Chapter One
Elena pushed open the door to her new bedroom, taking in the bed—her bed, made with her sheets and blankets, only missing the pillow that she’d had with her all summer. Boxes stood in neat stacks in the corners. Hannah and Matt had moved her things for her, including packing everything, so she had no idea where anything was.
That call from her mom in June had changed her whole summer. They’d just gotten back from Westport for the trial run of Matt’s new surf travel business. Being there had brought a certain nostalgia with it that intensified after her dad’s accident. The last time she’d gone to Westport had been a few years ago with her family, the same summer that Hannah had met Matt. Her parents had dragged them to the attractions in the area, her dad making them all climb to the top of the lighthouse. Her thighs had burned after climbing the narrow staircase that spiraled to the top. They’d had to take turns climbing into the very top section that housed the original lens. Her dad had laughed and joked about how Hannah had been the perfect guest to bring along, since she was gone so much it was just like having a regular family vacation. He’d teased Hannah when she was with them, making her blush, but hugging her to show it was all in fun, turning his attention on Elena or Tomás, poking fun at the way they ordered seafood or how Elena only drank coffee with lots of cream.
He wouldn’t do that now. After the accident, he didn’t have it in him. He’d hit his head hard on the window when a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned him. The doctors had kept him in a medically-induced coma for days while they waited for the swelling in his brain to go down. And when he’d woken up he’d been a different person.
She’d waited, trying to be patient like the doctors and her mother had urged, but as weeks had turned into months and his personality still hadn’t magically changed back, she’d lost hope that he would ever be the papi that she grew up with. Who had danced with her on his shoes when she was tiny and taught her to drive a stick shift when she was sixteen.
Instead of the smiling, athletic man he’d been, he was grumpy and depressed, never smiling or laughing. He sat on the couch watching TV, his face blank, barely responding to anyone or anything. And when she did succeed in getting his attention, he would heave a sigh before turning to her with unconcealed irritation.
At first she’d been hurt, but that had morphed into anger over the last few weeks, mixing together with her guilt, and she carried a stew of overwhelming negative emotions sloshing around inside her.
And now she was back in Spokane, getting ready to start her senior year of college, with a little over a week before classes started.
A soft knock sounded on her door, and she turned to find Hannah poking her head in. “I did my best to label all the boxes and pack things in a way I thought would make sense to you.”
Elena nodded, mute, still feeling like a jackass for not coming back last month to help with moving.
Hannah came all the way into the room and wrapped her arms around Elena. “I’m glad you came back. Even though that’s probably selfish of me, and I’m sure your mom could still use your help. I’m glad you’re here. I was worried you might not finish.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” With her hands touching Hannah’s back, she accepted her friend’s hug, but didn’t fully reciprocate. She didn’t know how to act now, here, after everything. Or what to say.
She was glad to be back. She’d wanted to help pack their apartment. But she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to force herself to go back home to Richland for the last few weeks of summer after getting away. It had been so awful being home. The worst summer ever.
Part of her had worried that she’d get stuck there even past the summer. But there was no way in hell she’d quit before her senior year. Fortunately, her mom wouldn’t hear of it either. Education was important to Paola Martinez. And so she’d returned to Spokane, and Mamá would take Tomás to Pullman to start his freshman year at WSU this weekend.
Hannah pulled back from the hug, examining Elena. “Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a while? Matt has to be at the rehearsal in half an hour, and we’re going to the dinner after that. I feel bad leaving you to unpack by yourself like this.”
Mustering up a smile, Elena shook her head. “Don’t feel bad. I’ll be fine. It’ll be nice to have the house to myself for a little while and get used to where everything is.” She glanced over at the stack of boxes, their contents listed in neat block letters in black Sharpie. None of them said kitchen or dishes. “Where’s all my baking stuff?”
“In the kitchen. Here, let me show you where everything is really quick before we go.” Hannah led the way into the kitchen, just down and to the left of Elena’s new bedroom. The other bedroom across from hers was Matt’s office now, since Hannah and Matt shared the master bedroom. And she’d get a bathroom all to herself for the first time ever. At home she shared one with her younger brother. In the dorms they’d had one bathroom at each end of the floor. And she’d shared with Hannah since then.
Elena hadn’t been in the kitchen before, since her dad’s accident had happened the day after Hannah had brought up the idea of moving into Matt’s house after Chris and Megan moved out. There hadn’t been time for her to visit the house like they’d planned, and when Hannah had called to ask if she was okay with moving, she’d given a distracted yes. Now, here they were. The doorway opened into the dining area, complete with a dented and scraped-up wooden table and mismatched chairs. The rest of the kitchen extended from there, the fridge on the right and sink on the left, with the stove straight back, all connected by out-of-date medium brown cabinets and dingy cream countertops. The whole kitchen could use a remodel, but looked clean and functional enough.
Hannah opened the set of cabinets to the right of the stove. “Glass bakewear and your pie plates are all down here.” She opened another cabinet next to that one. “Here are your mixing bowls.” Straightening up, she indicated the utensil holder on the counter. “All big utensils are here. Silverware in that drawer. Your favorite marble rolling pin is on the counter back here on its little stand. Umm …” She looked around tapping a finger to her lips. “Glasses up and to the right of the sink, plates and bowls to the left. Anything I missed?”
Elena shook her head. “I think that covers it. Do you have pie-making ingredients, or do I need to go to the store?”
With a grin, Hannah opened the little pantry. “I got your favorite canned fillings, plus there are berries in the freezer and Granny Smith apples in the fridge. I just got a couple of packages of your favorite brand of butter when I went to the store the other day, plus flour, cocoa powder, and all the usual things I know you go through on a regular basis. Good enough?”
Her best friend going so far out of her way to make Elena feel welcome lifted her spirits before she even started thinking about what kind of pie she wanted to make. This time she gave Hannah a real hug. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I need this. I didn’t get to bake as much as I would’ve liked at my parents, both because I was really busy, and because I knew my mom would worry if I made two or three things a day like I wanted to.”
Hannah pulled back with a chuckle. “Well, go crazy. Matt will love you until he starts gaining weight. But he still works out a ton when he’s home, even without helping Chris train for the NFL anymore.”
“Well, I’ll get some disposable pie plates so I can give away some of what I make to other people too. Even with Matt around, there’ll be no way we can all keep up with my baking needs, at least for a little while. It’s been repressed for months and is dying to come out.” She smiled like she was joking, and Hannah smiled too, but she was very serious. She needed the comfortable rhythm of making dough, and the predictability of mixing these ingredients to get this specific result to feel more centered again. Her fingers itched to feel the rough grain of her favorite wooden spoon or the smooth metal of her professional-quality whisk.
Matt poked his head into the kitchen. “Hey, Elena. How was your drive?”
“Good. Uneventful. The usual.”
“Good.” His gaze shifted to Hannah. “Ready?”
“Yeah. Give me just a sec.”
With a nod, Matt withdrew, and Hannah turned back to Elena, giving her one more hug. “I know your summer has been rough. I hope the fall goes better. I’ll see you tonight when we get back. Okay?”
“Okay.” Elena had to force the word out. Hannah’s acknowledgment of how hard things had been choked her up. But she swallowed that back down and forced a smile, blinking her eyes to clear the sudden welling of unwelcome moisture. “Thanks. I’ll have pie waiting for you.”
“Sounds good.” Hannah left the kitchen, and a minute later, the front door opened and closed, leaving Elena alone with her thoughts, which was not a place she liked to spend much time these days. Turning on her Taylor Swift channel on Pandora—nothing like some pop to make her feel better—she started to gather the ingredients for a single pie crust, noticing a carton of cream as she got out the butter. Hmm. Maybe she’d try out a French Silk pie. The creamy chocolate filling sounded good right now. She wouldn’t be able to garnish it with shaved chocolate curls, but otherwise, it should be good. First, the crust. Then, the filling. Distraction and control was the goal here. If she could manage that, she would make it through just fine.