Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jesse
Before
“Hey, Jesse,” Bay said as she took a seat beside me in her own oversized leather chair. She crossed her legs, setting several folders on top of them. “I have a strange suspicion you finished both books.”
I put in a bookmark and closed the hardcover I was holding. “I did.”
“What did you think of Tumbling Down?”
“Oh, Bay.”
She leaned her back into the side of the chair, shifting her body more toward me. “You fell madly, deeply in love with it, didn’t you?”
I nodded, grinning. “Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for how beautiful the words were going to be.” I sighed, thinking of the storyline. It was a book I planned to read again the second I got it back from Alicia. “It was stunning from beginning to end.”
“I knew you’d love it.”
My fingers clung around the edge of the book as I felt the heat move across my face. My cheeks were turning red, I couldn’t help it. “Thank you for the inscription. I was so touched by it.”
I had been so surprised to find the small note she had written on the inside of the cover, which was why she had asked for the book back after she’d given it to me in the library. Since it was one of her favorites, in the most beautiful handwriting, she’d wished me a lifetime of enjoyment with the novel.
It was the sweetest gesture.
“It’s my pleasure,” she said, smiling. She glanced at the hardcover in my lap. “What about the other book you checked out? The one with the happy, blue cover?”
Tumbling Down read almost like a classic. The kind of story everyone should finish just to appreciate the beauty of the written word. It had delicate descriptions and a prose style. I found myself savoring paragraphs to make it last longer.
The teal covered book had a very different storyline that made me ache just thinking about it. It was about courage and survival and the ugliness of life. I wouldn’t be able to give the story justice if I described it to Bay. She had to experience it for herself.
“It was heavy,” I told her. “Actually, it may be one of the most emotionally taxing books I’ve ever read.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me more, I’m intrigued.”
I thought of an angle I could explain to her or a character I could describe without blowing the twist. There just wasn’t one. “It’s one of those books where if I say anything, it will ruin everything for you. It’s best to go in completely blind.”
“Sold. I have to read it.” She moved positions, switching the way her legs were crossed. “Hey, before I forget to ask, how’s Dad doing?”
Every time she asked me that, she blew my mind.
I shrugged, shaking my head. “Today hasn’t been a good day at all.”
“What happened?”
“He has a trach and it caused an infection, which means another hospital stay, more antibiotics, more confusion when he gets released and goes back home.”
Pity filled her eyes like it had the first time we talked about him. “Is your mom still alive?”
“She is. They’ve been married since they were eighteen.” I thought about the sound of her voice this morning when she told me Dad was getting admitted. “She’s the strongest woman I know.”
She reached across and put her hand on mine, and that was when I realized I was now gripping the armrest. “Something tells me you got your strength from her.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
So much warmth went into her smile when she said, “It’s just a hunch I have.”
“Thank you.” My voice was just a little above a whisper. Her eyes told me she’d heard it. “It was great seeing you again, Bay.”
“You, too, Jesse.” She released me and stood and took a few steps. “Will you be back soon?”
“Absolutely. Very soon.”
She waved and walked away, and I reopened the book in my lap. The description promised a light story and that was exactly what I needed after the two I’d just finished.
I was only about a chapter in when I realized I’d forgotten to give Bay the title of the teal book. I’d already returned it, so I didn’t have it in my bag to give to her. I was sure she could get the name by tracking me down in their system and seeing what I checked out. But something told me she wouldn’t do that. She’d wait and ask me the next time she saw me. And at this rate, that would only be in a few days.