The Assignment

“Sure, it is,” Mr. Serrano insisted before handing the bouquet to his grandson.

Troy reluctantly took the roses before offering them to me. “Goofy, will you accept these roses?” He flashed an impish grin as he batted his lashes, which seemed insanely long for a man.

“While I’d love to throw them back in your face, I’ll accept them on behalf of your sweet grandfather who meant well.” I took them and turned to the old man. “Thank you, Mr. Serrano.”

The three of us left the flower shop, and I thought we might be leaving the mall until Troy stopped in front of the mattress store.

“Hey, can we go in here for a second?” Troy went inside without waiting for a response.

“I’m in no rush to head back,” Mr. Serrano said as we followed.

Troy began walking around, pushing on various mattresses.

“Is it really necessary for you to go mattress shopping today?” I asked.

“Actually, it is, because I’ve been sleeping like crap,” he said as he bounced on one of them. “The bed my dad put in the room I sleep in at his house is hard as a rock. Pretty sure it’s his old mattress. I want to get a nice memory foam one.”

“Memory foam!” Mr. Serrano shouted. “I could use some of that. Will it help me remember shit?”

I laughed and sat down on the bed across from Troy.

He lay all the way back and spread his arms out. “Ahh, this one is nice. So damn comfortable.” His shirt rode up a little, and I pretended not to notice the glimpse of his rock-hard abs.

I got up and sat down on the edge of the one he was raving about. It was firmer than I like. “This one is nothing compared to the one I was just sitting on.”

Troy lifted himself off the bed and moved over to the other one. After bouncing a few times, he said, “Oh, no way. The other one is better.”

“I disagree.”

A sales rep walked over. “You know you’re not gonna win this argument, right?” she said to him. “The wife always gets her way in the end.”

Troy snorted. “Goofy? She’s not my wife. She’s just a girl who tried to poison me in high school.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Can I help you with anything?”

“I’ll let you know.”

“He’s noncommittal. Don’t waste your time,” I chided.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Troy walked out without placing a mattress order.

The rest of my afternoon with the Serrano men was pretty uneventful. Before leaving the mall, we accompanied Mr. Serrano to the smoke shop, where he purchased a cigar, which Troy promised to let him enjoy when he had more time during the next outing, seeing as though Horizons didn’t allow smoking on the premises. When we passed the Disney Store on the way out, Troy had a field day, of course, suggesting I go in and buy something on his dime—like a stuffed Goofy. I ignored him, despite being tempted to take advantage of his offer and get something for my niece. No way I’d give him that satisfaction, though.

After we returned Mr. Serrano to his room at the facility, I was on my way to clock out for the day when Troy stopped me in the hallway.

“Hey, Aspyn…”

I turned to face him. “Yeah?”

“Thank you for today—helping me look for him. The situation freaked me out. Having you there made it easier.”

“Yeah, well, he wouldn’t have left if we weren’t arguing in the first place.”

“It’s crazy how this whole thing happened, huh?”

“What are you referring to specifically?”

“You and me having to spend time together. What are the chances? Terrible luck on your part.”

“I’d have to agree.”

Troy snickered. “It’s a small world after all.”

It took me a few seconds. “It’s a Small World After All.” The Disney song. I rolled my eyes. “Stop with the Disney jokes.”

“Stop with Disney clothes, and I’ll stop with the Disney jokes.” He winked before walking away.

The fresh air that hit me as I went out to the parking lot helped clear my mind and mood a little, but the events of the day ran through my head the entire ride home. I couldn’t stop thinking about how easily Troy still got to me after all these years.

Since I was stopping at my parents’ on the way to my house, I thought I’d give my mom the flowers Mr. Serrano had bought.

I parked in front of my parents’ place and reached over to the passenger side for the Vera Bradley clutch where I kept my money and phone. I patted the seat. Where is it?

I couldn’t remember bringing it back into Horizons with me. My heart dropped.

I left it in Troy Serrano’s car.

Troy

On the way home from Nonno’s, I stopped at the home improvement store to pick up a shoe rack for the closet in my room. When I opened the back of my Range Rover to place the flat box on the seat, I noticed something: a wallet made of flowery fabric with a thin strap. It was on the side of the seat where Aspyn had been sitting. I picked it up.