Page 9 of Counting the Days

Rhea had never met anyone as presidential as Ada Achebe. Not one single resident of Buckle Beach had Ada’s impossible blend of confidence and humility. Rhea was in awe of her within seconds of meeting her, and that awe never faltered over the coming decades.

“What grade are you in?” Ada asked.

“Tenth.”

“Me too!” Ada exclaimed as if the odds were astronomical. “I do think we should visit the nurse, though. If you do end upsuing, it’s good to have on record that you sought medical attention immediately.”

Rhea relented and followed Ada to the nurse’s office.

This was the first time Ada Achebe mothered Rhea Darby, but it was certainly not the last.

—

“So, how well do youknow Danny?” Rhea asked casually.

The baby shower was over. Rhea was sitting in one of Tiny’s many sitting rooms on a white cashmere rug, rubbing Zoe’s swollen feet, while members of Tiny’s household staff were taking down decorations under Ada’s watchful eye.

Ada’s husband, Marcus, was holding their screaming two-year-old son, who was fervently trying to get his mother’s attention. His mother, however, was ensuring the handmade decorations were treated delicately so they could be reused at a later date. Ada never wastedanything. Her parents had repeated “The wasteful never get wealthy” so many times that Ada still wore her pajamas from high school.

“Who?” Zoe asked, lying back on the white linen couch with her eyes closed.

“Danny…Um, I don’t know his last name, but he’s tall with, like, dark hair…” Rhea realized she knew almost nothing about him and doubted Zoe would get a reference to his aunt’s scarves.

“Danny Heller?”

“What? No, not DannyHeller. A Danny I met for the first time today.”

“I don’t know a Danny.”

“But he was atyourbaby shower.” Rhea was trying not to let any sign of panic enter her voice.

If Zoe did not know Danny, was there a chance he was aplus-one, a mysterious stranger who would be impossible to track down? The shower had continued without drawing the two of them back together. As the celebration was coming to an end, Rhea looked for him, but he seemed to have disappeared without a trace.She never got his last name.There were almost ten million people in Los Angeles County, and six million of them were named Danny. She had to find him, but first she had to calm down.

“Ask Tiny, I honestly didn’t know half the people here. It was fun, though.Thank you.” Zoe opened her eyes, demanding meaningful eye contact from the grown woman on the floor, rubbing her feet.

“For what?”

“For whatever god-awful crap Ada forced you to do.”

They shared a smile.

“So, tell me about this Danny. Possible sparks?” Unlike Rhea’s other friends, Zoe did not tiptoe around the subject of Rhea’s love life, because Zoe Hornbrook did not tiptoe around anyone for any reason.

“Maybe, I barely got to—”

“Tiny!” Zoe called out. “Who’s Danny? Rhea’s in love with him.”

Rhea sighed, not surprised that things had unfolded in this humiliating manner. Tiny approached with her mouth hanging open in exaggerated elation.

“Please tell me you mean Danny Beckett!”

“He’s like, tall with dark hair?” Rhea asked hopefully.

“Yep, yep, that’s Danny Beckett.”

Every muscle in Rhea’s body relaxed. Tiny knew him; he was not gone forever.

“Yeah, we talked and he’s…sorta cute,” Rhea said.