FRANKIE
The phone chimes in my pocket just as I’m tightening the last screw on the car door. I pause, removing the glove from my hands, half-expecting it to be my mom with another guilt trip about “family healing.” My jaw tightens at the thought.
But the screen lights up with ANGEL ROSE.
A smile breaks through before I can stop it. It’s been doing that a lot lately. This girl’s got a direct line to muscles in my face I forgot I had.
ANGEL ROSE: Hey baby! What's up?
My thumbs fly over the screen, a playful edge in my words I only seem to have for her.
ME: Just working, trying to get done so I can swoop in with that bedtime story just for my Sweet Baby ;).
I lean against the car
frame, waiting. The garage smells like oil and metal, but all I can think about is the soft fruity scent
