Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
WHITESNAKE, “IS THIS LOVE”
Kyle
I woke with a pain radiating from my shoulder to my fingertips, and my whole body tensed.
“Good morning,” Josh said, jumping on the empty side of the bed where Eve had been.
“Buddy,” I said firmly, reaching for his ankle to stop him. “My arm really hurts when you do that.”
He stopped and frowned. “Sorry.”
“Can you gently lie next to me?”
He not-so-gently plopped down onto the bed.
“Where’s Eve?” I asked with a grimace as the pain lingered. “What time is it?”
“It’s nine thirteen o’clock,” he said, peering at my alarm clock as I stared at the ceiling and fought the nausea that the pain instigated.
“Not o’clock,” I said, breathing slowly and deeply. “Just nine thirteen. Buddy, you’re late for school. You missed the bus. Why didn’t you or Eve wake me?”
“Don’t know.”
“Are you ready for school? Did you have breakfast?”
“Oh man eggs with cheese and vegetables. Toast with butter and strawberry jam. And my teeth are brushed. Eve said you’d walk me to the bus.”
I slowly turned my head to look at him. “Oh man eggs?”
He nodded. “They were melty.”
I narrowed my eyes. “An omelet?”
He nodded, and I tried not to laugh. “Why didn’t you or Eve wake me?” I narrowed my eyes and listened. There was a buzzing noise. “What’s buzzing?”
Josh held still, then he smacked his hand against his forehead. “Eve said wake you up when it buzzed.”
“Didn’t you hear it?”
“I was watching Sesame Street.”
“And you didn’t hear the buzzer?”
He held out his hands, shoulders at his ears. “I forgot.”
I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. “I can drive you to school or you can play hooky.”
“What’s hooky?” He giggled.
“It’s when you’re not sick, but you pretend that you are so you don’t have to go to school.”
“But school is fun.”
“For now.” I chuckled. Josh caused a lot of pain, but he also made everything better.
“Whoa …” Eve’s voice woke me from my nap.
I didn’t mean to fall asleep. As I sat up in my recliner, she was surveying the mess.
Josh had all of his toys strewn throughout the living room. A chip bag and a spilled cup of milk were on the coffee table, and Clifford was working to lick it all up. The TV was on PBS. And Josh was asleep on the sofa with a Matchbox car clutched in his hand.
“He didn’t go to school,” I explained.
She nodded slowly before sliding the chips into the bag and picking up the tipped cup. “I can see that. Why not?”
“You didn’t wake me before you left, and he didn’t wake me in time to get him to the bus. And it’s not a good idea to leave a five-year-old and a puppy unattended.”
“I set a timer for him to wake you. He was watching TV. And Clifford had already done his business. He shouldn’t have been unattended any longer than he’s been when you’ve walked me home,” she said on her way to the kitchen.
Josh stirred, rubbing his eyes before opening them.
“We’re in trouble, buddy,” I whispered. “You need to pick up your toys or Eve won’t make us dinner.”
His eyes widened.
I nodded toward the mess. “Get going.”
Josh slid off the sofa and started depositing his cars into one of my old shoe boxes.
“I set the timer, Mister,” Eve said, standing over him with her hands on her hips.
“I forgot.” He shrugged, putting on the lid to the box and carrying it toward the stairs.
“When he hears that timer,” I said, “if he hears it, I think his brain is trained to assume someone (not him) needs to take something out of the oven. But it was a good try, and I appreciate you letting me sleep in.”
She wiped up the spilled milk. “What you said last night, it upset me. I hate the constant reminders that I’m so young.”
“Eve—”
“But …” she turned, folding the milk-soaked rag, “What you said to your brother and Anne …” She took a moment as if to keep her composure.
“It was so much more than I ever expected. There was this moment where I wondered who you were talking about. She seemed like an amazing person, but that person didn’t feel like me.” Eve pointed her gaze at the floor.
“I meant it.”
“I know. I just feel unworthy of it. Like you said those things in an effort to set the bar high. And now I have expectations to live up to.”
“Which part wasn’t true?”
She peeked up at me. “Do you really think I have an old soul?”
“I think anyone who gleans so much information from their grandmother must have an old soul. You have respect for her wisdom and willingly learn everything she has to teach you. And you’re empathetic.”
Eve chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Is your brother going to tell my dad about us?”
“No. He knows it’s something I need to do. Trust me, he wants it to be me who tells your dad.”