“You’re weird, Auntie Shell.” Ben stared at me before taking a taste of his banana chocolate chip sundae.
“I know.” I swiped my tongue over a rivulet of melted cream about to hit my fingers. “Weird people are the best kind of people. Nobody ever told you that?”
He shook his head and took another bite of his treat.
“Do you have lots of homework?” I asked him.
“Nah.” He spoke in between mouthfuls, running the back of his hand over his mouth.
“Here.” I offered him a napkin.
“Let’s go home and finish off your homework, and then you can help me make dinner, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You know,” I took another lick of my cone, “sitting here, eating an ice cream cone after school. It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid.”
“It does?” Ben perked up.
“Yep. When I was little, your grandma used to take your mom and me to get an ice cream after school sometimes. Usually your mom sweet-talked your grandma into it.” I chuckled, remembering Zoë’s persuasive ways. “Those were some great memories.”
They were, mostly.
“Sounds nice.” Ben’s voice grew quiet. “My mom never took me out for an ice cream after school.”
I looked at Ben and blinked back the negative emotion building inside. How could my sister ever have left him? How could she have never taken him out for an ice cream? How could she have chosen a life that didn’t involve him? I didn’t understand.
Then again, this was Zoë we were talking about. My childhood was filled with memories of her selfish behavior. However hard I tried, whatever I did, Zoë always managed to charm everyone and make me feel invisible. Somehow, life always needed to revolve around her.
“Mom.” I ran into the house, dropping my bag on the floor.
“Hey, honey. How was your day?” Mom sat at the kitchen table, leafing through a cookbook.
“Great!” I blurted out, still riding the high of the good news.
“Tell me all about it.” Mom smiled, her eyes trained on me.
“You know that math test I studied so hard for?”
Mom nodded.
“I got an A.” I practically squealed.
“Oh, Shelley. I’m so proud of you.” Mom wrapped her arms around me.
Math wasn’t my best subject. Not at all. An A was exceptional for me.
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, soaking up her warmth.
“I think this calls for ice cream. Just the two of us. What do you say?”
I grinned, nodding my head excitedly.
“We’re going out for ice cream?” The back door slammed, and Zoë walked in. Great, I sighed internally.
“Mom and I are,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. It had been ages since I’d spent some time alone with Mom. Zoë had been busy with her senior art project for the last six months. She had claimed every spare moment of Mom’s time to help her either buy supplies, help her find ideas, or look over her completed work. I was happy for her, but it was typical Zo to claim all the attention and leave barely anything for anyone else.
“I want ice cream, too, Shell. Don’t be selfish,” Zoë said. It was a mean trick. Mom always encouraged us to share. She knew if she pulled that card, Mom would want me to invite her.
“I guess you can come, too, if Shelley agrees,” Mom said, as I suspected.
A beat of silence passed as Mom got up to collect her bag.
Zoë pulled a face behind her back, challenging me. I could hardly disagree and not let her come. When I looked at Mom, I could see her expectant face, waiting for me to invite Zoë along with us.
“Let’s all go,” I said, infusing my voice with false enthusiasm.
Mom beamed at me with pride and walked toward the door, ushering us out.
I walked through the door, and as Zoë passed, she gave me a smug look.
She spoke loudly enough for only me to hear. “Ha, I wasn’t going to let you go without me.”
Zoë always worked the situation to suit her. It was what she’d always done, for as long as I could remember.
“Oh, Ben.” I exhaled. “I’m sure your mom meant to,” I said, fighting to find the right words. As angry as I was with Zo, I didn’t want to hurt Ben even more by agreeing with him. He didn’t need me to break his heart even more with the harsh truth about his mother.
“It’s okay, Auntie Shell.”
Those words, that defeated tone. This kid had a lifetime of disappointment and unfulfilled hopes, all of them most likely shattered by my sister. I bit my lip, swallowing what I really wanted to say. Ben didn’t need any more negativity, especially from me. He’d had enough.
“You know what, though?” I added some extra warmth to my voice, offering him my most genuine smile, even though I didn’t really feel excited.
“What?” His face lifted slightly.
“That just means we have a lot of years to make up for, and a lot of ice cream to catch up on. Aren’t you glad you moved here, where they have the good stuff?”
“Yes, I am.” He gave me the biggest of smiles, and determination made my heart swell.
“And just to commemorate this moment, let’s snap a pic.”
I pulled Ben in and wrapped my arm around him, indicating for him to raise his treat up to the camera on my phone, and I snapped a selfie. I checked the result and was satisfied with the huge grins on both our faces.
No way was I going to let this boy deal with any more heartache. If anyone understood the pain my sister could inflict on a person, it was me.
Chapter 7
ADRIAN
I knocked on Shelley’s back door and called out, “Hello?” Shelley had insisted I come in through the back door when I came to pick up Ben. I still felt uneasy just walking in. It wasn’t like Shell and I were that close. I mean, what she was doing for me, for Ben, it was beyond words. And Ben was loving the arrangement. He wasn’t looking forward to going back to the sitter on Monday. He’d told me. Over and over, all week long.
“Hi, Dad!” Ben’s excited voice called out from the kitchen. That’s where I usually found them when I arrived. After homework, Shelley would teach Ben to cook. And boy, did she know how to cook. Not only was she an amazing baker, her food was delicious. She’d taught him how to make mac and cheese from scratch—nothing from a box in her house—she’d helped him make a meatloaf with corn on the cob, yesterday was chili, and today it smelled like they were grilling some kind of meat. My stomach growled in response.
“Hey, bud. How was your day?” I walked over to him and ruffled his curls.
“Great. Auntie Shelley is teaching me to grill burgers. Come see.” He took my hand and led me outside to the back deck, where a gas grill was fired up and filling the air with that mouthwatering barbecue smell.
“Aren’t you a little too young to be manning the grill?” I eyed the hot gas grill and barbecue spatula Ben clutched in his hand. My heart rate picked up as I imagined all the ways he could injure himself with the sharp edges and heat from the grill.
“Relax, Adrian.” Shelley walked past me with a bowl of salad and touched her hand to my forearm. Our eyes met and my heart rate responded, beating out of rhythm for a completely different reason. Each time she touched me, glanced at me, my body responded. At first, I’d dismissed it. I mean, this was Zoë’s baby sister. I’d tried to convince myself it was only my body responding to any female contact. I hadn’t dated anyone since Zoë. I couldn’t. Ben always came first. And I refused to get involved with anyone and have them make me choose. After more than ten years, my body was bound to respond. I was still a man; that part of me wasn’t completely lost, even if Ben took up most of my attention.