Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,11

of day.”

“The rest of the day,” she said.

“The rest of the day,” he repeated, copying her inflection as well as the words themselves.

“Now, we can’t know where the conversation will go,” she said, “but it’s safest for you to talk about hockey and the team. What’s your position?”

“I play left wing.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I play offense and spend most of my time on the left side of the ice.”

“That’s so exciting!” She lightly clapped her hands, the way a child might, and they both laughed.

“This was okay?” he asked. “It was long words.”

“Long sentence, but yes, you said it perfectly.”

“Finally.”

“We’re going to practice this conversation and a few basic answers over and over on the phone while you’re gone. But you’re also going to read to me.” She pulled a couple of books out of her bag. “These are a little advanced for kindergarten, but I think they’re perfect for you.”

He took them and slowly opened the first one. “This is for children. What is this… Dr. Use?”

“Dr. Seuss,” she said, enunciating slowly.

“Green Eggs and Ham? What is this food?”

She laughed. “You can read to me on the phone. You’ll see.”

He frowned as if doubtful. “This is good?”

“It’s how you’re going to learn the nuances of the language. Trust me, Miikka. I know what I’m doing.”

He nodded. “Yes. Okay.”

“Now, let’s practice our conversation one more time before we call it a night.”

6

They met once more before Miikka left on his road trip, and Charli had to admit she was a little sad she wouldn’t see him again for a week. He’d promised her a ticket for the game next Saturday, though, so that was something to look forward to. In the meantime, she had a long, boring weekend in front of her. Fortunately, she had projects to do in the house.

She’d been enjoying renovating the master bathroom and she was ready to paint it now. Everything was taking forever since she was doing most of the work herself, but the dingy pink tile from the 1950s had to go. Last year she’d updated the plumbing for the whole house and it had taken her until two months ago to finally pay it off, but that hadn’t been optional. She was working on the master bathroom now and then she was going to have to update the electrical system too. She couldn’t run the stove and the microwave at the same time, and she had to turn off almost everything in the house before she could blow-dry her hair, so that was the next huge expense.

She’d contemplated getting a second job half a dozen times lately and maybe later this year, during the holidays, she would take a seasonal retail job. Even if she didn’t make a lot of money, it would get her out of the house more, which she desperately needed to do.

Changing into old yoga pants and a T-shirt with holes in it, she got out everything she needed for painting, including a small stepladder. The bathroom wasn’t very big, so it wouldn’t take long, even if she did two coats.

She’d chosen a pretty pale green color and once she put in the white tile and bronze fixtures, which were also on her to-do list, she’d hang the new matching shower curtain she’d found on clearance at T.J. Maxx. Little things made her happy these days and having an updated bathroom—with decent water pressure—was one of them.

She turned on some music using her phone, singing along to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” as she worked. Painting was physically tiring, but she enjoyed it. She liked watching the results all but appear before her eyes, and the feeling of accomplishment that went with it. She’d painted the kitchen when she’d first moved in because she couldn’t stand the ugly brown walls, and from there her motivation to renovate the old house had grown exponentially. Her biggest obstacle was having the money to do the major things she wanted to do.

She made a decent living as a teacher at a private school, and she didn’t have a mortgage, but between her hefty student loans and the yearly property taxes, she might as well have had one. She’d had no one to help her through college, so she’d needed loans for everything. She’d worked summers but she’d needed that money to survive, so the loans had added up quickly. The house had needed a new roof before she could move in, so she’d had to take out a home