Trace (TraceWorld Book 1)
Page 15
Nola let out a noiseless sigh of relief. “Pancake House OK?”
A hint of a smile appeared on Mrs. Lafferty’s lined, tired face. “Oh my goodness, I haven’t been there in years. It used to be our son’s favorite place to eat, the only place he ever wanted to eat, even when he was a teenager.”
Nola didn’t even realize the Lafftertys had a son.
“He lives in California,” Mrs. Lafferty said, clearly catching Nola’s confusion. “He and his father . . . well, they haven’t spoken to each other for years. Eric hasn’t come to visit in a long time. He won’t get here until tomorrow.”
Her face fell, and Nola held her breath again. It was impossible to distract the bereaved for long. Now and every day from now on, there would be an absence in this woman’s life, and all Nola had to offer as consolation at the moment was pancakes. The only other thing she could offer, that strange, tenuous connection between the living and the dead, was not really hers for the offering, ever.
Then Mrs. Lafferty looked up and peered at Nola, studying her face—not as though she were looking at some freakish anomaly but rather with a simple, friendly curiosity. “You know, I think my son is close to your age. You really ought to meet him when he gets here. I think you two might really like each other.” There was the tiniest gleam in Mrs. Lafferty’s eyes.
Yeah, because a guy estranged from his alcoholic father who only comes to visit for the funeral is no way going to have massive issues to deal with and would certainly not be the last thing in the world I need right now. But Nola smiled with genuine warmth at Mrs. Lafferty, happy to have made the woman forget, at least for a moment, the sadness of her life.
“Let’s go get those pancakes, Mrs. L.”
About the Author
Letitia L. Moffitt was born and raised in Hawaii. Her first novel, Sidewalk Dancing, was published by Atticus Books in 2013 and was a finalist for Foreword Reviews Book of the Year. She was a writer-in-residence with Necessary Fiction, which published her serial novella, Redwood, in 2013 as well.
She currently lives in Champaign-Urbana.