Page 32 of Falling Back to You

“Was this your plan all along?” I asked.

“No, of course not.” Cyrus’s tone did little to convince me.

If Cyrus wasn’t the project manager, his presence was optional. I just knew he’d find a way to weasel out of the work. He was the kind of friend who rarely called first, never initiated plans, and when he did show up, he was often distracted. If I blocked his number and stopped popping up at his office, it would probably take him months to realize he hadn’t heard from me, and even then I wasn’t certain he’d reach out. I loved Cy like my own blood, and I know he loved me back, even though he sucked at showing it.

New plans meant additional materials, so that night I put together a list of items we’d need to order. Dial was appointed unanimously as the treasurer on this project, and all purchases needed to be signed off by her before adding to cart. The next day I found her in one of the bedrooms I thought used to belong to Edison. She was barefoot in cut-off shorts, all toned legs and thighs, her sepia skin moisturized and glowing. Dial had the softest skin. In comparison to hers, my skin was similar to a cactus. When we were together, at night we’d put on hydrating face masks with paraffin wax hand mittens and watch reruns of This Old House. If she spotted a feature she loved, she’d gasp or sigh, and I mentally added it to our dream house must-haves.

Dial shifted her hip to the left and stared out of the window with measuring tape in hand. She and Fancy were charged with taking measurements throughout the house so we could order decorations and finishes. Lifting a foot, she rubbed it against the back of her leg, most likely trying to scratch an itch.

When I cleared my throat, she spun around, clutching her chest, which fit perfectly in the palms of my hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” I said.

“Well, you did. What are you doing here so early? I thought you liked sleeping in on Sundays.”

“I do. But I wanted to knock some tasks out so I could spend the rest of the day with Maple. Why are you already here?”

“Because it’s quiet. And once Edison and Fancy show up, she’s gonna talk my ear off.”

“My sister is a ball of energy, I’ll give you that.”

“She does have the best gossip.”

“That’s in part because of our mom.”

Dial swayed from one foot to the other. Usually when we were alone we ended up fucking, so I didn’t think either one of us knew what to do with our hands—or the throbbing in our pants.

“This used to be Edison’s room, right?” I asked.

“Yes. It doesn’t look like much of anything right now.” Her tone held a hint of melancholy.

Stepping deeper into the room, I asked, “Is it weird for you?”

“This isn’t weird.” She motioned from me to her.

“Actually, I was talking about renovating your childhood home.”

I imagined her face was hot to the touch at the blunder. “Oh, I don’t know. I try not to think about it.” She lowered herself to the floor, leaning against a scuffed wall.

Following suit, I grunted, taking a seat on the floor and resting on the opposite wall. “Why not?”

“Because I thought our parents would be here forever. Every Sunday I’d show up to this house for dinner and game night—it was a family tradition. I’d hoped Maple would get to experience those same memories of running around the house with her cousins, playing hide-and-seek, or collecting fireflies in a jar.”

“You can do that without this house.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same. The roots are so deep in this house, and now strangers will fill it with new memories.”

“Damn, I didn’t realize you were so sentimental.”

“When it comes to family, I am. At the end of the day, family’s all you’ve got. A child needs her grandparents—it’s not okay to just move miles away, missing birthdays, school recitals, and holidays. You can’t get that time back—once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”

A lump formed in my throat and I could sense my temperature rising. She was talking about her parents, but she might as well be referring to me. The fact that I was considering a move to Texas, away from everyone I loved and cared about. How would I explain my absence to Maple? The expansion would come with a ton of work, and I wouldn’t be able to spend an extended weekend in Hume with a never-ending list of deadlines to meet. I couldn’t imagine being more than a twenty-minute drive from my baby girl.

Scrubbing my face, I tried to push the thoughts from my brain. I was notorious for deferring a problem till another day. Continued attempts at stalling were only pushing my father’s paper-thin patience to the edge. Eventually his not-so-subtle prodding would turn into demands. I’d have to figure out how to appease my father, while still being there for Maple and Dial.

Dial interrupted my thoughts. “Are you all right?”

“Erm, yeah. What you said just got me thinking.”

“About?”