Page 5 of In Every Lifetime
"We're not throwing a party," I said as I went through our stack of mail. The majority was junk, but I enjoyed the routine of it. Routine had been my saving grace. Monotonous as it was, it kept me on a solid path forward, away from the triggers that could lead to a relapse. "Who would we even invite?"
Goldie raised a dark brow. "I'm assuming your ex-wife shouldn't be on the list?" I gave her an incredulous look, and she shrugged and turned back to her food. "Where are you at with Jackie right now? We could invite her."
"Considering we're not on speaking terms, that would be a bad idea," I mumbled.
"She talks to you at work," Goldie argued.
"She has to. I'm her boss. Outside of work, it's stony silence," I said.
"How did you two go from being best friends to," she paused, searching for the word, "whatever this is." She pointed her spoon to punctuate the point, dropping a bit of sauce onto the floor. "Shit," she mumbled, dropping a kitchen towel over the spot. "Nate, maybe?"
Only Goldie would manage to name the three relationships I had done the most damage to. "Can we not get into the graveyard of my past friendships right now? I thought you wanted to celebrate."
She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "So no party. What if we went out to eat?"
I shook my head with a laugh and ripped open another envelope…junk again.How did these people get my address?"You don't want to eat thatdeliciousmeal you're cooking up?"
Goldie shot me a glare, her dark eyes so deep they were nearly black. Only in certain lighting could you tell where her pupil ended and her iris began. They were strangely captivating.
"Don't patronize me," she grumbled, glancing back at her dish, her expression falling. "You think it's that bad?"
I glanced over at her. "I think that dish might kill us based on the smell alone."
She groaned, pulled the pot off the stove, and carried it straight to the trash, muttering under her breath about ungrateful houseguests and how she should have gotten a cat instead.
I didn't pay much attention as I was focused on a strange envelope at the bottom of the stack. It was addressed to me, my full legal name handwritten across the front:Faizal Acharya. I had been living at Goldie's for six months, but it wasn't myofficial address, and anyone who knew me well enough to know I was here wasn't speaking to me at the moment.
I checked the return address. Montana. I flipped the envelope over, ripped it open, and unfolded the letter inside. Goldie was still swearing in the background, the sound of her failed dinner hitting the trash a distant murmur as my eyes moved carefully across the typed words.
"Are you even listening to me?" Goldie asked, but her voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.
Goldie snapped her fingers in front of my face, pulling my eyes to her. "Are you okay? What's that?"
I swallowed hard, the letter trembling in both hands. "It's from my brother," I mumbled.
Goldie stared at me. "You have a brother?"
"I don't know."
