Good for You: A Novel (57)

“I want to do a memorial. Or something.”

Now Aly felt twice as irritated, which was no small feat. “Luke didn’t want anything. He made that very clear.” Her brother had been cremated, and his remains were in a box in the credenza in the living room, where Aly intended to leave them until she came up with a better idea.

“A memorial isn’t for the dead. It’s for the people the dead leave behind. I know you wish I wasn’t the one still here with you. But I am. So, Allegra.” Cindy met Aly’s eyes. “Let me know if you decide you want to join me in saying goodbye.”

“Oh, I do,” hissed Aly. She pointed at the door. “Goodbye, Mom.”





TWENTY-NINE


“Ho, ho, ho,” said Harry. He had a diaper bag slung over his shoulder and wheeled a large suitcase behind him, which he dropped when Aly opened the door for him.

Even several days later, Aly still felt raw from her conversation with her mother, and her career remained a question mark. But Harry had arrived; everything was going to be okay. “Is that you, Harry Claus?” She folded him into her arms. “I can’t believe you made it,” she said, holding him back to examine him. Her old friend was still as lean as the day they met, but now he had the budget to accommodate his sartorial sense, and he wore a tailored shirt, shorts adorned with a designer belt, and polished leather loafers. “Where’s that delicious baby of yours?”

“No eating the baby,” said Tim, walking in behind Harry. Harry’s husband was built like a lumberjack, and he had the rosy cheeks and suspenders to match. He set the car seat on the ground and unlatched Beckett, who’d just started to squirm. “Let’s go see Auntie Aly. Okay, muffin?” When he caught himself, he looked up and grinned at Aly. “Okay, so maybe you’re not the only one who’s thinking food when it comes to this little guy.”

She laughed. “It’s so amazing to see you all.”

“It’s been too long,” agreed Tim. He passed Beckett to her like she knew how to hold a baby—which she definitely didn’t, or at least not one who no longer lay there like a sack of potatoes, as he had as a newborn.

“Oh,” she said as Beckett put his hand on her nose and squealed with delight, revealing two tiny teeth emerging from his bottom gums. He really was an entirely different baby from the last time she’d seen him. “I’m almost expecting him to start speaking complete sentences to me,” she said to Tim.

He smiled. “That makes two of us. It’s crazy, the way it’s flying by so fast.”

“Except at night,” remarked Harry, kicking off his shoes. “Then time’s like molasses. So . . .” He sidled up to Aly. “Where’s the Wild Thing at?”

Aly had told Harry everything—including the fact that their roommate-with-benefits arrangement was approaching its end. “Harry,” she hissed. “I don’t know, and don’t call him that.”

“Correction: the Wild Man,” said Harry, pretending to be exasperated. Then he eyed Aly gravely and said, “He does know we’re visiting, right?”

“Obviously. Not that I need permission from him.”

Harry smiled drolly. “I wasn’t implying you did. I just wanted to know if he was on board.”

“Yes,” said Aly. The truth was, she’d been dreading the two of them meeting. No matter how short-lived or hedonistic her fling with Wyatt was, introducing him to Harry would make it . . .

Real.

Then again, Harry had deemed nearly every man she’d ever dated a dud, and she had no doubt that he’d file Wyatt into his folder of unsuitables. She almost looked forward to that part—it would be one more reminder that this was merely a fling.

“Where should I put our stuff?” asked Tim.

“I’ll show you,” she said, handing Beckett to Harry. “Let’s head upstairs.”

Although she’d barely been able to step inside Luke’s room since her arrival, having Harry and Tim sleep there didn’t bother her; she knew Luke wouldn’t have minded. Anyway, with only three bedrooms, there was no other place in the house for them to sleep. Tim whistled as he opened the door. “Look at the lake—doesn’t look quite as good from the Chicago side,” he said, immediately walking over to the window. After a moment, he turned to Aly. “Why are we getting the best view in the house? You should be putting us on the sofa or something.”

“There are three of you and only one of me,” she said. “And there’s room here for the Pack ’n Play, too.”

“Well, thank you. We haven’t been anywhere since Beckett’s birth,” said Tim. “Even if he keeps us up half the night, this will be a delight.”

“I hope so,” said Aly, her eyes landing on the dusty mantel. She’d tried her best to tidy up for their visit, but she hadn’t been able to stay in the room more than a few minutes, and she saw that she’d missed a few spots. “I apologize if it’s a little musty.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Tim grimaced. “Harry may or may not have brought an air filter from home, not to mention three different baby monitors. He’s off the deep end when it comes to Beckett.”

“I would be, too,” said Aly. “He’s the cutest.”