Page 42 of Service Included

Running out of jackets and definitely going down.

She added a thumbs-up. Damn, she was a total mom-emoji texter. She might as well have sent a gif of some middle-aged lady doing a bad version of a Beyoncé dance.

As soon as Aleesha sent the talk-to-you-later abbreviation, Megan set down her phone and left the counter to open the back door. The slightly cooler air felt reviving, and she knew she wasn’t ready to go back upstairs. Better to let Nico sleep.

A moment later, she flipped on the garage lights. The two boxes of magazines remained next to the stack of things going north with her in the morning.

Thanks for the gift, Aunt Bea. You were a great writer.Nothing notable on the outside of the simple cardboard containers hinted at the confidence and hard work it must have taken a wheat farmer’s sheltered daughter to build her own life as the marvelous Aunt Bea.I’ll enjoy your legacy.

She would take more chances too. Having an adventure didn’t mean she had to sneak away from her family. If she closed her eyes and listened to herself, if she asked for what she, Megan, wanted, then maybe—not maybe, yes, definitely yes—she’d carry on a piece of Aunt Bea.

I’ll call Nico once I’m home. It’s what you would do, isn’t it?