“Avery, I really didn’t mean it. That page kept jumping around. I swear I clicked on ‘marriage license.’ Let me book it again for you and Mr. Haynes. This time, I promise I won’t mess up.”
Her voice trembled with grievance, her face downcast as she sniffled. She pulled out her phone and began tapping on it while sobbing pitifully.
I could see the sympathy welling up in Stanley’s eyes, ready to overflow.
Soon, she shoved the screen in front of me. “See? Here’s the page.”
“I don’t need you to book it,” I said coldly, trying to push the phone away.
But her hand slipped, the screen flickered to another tab, and in that brief instant, I caught sight of a close, intimate selfie of her and Stanley.
My hand shot out and grabbed hers. Startled, she let go, causing the phone to clatter to the floor and shatter into pieces.
The entire office turned to look, but no one dared say a word, except Darlene.
She burst into louder sobs, crying out dramatically, “Mr. Haynes! My mom’s last voice messages are in there. Those were the only things she left for me before she died. What do I do now? What do I do? My phone’s broken!”