Page 6 of Roar for Me
“I see.”
“We got a divorce when I moved out here. She still lives in Pennsylvania, last I heard.”
Aurora knit her eyebrows together, but she didn’t pry. She studied the photos and budget sheet Duncan had sent over. “I’m sorry.”
“So was I.” He seemed to shake off his emotions and looked back at the screen. “What do you think?”
“You’re looking in all the wrong places for these decorations, Dunc. We can get them a lot cheaper elsewhere. I know a few places where we can get a custom banner for the backdrop. I’ll send you some links in the chat.” She pulled up the chat box, and her fingers flew across the keyboard. “There’s three to get you started, I can come up with more if you don’t like any of them.”
Duncan clicked the links and started browsing.
“These are great! How did you know about them?”
“I used to have a small handmade jewelry business on the side. I did festivals and art shows.”
He looked back at her, surprised. “That’s awesome! Why did you give it up?”
“Because it was a money pit,” she laughed. “And then Jeff got sick, and I realized it wasn’t that important anymore.”
“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.” Duncan took his hand off the mouse, and his gentle eyes watched the screen.
“It’s fine. I can talk about it.” She took a breath, picked up her stress ball and focused her gaze on it. “We found out he had leukemia about a month before our first wedding anniversary. He beat it, and he was fine for years. We had Katie, and right when we were getting ready to start trying for the next one, it came back.”
Her mouth was suddenly dry. Why hadn’t she brought a drink up with her? “He beat it again. It took longer, but he did it. It was so hard on him not to be able to help with Katie. And I was still working, and taking him to get chemo, and keeping her from pulling things she shouldn’t, which is difficult with a toddler.” She glanced at the screen and quickly looked away again.
Duncan’s keen eyes stared at her.
“Everything was fine for another five years. We thought, ‘It’s over!’ But then it mutated a third time. The doctors tried so hard. He fought bravely, but his body was so weak from all the other rounds of treatment.”
It had been a while since she had told the story. She dropped her hand below the desk and kept squeezing the stress ball, giving the camera an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I know that’s a lot to digest.”
“Don’t apologize. That’s awful. I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Roar.”
Aurora shrugged off his sympathy. “I had a great support system in my family and my close friends. We’re doing fine.” She squirmed. Time to change the subject. “What made you move to California?”
“I was starting my own business, and the investors were here. Businesses in Pennsylvania didn’t care much about going green, but it was a different story out west. Where are you working?”
“I’m the finance director for The Women’s Clinic.” She caught herself yawning while he nodded in appreciation.
“I forgot about the time difference. It must be getting late for you.”
Aurora looked at the time. “Nine o’clock is not that late, but I’ve been working on a grant proposal for work all week, and I’m exhausted. At least that’s done now.” She glanced in her view-finder; she looked like a raccoon stoned out of its mind! No wonder he was so concerned!
“Well, I’ll let you go.”
“I’ll find somewhere cheaper to get these decorations. The pillars will be the hard part, but they’ll be stunning.”
“Yeah.” Duncan smiled. “Good night, Roar. Get some rest,” he added gently.
“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.” With that, goddessofthebrokendawn ended the call.
Duncan leaned back in his office chair. So that was Jen’s big surprise; he was working with Aurora Wilson. She had some serious curves on her now, but other than that, the only thing that had changed was her eyes; they looked haunted. He recognized that look as more than just sleep deprivation—he’d seen the same hollowed-out expression staring back at him from the bathroom mirror when, in the name of his company, he lost everything he held dear. Duncan had gone through that hell, but it seemed Roar wanted none of his empathy. She’d rather tough it out. Had he been that different? No. He closed his laptop as his stomach growled for him to make dinner.
The first day of sixth grade was terrifying for everyone. Of course, when Duncan went to homeroom, he got seated with no one that he knew, and right next to a girl! Then they had the same science class right after, with the same seats. Aurora was smart. She always seemed to know the answer, and he didn’t understand at twelve why that was so intriguing.
She was different from the other girls in his class. They were all straight lines and sharp angles, but Aurora had big round curves filling out her shirts and jeans. Her hair even looked soft, and he ached to touch it. His hormones short-circuited his adolescent brain, and Duncan wound up teasing her about anything and everything, even the back brace she wore at the time. A lot of kids teased her, but he never meant anything by it. She looked so cute when she huffed, her face all red and scrunched. Teasing her was addictive, and much easier than dealing with his emotions.
“Mom? Who was that?” Katie had poked her head into the office and glimpsed Duncan on the screen.
