beneath my skin. She hadn’t called or texted, and I was too ashamed to reach out. I told myself that I’d been half in love with her for sixteen years and it was going to take some time to get over that, but I couldn’t see my way clear.
I was messed up over her, and I didn’t know how to get out from under it.
It was Asher who offered me a distraction.
The day before the 5K race for veterans in need of service dogs, I took Asher to adaptive swim class and finally got to meet Alicia in the rec center lobby when it was over. She emerged from the ladies’ locker room in a motorized wheelchair, and like my brother had said, she had long red hair, which was wet and hanging down to her shoulders in ringlets, and freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She was in her mid-twenties, and her face lit up when she saw Asher waiting for her.
She reached out to shake my hand after Asher introduced us using his speech device. “It’s nice to meet you,” Alicia said.
“You too,” I told her. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
She blushed. “Asher is sweet. He’s going to help me edit some videos for my new vlog.”
“Really? That’s cool.” I glanced at Asher, who was staring at Alicia like a kid in a candy shop. It was kind of funny actually. “What’s your vlog about?”
“Well, I’m studying to be a forensic scientist, so I want to teach people about the different ways crimes are solved using forensic evidence. And I also want to encourage people, especially kids, with disabilities to go after their dream careers, even if they think it’s not possible.”
“That’s awesome,” I told her. “I’m in law enforcement, so let me know if I can be of any help.”
“Thanks. We’re trying to figure out the best place to work right now,” she said. “My house is pretty noisy because I’ve got four younger siblings. And neither of us drives, so meeting up is a little challenging.”
“I can drive Asher anywhere.”
“I’ve told him I can come to his house too.” She glanced at my brother, who suddenly took an interest in his shoes. “But I don’t know if that would work.”
“Uh, I’ll check it out,” I said, wondering what the hell Asher was thinking. Was he too shy to invite her over? “There’s always my house too. I’ve got a dog, but he’s pretty quiet most of the time. And I can take him to the park while you’re working.”
She smiled. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Noah. I better go see if my ride is here.”
“Nice to meet you too, Alicia. Take care.” I smiled and watched her turn and head toward the accessible doors, and when I faced Asher again, he’d already tucked his device back into his messenger bag and was walking in the opposite direction, toward the stairs and main door.
“Hey,” I said, catching up with him. “Why don’t you want to have her over?”
He didn’t answer me, and I wasn’t sure if I should push it or not. But once we got in the car and I’d started the engine, he took his device out.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked.
“Of course, Ash. You know you can always talk to me.” I looked over at him, feeling a sympathetic tug. I knew what it was like to be attracted to someone and wonder if she liked you back. But this girl liked him—I could see it. “Is it about Alicia?”
“It’s more about Mom.”
“Mom?” Frowning, I signaled and changed lanes. “What about her?”
“She embarrasses me. And she’ll do it in front of Alicia.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, Mom can be intense.”
“I keep trying to ask her about getting my own place, but she won’t listen.”
My jaw nearly hit my chest. “You want your own place? I didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t used to. But now I do.”
I was still processing it when he went on.
“When I tried it before, I was not in a good place. I could not get a job, and I was scared. But I have a good job now, and I have much more confidence. They even offered me more hours. Mom doesn’t want me to take more, but I would like to.”
“She worries about you getting too tired.”
“I know. But I will get tired whether I work more or not. And more hours will mean more money. I will be able to afford something on my