to get away. A change of scenery’s bound to lift her spirits.”
I hand Addie the last labeled bag, and she puts it in the freezer and closes the door. “I know it’s hard, Lily, especially since you’re also grieving, but try to be patient with your mother right now. I’ll head on out to your dad’s shop now and talk to her,” Addie says. “Wish me luck.”
After she leaves, Wyatt and I go to Cookie’s pen. Stooping, I murmur, “How’re you doing, boy?” Dr. Trujillo warned me that Cookie is still on shaky ground, mostly because he’s fourteen, which is something like ninety-eight human years. I reach in and scratch his head. “Nobody understands how tough you are, do they?”
Wyatt crouches beside me, and when Cookie licks my hand, he says, “Rats also show affection by licking.”
“Sick.” I scowl at him and snort a laugh.
“I’m talking about rats that have been bred to be pets.”
“Who’d want a pet rat?”
“Lots of people. Domesticated rats make great companions. They’re small, they’re smart, they’re playful, and they clean themselves like cats.” He ticks the points off on his fingers. “I’ve been thinking about getting one.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Well, it’s been nice knowing you.”
“You’d cash in our friendship over a rat?”
Tilting my head to one side, I squint at him. “Hmmm.”
“You have to think about it?” Wyatt clutches at his chest.
“Go ahead. Get a rat. Big Betty will take care of it for me,” I say, referring to Addie’s cat.
He winces. “I forgot about Big Betty.”
Standing, I start for the stairs. Wyatt stopped by his house and changed into jeans and a flannel shirt before we went into town, but I’m still wearing my clothes from the memorial. “Watch Cookie while I change, okay?” I say.
“Sure. I’ll put some more wood on the fire, too. It’s sort of cold in here.”
I head up to my room and exchange my black wool pants and sweater for my oldest, holiest jeans, a Denver Broncos long-sleeved T-shirt, and my knockoff Ugg boots.
Below, the fire crackles as Wyatt stokes it, and I smell the scent of wood smoke. Warm air eddies up to push out the cold. I’m aware of Iris, but we don’t talk. It’s a careful silence. I guess she’s figured out that I’m not going to listen to any more vague warnings that she can’t or won’t explain.
I forgave her this morning at the lake, and I think she knows that. I still can’t imagine why she told me to “be careful” before Dad’s accident, but it couldn’t have been the deer. Now that I’m thinking straight, I know Iris was telling me the truth when she said she didn’t know what was going to happen. If she had, she would’ve found a way to get through to me. She wouldn’t have let Dad get hurt for any reason. I know this because Iris would never hurt me, and nothing could be more painful than losing my dad.
Before going downstairs again, I take the slip of paper with Ty’s number on it and enter the information into my phone. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to make the first move and call him, but I really want to see him again. Ever since he left the lake this morning, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him.
Twisting my hair into a braid, I return to the living room where Wyatt is sitting on the floor next to Cookie’s pen. He has the gate open and his hand is resting on Cookie’s head. I plop down beside him and cross my legs.
“Who was that guy you were talking to at the lake?” he asks.
“His name is Ty Collier. He’s the guy who helped me with Dad.”
“Oh, man,” says Wyatt. “If I’d known that, I would’ve thanked him.”
“He goes to college at Columbia. Or did. Ty told Mr. Dimitri he took this semester off.”
Shifting to look at Cookie, Wyatt says, “So are you going to go out with him?”
“I thought you were snooping.” I shove him. “He didn’t ask me out, he just asked me to meet him for coffee.”
“Well, I’d steer clear of him if I were you. I mean, the guy showed up out of nowhere. He could eat babies for breakfast, for all we know.”
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes.
The door opens and Addie hurries in, followed by a rush of cool air. “I finally wore her down. Your mother’s closing up the shop. She asked me to get her purse.”