I squeeze her hand in mine. She's so much like Ellie that it's hard to believe that they're not related by blood. Ellie was homeless when we met and yet she would have given the few possessions she did have to anyone who needed them. Her good heart has rubbed off on her daughter.
May and I skip up onto the curb once we've crossed the street. Ellie does the same with Jonas by her side.
"Your friend didn't have a kite?" I look down at May. She's wearing a pair of blue shorts and a blue T-shirt. Our outfits are almost identical right down to our flat-heeled sandals. Mine are nude, hers a sparkly pink.
"He doesn't have many toys." She pushes a pebble on the sidewalk with her foot. "Mom took me to fly the kite yesterday and he was there with his little brother. I gave them the kite because I knew Captain Crew would have done the same thing."
She's right.
"He's going to be proud of you." I start walking up Broadway holding tight to her hand with Ellie and Jonas trailing behind us. "You did the right thing by thinking of your friend first."
"That's what I thought too." She looks up at me, her brown eyes widening. "Captain says you and dad are his best friends. Your best friend is a boy and mine is too."
"Your best friend is the boy you gave the kite to?"
"Zane," she says as her cheeks blush. "He's cute."
"I bet he thinks the same thing about you." I squeeze her hand again as we walk toward her favorite bistro for lunch. "He sounds like a pretty special best friend to me. It was kind of you to give that kite to Zane. Crew will think so too."
"I can't wait until he gets back from his trip." She skips faster and I up my pace to keep up with her. "I hope he's not having so much fun that he stays there forever."
He might. Lucia is perfect for him. It's only a matter of time before he realizes that.
***
"Is that blood on your shirt?" Sydney leans in to get a closer look. "That is blood, Adley. Do you know how unsanitary that is?"
"I had to draw blood from a Dalmatian today. Obviously he wasn't cooperative."
I should have known it wouldn't be an easy shift when I was called in on my day off. I'd just finished sharing an ice cream covered dessert brownie with May when Tilly called to ask me to cover the rest of her shift because she felt sick. I couldn't decline. She's done the same for me on more than one occasion.
"You have to change out of your scrubs before the party starts." Sydney runs her hands over her short white dress. "I'm wearing this but you can wear anything but what you have on right now."
A party? Seriously?
I have to work again tomorrow. I can't party until I drop tonight. I'm close to dropping now I'm so exhausted.
"You're having a party? How many people are coming?"
"It's more a pizza and beer hangout to watch the game." She bites her bottom lip. "How many would be too many?"
One. That's what I want to say, but I don't.
I was looking forward to taking a bath tonight and then watching a movie. Obviously, that's not happening now.
"How many, Syd?" I rest my hip against the counter.
"Twenty," she replies quickly. "Two."
I take a deep breath and then let it out; using the minute it affords me to calm down enough that I don't offend her. "You know that sometimes I work odd hours. It would help me a lot, in the future, if we talked about having that many people over before the invites were sent out."
Her bottom lip trembles slightly. "I messed up, didn't I? I'm sorry, Ad. I thought we could both use some fun. I've seen how hard you've been working lately."
I'm not angry. It's hard to be mad at someone who bounced into my life and has become such a good friend in a short period of time. "Normally, I'd be all over the idea of a party but I'm wiped tonight."
"I can cancel it." She reaches forward to grab her phone from the counter. As she slides it toward her, she knocks my keys to the hardwood floor. "Shit. I'm going to get my ass thrown out of here before the night is over."
I bend down to pick up my keys, jingling them in my hand. My eyes catch on the key that I've never used. It opens the door to Crew's apartment.