A Little Ray of Sunshine Read Online Free PDF Page B

understand her child. It’s simply asking too much.
     
    —from Twinkie and Me: The Real Life Confessions of Lilly Lorraine

 
    Three
     
     
    The pancakes were that special buttery kind of delicious, the kind where even when they’re in your mouth, you simply can’t believe how good they are. I ate slowly, because even an angel’s pancakes are questionable after three shots of whiskey. The conversation relaxed, and Digs filled me in on the last six years, during which he’d dated inconsequentially and moved out of Danny’s real estate office into business with Luke flipping houses for fun and profit. I filled him in on my life—in which the only interesting thing that had happened was being adopted by an angel. Jess asked us question after question about our childhood, and we kept her entertained with stories until Digs glanced at his watch.
    “It’s almost ten,” he said. “My plane leaves at midnight.” He smiled at me. “I gotta run.”
    “You know what?” Jess said, pushing herself up from the dinette and grabbed the plastic bag of garbage from under the sink. “I’m gonna take this out for you.”
    “You don’t have to—” I said, sliding out from my seat, but she p’shawed me and was out the door. I turned to Digs.
    “Well,” I said.
    “Yeah,” he said.
    “Thanks for coming. It was good to see you.” I breathed in deep and chewed the inner edge of my lips, blinking hard. Stupid whiskey.
    He chucked me under the chin. “So you’re gonna be there, right?”
    The very thought of attending yet another one of my mother’s weddings made my heart seize up in impotent fury and terror. The fact that wonderful, sweet, kind, loving, innocent Danny was the victim only intensified the sensation that the world was whirl-pooling into disaster. I couldn’t even think about seeing Luke again without my stomach turning cartwheels in my gut. There was no way in hell I was going to that wedding. I wouldn’t survive the first fifteen minutes. But I knew Digs wouldn’t leave until I told him what he wanted to hear.
    “Yeah,” I said. “Of course. I’ll totally be there. I mean, it’s Danny, right? How can I not be there for Danny’s wedding?”
    “Right,” Digs said, watching me. “June twenty-ninth. That gives you almost two weeks.”
    “Plenty of time,” I said. “I’ll just finish up my business here and I’ll be right on my way.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “So you’ll be there early?”
    “Sure,” I said. “Or on time. Whatever.”
    “But you’ll be there.”
    I nodded emphatically, hoping he’d leave before I burst into tears right there. He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head, and it wasn’t until that moment that I fully felt how much I had missed him.
    “It was good to see you again, kid,” he said.
    He released me, gave a short wave, and headed out the door. I stared at the door for a long while, hating that I’d just lied through my teeth to Digs. But even worse would be going to that wedding, and I had no intention of putting myself through that.
    Besides , I thought as I ran my fingers over my eyes, it’s not like I’m going to have to face Digs again, anyway.
    The door opened and Jess stepped inside, her smile fading as she caught the look on my face.
    “EJ?” she asked, putting her hand on my elbow. “Are you okay?”
    “I’m drunk, I think.” I grabbed a tissue off the counter and blew my nose.
    “Yeah, I think maybe,” she said, guiding me back toward my bed in the front of the trailer.
    “I had no choice,” I muttered, closing my eyes as she pulled the sheet up to my neck.
    “I know,” she said softly.
    Then all went black, and the next thing I remember is opening my eyes to the bright light of day flickering over my face as the curtains by my bed shimmied back and forth. At first, I thought it was just the world’s worst hangover, because the reality—that my Airstream was moving down an unknown highway at high speeds—was too