When Sparks Fly

The difficult part of being in an accident that is well-documented by the news is that I can review the footage on a regular basis should I so desire. It’s become a bit of an unhealthy obsession, a constant reminder that it could have been so much worse. And likely would have been if I hadn’t swerved when I did.

It’s hard to breathe properly on the drive home, fear needling its way under my skin. The sound of metal on metal feels like so much more than a memory. “Can you talk, please?” I ask Declan.

“Sure. Yeah. You okay?” His jaw flexes along with his hands on the wheel.

“Yeah. No. Just memories of the accident. I need a distraction.”

“Right. Okay.” He taps the wheel like he’s searching for something to talk about that isn’t going to make my anxiety worse. “Mark went out with a woman he met through a dating app last weekend.”

Mark is pretty old-fashioned about the whole dating thing. He prefers to meet people organically, but he’s not big on anything but sports bars and sports. And while he’s one of very few male elementary school teachers, he won’t date anyone he works with, so that’s another obstacle for him. “Oh wow! How’d that go?”

“Eh, well, it started out great, but it went south pretty fast.”

“Why? What happened? Did she catfish him or use a picture from a decade ago?”

“Nope and nope. So they have an amazing amount in common, grew up a couple of counties over from each other, and even had common friends from the neighboring high schools. He was pretty sure he recognized her, because he grew up in a small town and all.”

“Uh-oh, did he date her sister when he was in high school or something?”

Declan shakes his head with a smile. “Nope, it’s even better, or worse, depending on how you look at it, anyway. So, you know how Mark always has a family reunion every five years?”

“Yeah, big huge thing, right? Couple hundred people? Like the whole extended family get together and they basically rent the majority of a park for a weekend and do the camping thing.”

“You got it. Well, they start talking about camping and their families, and he mentions how he looks forward to his summer camping trip he’s going on, and she says her family does exactly the same thing.”

“That seems entirely too coincidental.” I can 100 percent see where this is going, and it’s not good.

“Oh yeah, it’s definitely not a coincidence. It turns out he’s right and he does recognize her because they’re second cousins, and they’ve been attending these freaking things since they were kids.”

“Oh man. Only freaking Mark.”

“Ah, but that’s not all. The girl didn’t see the issue with them dating even though they’re related. She figured second cousins was removed enough for it to be cool.”

“No! How did Mark handle that?”

“Well, next year happens to be the reunion, and he told her he didn’t really think it was a great idea to get involved with family because biologically it meant having kids was a no-go and he definitely wants a family.”

I have to choke back a laugh because it makes my ribs ache. “Leave it to Mark to drop the I want a family bomb on his first date with his second cousin. There are going to be jokes for the next decade.”

“I know. And she was all, ‘But we could adopt.’”

“You’re kidding!”

“I shit you not. Mark thought bringing up kids on the first date would send her packing, but apparently he was wrong. The best part was that she thought it would be easier since they already knew and liked each other’s families.”

“Good lord. How is he going to manage next year’s reunion?”

“I don’t know, but he may need to bring a fake girlfriend if he doesn’t have one by then.” Declan pulls into the underground parking, and my shoulders finally come down from my ears.

Getting me out of the SUV and into my wheelchair is a feat all on its own. It’s a lot of awkwardness and trying to figure out how to hang on to Declan without my casts getting in the way.

He shoulders the bag my sisters packed for me and wheels me to the elevator. “How you feeling?” he asks once we’re on the way up to the twelfth floor.

“Glad to be home, but nervous,” I say truthfully. Being in a hospital sucks, but the staff is trained, and the environment is designed for people with limited mobility. Now I’ll be back in our condo, and I’ll basically need help doing everything. All I’ll have is a nurse popping by in a few days to check on me, and weekly doctor appointments to monitor healing.

“It’s gonna be okay, Ave. I’ve got everything set up to make things as easy as possible for you.”