Chasing Spring(24)

Chapter Twenty-Seven


Chase



As far back as I could remember, my dad had always worked on Sundays. It was his day to finish repairs and catch up on paperwork, but when I pulled up into a vacant parking spot in front of the shop, the lights were off and the door was locked. I popped the lock and strolled inside to find evidence of his recent departure. There was an empty pizza box with a receipt taped to the front. It was only two days old, so at least I knew he was alive. He couldn’t return my calls, but he could order a pizza.

I tossed the empty box into the trash along with a few empty beer cans, and then checked the office’s computer for recent repair requests. He’d always kept them on a simple excel sheet. His usual turnaround time for a job was two weeks so he’d have time to order any necessary parts. The most recent jobs on the excel sheet were all a month or two old and not a single one of them had been finished.

I printed out the sheet of unfinished repair requests and pushed my way into the back room. Tools and appliances littered the floor. A box of mismatched parts lay forgotten in the corner. I kicked it aside and started clearing out a workspace. The repair requests weren’t complicated; two blenders, a washing machine, and a refrigerator were on the top of the list. I assessed the damage and started to draw up an order form for parts. My dad had been ordering from the same distributor for the last ten years and I knew they wouldn’t question my scratchy signature at the bottom of the order form.

After I’d managed to get the recent repairs in order, I tore open the stack of deliveries behind the counter. My dad had managed to carry the packages inside, but he hadn’t taken the time to open a single one.

I took inventory of the parts and matched them with the appliances in the back room. I spent my entire day trying to catch up on the work my dad was obviously neglecting, and as I locked up in the dark, I knew my effort was in vain. I could come back every Sunday, but until my dad got his act together, the shop would suffer. There was no point trying to fight it.





Chapter Twenty-Eight


Chase





That night I passed up invitations from Connor and Brian so I could stay at Lilah's house. I sat in her backyard on the swing beneath the oak tree that faced the back of the house. It was hung for a child, too low to the ground for me to go very high. I used my foot to push off the ground, rocking the swing back and then letting gravity carry me forward again. Harvey lay on the grass at the foot of the tree, content to study me as I studied the yard.

The dormant flowerbeds scattered across the yard were as much a part of my childhood as they were Lilah’s. I’d beg and beg to taste the strawberries every season and one time, when I’d assumed Lilah was busy across the yard, I’d reached down and yanked the biggest one off the vine. Just as the sweet juice slipped across my tongue, the sharp sting of cold water hit the side of my face. Lilah had turned the hose on me and I’d learned my lesson.

I sat out on the swing until it started to rain, but I didn’t care. It was the lazy kind of rain that couldn’t catch me on the swing; the fat drops were too slow. I kept pushing myself back and forth, letting my mind wander to my mom. It’d been raining the last time I’d talked to her. It was the night of the annual summer carnival up at the school. My dad and I were leaving early to help with setup and I’d almost left the house without telling her bye. I thought about that a lot lately, how it’d been such a fluke. She’d caught me at the bottom of the stairs, just as I was about to walk out the door.

“Chase, make sure your dad doesn’t lift anything too heavy. He threw his back out last year setting up the dunking booth.”

I rolled my eyes and nodded, anxious to get to my friends, but she caught my arm.

“Be good,” she said, tapping the brim of my baseball cap with her finger.

I smiled, despite the cap falling down to cover my eyes.

It wasn’t an official goodbye. She hadn’t told me she’d loved me, but I didn’t focus on that. I knew how much she loved me. She’d told me every day.

For months after that night, the what-ifs had kept me awake at night. What if she'd never gone back home from the carnival? What if the ambulance had arrived faster?

I wasn’t the only one battling a losing fight against what-ifs. My dad had started drinking the day of the funeral and he’d never stopped. Death can do strange things to people. It can turn a man I'd admired my whole life into a guy I’d avoid if I saw him on the street.

Elaine Calloway had stolen both of my parents from me. Maybe I should have hated Lilah for being a part of her, but I couldn’t. Lilah was good. She was beautiful and she created beauty with her garden. Out of such terrible things, the muck and the mud, Lilah had come to be. Life had done its best to stomp her back into dust, but I wouldn't let it happen.

Her light flickered off in her room, replaced with the glow from her lamp. I watched her silhouette move in front of the window and I realized that whatever love my mom had held for Elaine was the same love that tied me to Lilah.

I pushed off the swing as rain continued to hammer down around me. Harvey hopped up and followed me as I headed inside, up the stairs, and toward Lilah's room. Her door was cracked open and through the space between her door and the doorframe, I could see her reading on her bed. I knocked gently and then pushed the door open a crack. Harvey pushed it open even more and ran straight for her, resting his damp snout next to her pillow.