Page 25 of Living for Truth (Broken Shelves #2)

Morgan

I don’t think Alice was telling me the whole story when she called. I’m sure she left out some details because Aly hearing them again would just hurt her even more.

I make it a point not to talk negatively about Whitney around Aly, but right now I want to call and yell at her about being a heartless wench for ignoring our daughter.

Mother’s Day is next week, and Aly has been so excited about it, but there’s no telling how she’ll feel now. I won’t force her to go to lunch if she doesn't want to. If Aly never wanted to see Whitney again, I’d go to court and make it happen.

What a fucking mess.

Today was supposed to be about Hannah, and we were finally going to kiss. I was going to lean in and finally know what those plush lips feel like. Then we would have a conversation about this maybe not being fake anymore. We would see if she was ready to give a real relationship a try.

I had already planned to talk to her about meeting Aly, even though we aren’t seeing each other in an official capacity, so I guess this little hiccup in our plans isn’t so bad.

I think Aly is going to love Hannah. At least, I hope so. I’ll do whatever is best for my little girl, and if it means letting this woman go, I would break my own heart and do it.

I pray to whatever Gods exist that isn’t the case.

I didn’t plan on having Hannah meet Alice or anyone from my family this soon, though. They’re a lot. I love them, but they can be overwhelming.

As we get out of the RAV, my heart feels like it’s going to beat directly out of my chest. I grab Hannah’s hand and hold it as we make our way up the walkway to the front door. As soon as the doorbell rings, the barking starts.

Hannah jumps at the loud dogs but doesn’t seem scared, which is good. They’re harmless, mostly. They just get excited. Murphy, a senior shih tzu, has been known to pee in people’s shoes, but Alice is pretty good at getting him outside often enough that it hasn’t happened in a while.

“How many dogs does she have?” Hannah whispers. I don’t answer fast enough because Alice is opening the door and trying to shove three of the four beasts back into the house. Murphy stands between her legs, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he assesses us.

“Hi, oh—hi! I’m Alice. You must be Hannah. Don’t mind the guard dogs. They wouldn’t know how to protect our house if someone was actually a threat. Come on in.” Alice steps aside, and I lead Hannah in to take the brunt of the sniffs.

“This is Murphy.” I scoop up the gray and white poof. “He’s the leader of the pack, aren’t you, Murph?” He yips at me in response and licks my hand before I set him down.

“Dad?” Aly says from the doorway, eyeing Hannah warily.

Fuck. This is probably not the best time for me to introduce them. I didn’t think this through hard enough. Aly is upset, and adding a new person to the mix isn’t great.

“Hey, Bub. This is Hannah. Hannah, this is Alyssa.”

Hannah straightens and waves. “Hey, Alyssa. Nice to meet you.”

Aly, polite as ever, waves back with a soft, “Hi.”

“Do you think you could point me to the restroom, please?” Hannah asks me, clearly trying to give me a minute alone with Aly. I appreciate her ability to read the situation.

“Down this hall, last door right before the kitchen,” I answer. Hannah nods and walks in the direction I told her.

“I’m sorry, Aly. I was with Hannah when Alice called, and I—”

“It’s okay, Dad. I’m not mad you brought her here.” Aly crosses her arms in front of her like she’s trying to hug herself.

“Are you sure? Because I can take her home right now and come back for you.”

She shakes her head, and her bottom lip wobbles.

I curse under my breath, kneel in front of my baby girl, and pull her into me. “I’m so, so sorry, Bub. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Aly takes a calming breath but still stutters as she explains what happened.

She and Alice were walking around Old Navy when Aly heard someone who sounded like Whitney walking by.

Aly turned and recognized her and called out, “Mom?” Whitney, who was on the phone, stopped, turned around, looked at Aly, and then turned back around, walking out of the store.

Aly tried to follow after her but got stopped by a store employee concerned about a child being alone.

“I texted her, too, and asked her why she ignored me, but she didn’t respond.” Aly angrily wipes away the tears on her cheeks. “I just don’t understand why. Why wouldn’t she even say hello to me?”

“I don’t know, Aly. I wish I could give you a better explanation, but some people just do mean things. Maybe she has a good reason, but only she knows the answer to that. Dwelling on the what-ifs can just hurt us more.”

Aly nods. “I don’t think I want to talk about it anymore. I told Aunt Al not to call you because I didn’t want to be a bother, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“I’m glad she called. You could never be a bother, Bub.”

“Does Hannah hate me because I ruined your date?” she whispers, looking down at her feet.

“Not at all. Hannah understands you’re my priority. She was worried you would be upset she came along with me.”

“I’m not. I don’t know her yet, but she’s pretty. She seems nice. And she makes you smile more than you have before.” She pauses to think for a second. “Is she going to hang out with us for the rest of the day?”

“Well,” I say carefully. “I was going to ask if that was okay with you? I thought maybe we could go get some food from Joy Luck and watch some movies at our house. We have to stop by the shop first to show Hannah the apartment above it, to see if she wants to live there. Would that be okay?”

Aly’s eyes light up at the mention of her favorite Chinese food restaurant, and she nods enthusiastically. “That sounds good. Do you think Hannah likes Scooby-Doo ?” Aly found a bunch of my old DVDs, and my Scooby-Doo collection is pretty extensive. She’s been hooked ever since.

“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go find her before Aunt Al tells her all of my embarrassing stories.” Aly leads the way as we walk down the hall and to the kitchen where Alice is talking with Hannah.

“If you want someone to go with, let me know! I’m pretty free during the summer,” Alice says, and I wonder what the hell they’re talking about. “Oh hi, Morgy. I was just telling Hannah about the size inclusive thrift store in Salt Lake. She’s never heard of Thrift Plus, can you believe it?”

“I’ll have to check it out,” Hannah says with a genuine smile, and a warmth spreads through my veins seeing her bonding with one of my sisters. If she gets along with Alice, I’m sure she’ll get along great with Sarah and Olivia, too.

“Not everyone is as obsessed with thrifting as you are, Alice.” I turn to Hannah and place a hand on her lower back. “Ready to go check out the apartment?”

“What apartment?” Alice asks.

“Hannah might move into the apartment above the shop,” Aly explains. “Can we get going soon? I’m getting hungry.”

Alice’s mouth forms an “o,” and she nods in understanding. “If you need help cleaning the place, you let us know. The Fowler Crew has mastered the art of swift and efficient cleaning.”

Hannah’s smile is more nervous now but no less grateful. “Thank you, Alice. I’ll be sure to let you know if I need help. And I might take you up on that thrifting company. It was so nice to meet you.” Hannah holds out her hand to shake Alice’s, but Alice scoffs and rounds the counter instead.

“We hug in this family,” she says as she wraps her arms around Hannah and squeezes. “It was lovely to meet you, Hannah. I look forward to seeing you again.”

Alice lets her go and turns to hug Aly. “Bye, girlfriend. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

Aly mumbles against Alice’s chest, “Love you, too, Aunt Alice.”

“Bye, baby brother!” She hugs me and whispers just loud enough for me to hear, “Wrap it before you tap it.” I push her off of me—gently—and she cackles. The menace.

“Goodbye, Al. Thank you for watching out for my girl.”

Alice watches us hop in the car, then waves us off as we drive away—a family tradition for whatever reason.

“Alright. Quick stop at the flower shop, and then we’ll order from Joy Luck. Hannah, do you like Scooby-Doo ?”

“I love Scooby-Doo. It’s one of my favorite childhood shows. Why?”

My eyes meet Aly’s in the rearview mirror, and she smiles wide as she says, “Dad has all of the old DVDs, and I was thinking maybe we could watch them while we eat?”

Hannah turns just enough to look at Aly. “I think that’s the perfect Saturday afternoon activity. I’ve never been to Joy Luck, though. What do you recommend?”

Some people don’t know how to talk to Aly, they either treat her like she’s still four, or they treat her too adult.

Hannah doesn’t sound condescending or like she’s trying to get her to like her.

She speaks to her like she’s an actual human who has opinions and like she actually wants to get to know my daughter.

“I really like the shrimp lo mein and their sesame chicken. But Dad likes their orange chicken and Mongolian beef. We always get potstickers, cream cheese wontons, and egg rolls to share, too.”

“I’m not picky, and those all sound delicious.” Hannah turns back to the front, and my phone pings.

“It looks like Alice just texted me. Can you see what she said?” I hand Hannah my phone, and she hesitantly takes it.

Her cheeks flush as she reads the message, and then she hands my phone back. “I don’t think I was supposed to see that.” She doesn’t sound upset, just a little embarrassed.

When we park behind the flower shop, I quickly read the message from Alice.

Alice: She’s so lovely, Morgy. I think she might be my favorite person you’ve dated. Don’t fuck this up.

I’m relieved it’s not something bad, but I can see why Hannah would be a little embarrassed. We’re not actually dating.

Yet.

But I hope that changes very, very soon.