Sadie laughed hysterically as they told more stories. Her favorite was the story Ethan told about Darla’s last Thanksgiving.
“We knew it would be her last. She had fought so long and hard, she just wanted Thanksgiving. In our house, all holidays were celebrated but Thanksgiving was her favorite. A day devoted to being with the family. I know you didn’t know her, Sadie, but Darla was the epitome of what a mother should be. I think if any one of us could have dreamed up the perfect mom, we would have all gotten ours. Three years ago, T and Stone were overseas. They tried to get leave but as you can imagine everyone wants to go home for the holidays. Anyway, we planned the day with everyone, minus T and Stone. Halfway through the day we heard a chopper from outside. It was so loud it sounded like it was shaking the house. Everyone goes outside to see a helicopter hovering over the pasture near our house. Two seconds later someone jumps out and then another person.” He started laughing with sadness. “I’ll never forget the look on Mom’s face when she saw it was Stone and T.”
Everyone laughed but there was sadness beyond the laughs. They all missed their mom. Darla Garrison sounded like a mom who loved her kids. And they loved her.
“So, Sadie, tell us a story,” Roxanne said. “About a funny Thanksgiving you had.”
Sadie was sitting on the couch cuddled up to Stone with his arm around her. Her hand was on his leg while they told their stories.
“I don’t have funny stories like you guys.” Her anxiety grew.
“It doesn’t have to be funny; it doesn’t even have to be about Thanksgiving. Just anything.” Roxanne adjusted her feet underneath her and her elbow to the recliner. She looked over at Sadie with anticipation as she placed her chin in her palm. She was waiting for a story Sadie didn’t have to tell.
Her stories weren’t happy ones. Looking back, they were funny but in a pitiful way and there weren’t any that she wanted to share. Sadie could make one up, she thought. Stone’s arms tightened around her.
“I’m sorry.” Sadie let out a nervous laugh. “I can’t think of any right now. Rox, tell me another one of yours.”
“No, I want to hear about you, Sadie.”
“Let it go, Rox,” Stone demanded.
“Let what go?” Roxanne was confused.
“She doesn’t want to share. Back off,” he growled.
“But I just…” She was interrupted by Ethan this time.
“Roxanne! Let. It. Go.” He stated it calmly but his intent to her was obvious. He wanted her to shut up.
Sadie felt bad. Roxanne was trying to get to know her, include her, and now she was getting yelled at.
“Okay, Rox, I have one. It’s not funny and nobody jumps out of a plane,” Sadie winked at Stone, “but it’s a happy one.”
Stone and T snorted while everyone else smiled at her. Roxanne grinned at Sadie, the mood shifted back to happy and she eagerly gestured her to go on.
“So, I have this neighbor Miss Trudy,” she turned to Ethan, “you met her when you stopped by, remember?”
“Miss Trudy. I remember.” He winked.
“Well, Miss Trudy is an incredible baker, every Christmas she bakes cookies for me. They are amazing. Anyway, when I was eight, I became obsessed with butterflies. I would watch them, draw them. I even wrote stories about them. I loved them. By the time my birthday rolled around, I was still into my butterflies. For my ninth birthday, she made me a purple and yellow butterfly cake. It was even in the shape of a butterfly! It was the best gift I ever got. It was awesome!” That story made Sadie happy.
“That’s so sweet! Did you have a butterfly themed party, too?” Roxanne asked.
“Uh, no. No party, just the cake.” Sadie was feeling a little uneasy again. Her mom never let her have birthday parties and Sadie got the feeling that Darla made sure Roxanne never missed one.
“Oh! Well, Sadie, that’s a great story! And I love that you got the cake of your dreams for your ninth birthday.”
“Me too!” She smiled back. It wasn’t much but it was a great memory.
Ethan and Roxanne headed back to their apartment while Sadie cleaned up the mess. Roxanne offered to help but Sadie insisted it was the least she could do. She relented, gave her a hug, and went back to her place. Ethan followed behind Roxanne with a wave and a look Sadie couldn’t quite explain. He looked hopeful? She waved back and cleaned up while Stone, T, and Bogs were in T’s room. She wished she had known T lived with Stone. Stone never mentioned it. However, that explained why T was in the apartment the other morning. Now my mind centered on T’s room. While she wasn’t intentionally snooping, she did go into a closed room and open up the laptop. She had to tell Stone. She wasn’t a dishonest person and didn’t want him to find out before she could tell him. She was thinking of a way to broach the subject when they came out of T’s room.
****
Stone stood in T’s room with arms crossed, body rigid, staring at the monitor. With Bogs sitting at the desk and T next to him, they watched Sadie enter T’s room. She looked around and turned to the computer. She walked over hesitantly and opened up the screen. Stone’s body became tense.
“What file?”
T took a breath and sighed. “Cavanaugh.”
“Shit!” Stone hissed through gritted teeth.
Stone intently viewed the monitor. Sadie scrolled through the file and stopped. She was obviously reading it. Stone was mad. Why would she come into T’s room? There had to be a reason, Sadie wasn’t the kind to snoop around. Was she?
As he watched, he saw something
