, there he was. Like a Patronus.”
“If he was a Patronus, I could’ve driven right through him,” she’d responded, but his words had seemed to soothe the remorse she felt over her involuntary deer-slaughter. His Harry Potter reference even made her smile, and Carli had smiled, too, at the unlikely friendship blossoming between them. At one point she might’ve thought there was more to it—something romantic—except she’d overheard them the other day, talking about a different boy and a different girl, and vowing to help each other get with them. So they were allies as much as friends. Either way, Ethan brought out something in Mia that Carli liked to see. A buoyancy that had been missing since Steve left.
Oh damn. Steve. She needed to let him know what was happening. He had a right to know, of course, but involving him always made the simplest of things more complicated. She hadn�
��t realized until he was gone just how much energy she expended trying to manage his expectations and his reactions to things. Maybe she’d call him tomorrow, once the drama had settled. Then again, if the situation were reversed, she’d want to know immediately. She opted to send a quick text.
Everything is handled but Mia hit a deer. She’s fine. The van not so much. I’ll call you tomorrow.
After a short ride, the Uber dropped them off in Carli’s driveway, and the kids went inside their respective houses while Carli stood outside, waiting as Ben quietly insisted that the driver accept some money.
“I told you. I’ve got kids of my own, so this ride was just a favor, parent to parent,” the guy said.
“Well, if you’ve got kids, then I know how much you can use this cash. Thanks for helping us out tonight,” Ben said.
In the end, the driver relented, accepting graciously. “Okay, then. I’ll give this to the wife. I’m sure she’ll have it spent before it even touches her hand. You folks enjoy the rest of your night. What’s left of it, anyway.” He put the car in reverse, and they watched him back out and drive away, his red taillights glowing like cinders in the darkness.
Then Ben turned to look at her, and she looked up at him, her heart tumbling around inside her rib cage, spurred on by adrenaline and too many emotions to categorize.
“Well,” he said after a moment. “That was quite a night.”
“Yes. It certainly was. Thanks for your help with everything,” she answered. “Not sure I could’ve managed without you.”
The rain had changed back to a light snow, and the streetlamps in their neighborhood were far brighter than those near the accident, so she could see him clearly, although she couldn’t quite make out the expression on his face.
“I’m sure you would’ve managed just fine. I didn’t do much.” He shrugged.
“Of course you did. You called the tow truck and got the Uber and talked to the police. And kept me from losing my mind during the drive. That was a big one.” She let out a nervous chuckle and was suddenly overcome with fatigue and the need to sit down for a nice long cry, which turned that chuckle into a bit of a catch in her throat. Ben stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. And how she needed that—his solidness, his warmth, his support. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her cheek was pressed against the damp wool of his jacket, and she wondered, if she looked up at him, would he kiss her? She wanted him to. And she kind of thought he wanted to kiss her, too. But then her phone growled like Chewbacca, her ringtone for Steve.
“Shit,” she muttered against Ben’s lapel. “I texted Steve about the accident. I told him I’d call tomorrow, but I should probably talk to him now.”
“Hm,” Ben said, not moving his arms. She stayed where she was for another fifteen seconds, the best fifteen seconds she’d had in a very long time, then she reluctantly stepped back.
“I suppose you should call him,” he said. “I’m sure he’s worried.”
“Fifty bucks says the first thing he’ll ask about is the car.”
“I think I’ll pass on that bet, but let’s hope you’re wrong.”
“Yeah, let’s hope.” Her phone started to roar again, and she pulled it from her purse. “Really have to take this call. Good night, Ben. And thanks again.”
“Good night, Carli.” He turned and walked slowly toward his house.
Well, that was disappointing. The whole night had been a clusterfuck, in fact. First, she’d avoided him at the first two bars, although why, he had no idea. And when he finally did corner her, Ethan had called. The accident was no one’s fault, of course, and that would’ve been enough to derail any evening, but Steve calling just now? That was just plain bad luck. Ben had been enjoying the hug. He’d wanted it to last longer, and truth be told, some kissing would’ve been nice.
Three more dates over the past two weeks had proven to Ben that there wasn’t much point in trying to purge Carli from his system. The only way to deal with his infatuation with her was to face it head-on and see if it developed into something more. That would require some participation from her, of course, or at least a very firm rejection. But life had gotten busy for the both of them, and even though they lived next door to each other, she seemed more elusive than ever. She’d been doing lots of on-location segments lately. He knew that because he watched her show every morning, and because he saw her car coming and going at all hours.
Next week, he’d be back to work at Chase Industries as the new vice president of green technologies. Along with today’s divorce settlement, he’d also made all the final arrangements to sell his shares of his company to Doug. It was a momentous step, and Ben had thought he’d feel a crushing sense of failure or disappointment when he signed all those legal documents—ending his marriage, relinquishing his company ownership, and effectively ending his relationships with both Sophia and Doug—but oddly enough, he hadn’t felt anything at all. Not doom or sadness or regret. Not joy or relief, either. Just a mild sense of . . . freedom, like waking up on a Sunday morning with literally nothing to do and wondering how you might best fill your day. Not that he could ever remember a Sunday like that, but he could imagine.
“Well, that sucked,” Ethan said as Ben walked into the kitchen. He was standing next to the refrigerator, drinking orange juice from the container, which he wasn’t supposed to do. But given the events of the evening, Ben would let it go.
“Yes, it did.” Ben was pretty sure they were thinking about two different things. “I’m just glad it wasn’t worse. I’m proud of you for handling it so well.” He took off his coat and hung it on a chair.
Ethan shrugged. “Thanks. I thought we did okay, but Mia was freaking out about what her dad was going to say, so thanks for not being that guy.”
Ben had heard enough stories about Steve to be very glad he wasn’t that guy, and he wondered how Carli was faring with him on the phone right now. That pesky need to protect her engulfed him once more, and he wondered where it came from. He’d never really felt that with Sophia, but for Carli? Well, he did, and it was ironic, because Carli could handle most stuff by herself. Except for maybe when she lost her keys.
Chapter 28
“Nolan Hart? Are you serious?” Tess’s elation was palpable, convincing Carli that, although the pile of gifts under the tree didn’t have quite the bulk that her kids were used to, she’d still managed to pull off a pretty good Christmas. The house was decorated from the rugs to the rafters, including a hefty-size tree that she and the girls had managed to put up themselves. There were gingerbread men and presents and carols playing softly in the background. And for the concert tickets, their one big present, she’d done the whole gift-wrapped box inside another gift-wrapped box in order to make this one take longer to open, and from the reaction she was getting, the suspense was worth the end result.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get us seats closer to the stage,” Carli said. “There weren’t many tickets to begin with, and the resale ones for the decent seats are crazy expensive.”
“These are awesome, Mom,” Tess said immediately, hopping up from her spot next to the tree and giving her a rib-crushing hug, her eyes bright with excitement, her cheeks flushed. “These seats are perfect. Just being at the concert at all is going to be amazing, and I know how hard tickets are to get. Most of his shows sell out in like five minutes.”
Mia’s smile was equally bright. “The only thing I’m bummed about is that it’s not until January. I wish it was tomorrow.”
“Oh my gosh! Me too!” Tess said. “What are we going to wear?”
Carli laughed and said, “If you open up the rest of the packages, maybe you’ll find something.”
“Maybe you should look under the tree, Mom,” Mia said. “There are a couple things for you, too.”
“For me?” She’d secretly wanted some presents, because honestly, who didn’t? But she hadn’t expected anything, because the kids had always gone shopping with their dad to get her something
. But he’d been too busy to take them this year, and then he’d left for vacation in frickin’ Aruba with that stick figure of a girlfriend. Whoops. So much for Christmas spirit!
Tess handed her a gift bag with a big red bow stuck to the side. “Open this one. It’s from me, and it’s something we can share.”
Carli chuckled, because only a teenage girl would give you something that she wanted half of and consider it a present. Inside the bag was a set of key chains shaped like llamas. One said MOMMA LLAMA on the side—the other said DRAMA LLAMA.
“Guess which one is for me and which one is for you?” Tess asked with a giggle.
“I think either would suit me, but I guess I’ll use the Momma Llama one. Thank you, honey.” She leaned over and kissed Tess’s cheek.
“I got us something to share, too,” Mia said, handing her another bag. This one was silver with gold ribbons that Mia had taken the time to twist into intricate loops. “And it’s a two-part present. Open it and then I’ll tell you what it’s for.” Mia sat down on the arm of Carli’s chair.
Carli untwisted the ribbons to open the bag and found two burgundy-colored, leather-bound journals along with some stickers and a handful of markers.
“Journals,” Carli said with a smile. “They’re beautiful. And pretty self-explanatory. I think I can figure out how to use them.”
“These aren’t just any journals, though. I read this article about a mom and a daughter who each had a journal,” Mia said. “And they’d each write stuff in one, and then they’d swap and write in the other one. Kind of like a conversation but not exactly, and I was thinking that, you know, since I’ll be going away to school next year, maybe we could use the journals to keep in touch. I mean, when we can’t just talk on the phone, of course.”
Carli felt her eyes well up at the thoughtfulness of the gift. “Oh, I love this idea!”
“Do you? Oh, I’m so glad. This mom and daughter that I read about, they did this for, like, decades. The daughter, like, lived in Paris or something, and so they’d have to mail it back and forth, and the mom said she’d read it whenever she was missing her.”
The New Normal Page 22