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“Tell him if he needs anything to let me know.”
I nod, grateful for Levi’s words. I just hope Mac has no problems with getting the truth out of Tessa. She’s obviously capable of drugging someone to get what she wants, but I don’t see the point of her drugging me. I know she was pissed I was at Mac’s house, but she and Mac have been over for years.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when my mom says, “I was going through some boxes in the attic the other day and came across one of your boxes.” She turns to Levi, “Can you go get it for me, please? It’s in our bedroom in the corner by the desk.”
“Sure, baby.” He bends and gives her a lingering kiss. I turn my head to give them privacy. When I hear his retreating footsteps, Iturn back to my mom, who has a flush on her cheeks. She gives me a small smile, which I return.
“So.” I grab her hand in mine. “Have you set a date yet?”
“Sort of.” At my confused look, she laughs and continues, “We’ve decided an open date sometime in winter. I want to get married in the snow. Since there’s no way to predict when it’s going to snow, we’ve decided to just plan everything ahead of time, and when we know it’s going to snow, call everyone to come over. We don’t want a lot of people to attend, just family and a few close friends. I know it sounds crazy, but…”
She trails off with a shrug and looks at her lap. I squeeze her hand until she looks back at me. “It’s not crazy at all. I think it’s going to be beautiful.”
She smiles at me, and I know I’ve made her happy with my words. My chest warms at the happiness I see in her eyes.
“You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”
“Mama, really? Do you even need to ask? You know I would be completely honored.”
She laughs again and gives me another hug. I squeeze her in return, thrilled that she’s so happy. My mom is the best person I know.
Levi comes back into the room, and we break apart. The soft look in his eyes says he heard part of our conversation. He’s carrying a shoebox big enough to carry a pair of boots. He sets it down on top of the coffee table in front of us. I have no idea what’s inside, but I’m curious. I reach out and remove the lid. My breath catches at what I see inside.
Mama senses my reaction and gets up from the couch.
“Levi and I are going to the kitchen to give you privacy. I’m making us grilled cheese sandwiches. Would you like one?”
“Sure,” I tell her distractedly, still looking inside the box without touching anything. I barely register her and Levi leaving the room.
I reach out and see that my hand is shaking. Sitting on top is a framed photo of Mac and me at Jaxon’s lake. We’re sitting on ablanket that Mac set out for us. It was the beginning of winter, so it was cool outside. Mac is sitting behind me with me between his legs. A bright red blanket is surrounding us both. He has his head on my shoulder, and we’re both looking out at the lake. There’s serenity on both our faces, like we’re both sitting in the best spot on Earth; no other place would have been more perfect. Anna had taken the picture without us knowing, and it became my favorite. It stayed on my nightstand until the night of my eighteenth birthday.
That night, when I came home, I took the picture and all the rest of the contents of the box and tossed them in the trash. Mama must have seen me do it and decided to save everything.
I set the picture frame beside me on the couch and pull out a few more pictures. There’s one of Jaxon, Anna, Nick, Andrew, Mac, and me. A pang hits my chest at seeing Anna again. My mom took this one. I remember that day because that was the day that Andrew tried putting his arm around Jaxon, and he kept shrugging it off. We all laughed at Andrew’s attempts and that was when Mom took the picture. We all look cheerful and carefree.
There are ticket stubs for every movie Mac and I went to. It sounds so childish now, but I kept anything and everything that had to do with Mac. I even have a lock of his hair that his mom gave me, which sounds somewhat creepy now.
In the bottom of the box, I pull out a silver chain that has a locket on it. I pull it open and tears blur my vision at the tiny picture of a baby Mac on one side and a baby me on the other side. Mac gave it to me on my seventeenth birthday.
I carefully place everything back in the box and get up to go into the kitchen. Mom and Levi are at the kitchen table, eating their lunch. When my mom sees my eyes, she gets up and comes to me for a hug. I hold her tight.
“I threw all that stuff away,” I whisper in her ear.
“I know you did, sweetie. I saw you do it. I went out behind your back, and got it all out. I knew one day that you would want it back.”
I never would have thought at the time that she would be right. I wanted nothing that would remind me of Mac. I am so grateful she saved it for me though. Those things were so precious to me and to have them back makes my chest hurt.
We pull back, and I give her a watery “Thank you.”
“I’ve heard you and Mac have been spending time with each other and figured now was the time to give you back that box. I know there was animosity between you both for a long time. I hope that whatever happened is over. You changed so much when you broke up, and even more so when your father left. I see some of the old Mia peeking through, and I hope it’s Mac that’s bringing back that happiness. It hurt so much to watch you withdraw into yourself like that.”
“I’m so sorry, Mama. I didn’t realize you were hurting too.” It seems like so many people were affected by my and Mac’s breakup. I had no idea; I was so absorbed in my own pain that I didn’t see the people around me hurting too.
“Don’t apologize, Mia. I understand you were grieving at the loss of something so special. Everyone handles pain in his or her own way. As much as I hated to see it, you chose to handle it the best way you could, by ignoring it and pushing people away. I wish I had pushed to get you to talk to me, but I didn’t want to cause you more pain.”
“Oh, Mama.” I rest my head on her shoulder while she rubs her hands up and down my back.
After a few minutes, I stand back up and she smiles at me. “Now, are you hungry?”
