“Make it quick.”
“You got it.”
I was hanging the guest hand towel back up, smiling because I knew mom would lose it when she saw it all rumpled, when my phone vibrated with a text.
(314) 555-1456:Call us. Z&T.
I dropped my phone, and it clambered to the floor. My shaky hands fumbled it, dropping it two more times before I was able to keep hold of it. With my heart racing, I unlocked the screen. Of course, there was no more to the message, but I reread those words like they held a second meaning I could decipher with time.
“Sasha?” Dad knocked on the door, my phone falling into the wet sink.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “Just a minute!” I roughly dried it off on my sleeve.
“We have to go now!”
“Hold your horses!”
Dad grumbled but left me alone.
There was no way I was calling them in my parents' bathroom. I smoothed out my red waves and patted my face. Stress on stress on stress made me an absolute mess. Straightening my back, I left the bathroom and joined Dad by the front door.
“You look like shit, Kiddo.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I laughed, loosening up my stance.
“I mean, you do.” He shrugged. “You feel up to this?”
“Nothing would make me feel better.”
* * *
“You still got it!” Dad shouted over the loud pops as I hit the outline’s head before sending a few to the chest.
“You don’t lose what comes naturally.”
“One hell of a girl you got there, Greg.” Doug, never one to read the room, hovered behind us. “Amazing.”
“Don’t you have something you could be doing, Doug?” Dad groused.
I laughed and took off my ear protection. “Let’s get a drink. I’m thirsty.”
“Fine. I trust you’ll hold our spot?” Dad towered over Doug, daring him to disagree.
“Of course! We can’t have our champion shooter waiting among the riffraff.”
Dad grunted but couldn’t hide his pleasure at Doug’s compliments.
We got a couple of sodas from the vending machine and then stepped out into the warm, spring evening. Dad took a deep breath. “Smells like rain.”
I took a swing of cola and nodded. “It’s that time of year.”
“Almost wedding season.” His green eyes sparkled as he hid a smile behind his can.
“That it is.”
“You ready to be someone’s wife?”
I laughed and leaned against the brick building. We stood in silence, listening as the bugs started to hum and buzz.