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I take a deep breath and nod. “Thanks, Mom.”
She squeezes my cheeks, then kisses them both as she stands. “I think we need cannoli.”
“Good thing I made some then.”
She walks to the fridge, but on the way, she picks up the gift bag from Hope that I left on the counter last night. “I think you may want to open this,” she says, handing it to me.
I take it from her, remembering again what I said to her tonight.I can’t do this.
That’s the biggest mistake I’ve made.
I said the words without thinking. I said them because I was overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the minutes before. I said them because I couldn’t stay there, in front of her and Charly, feeling everything in the middle of the chaos surrounding us.
I didn’t say them because I didn’t want to dousanymore. But I’m afraid that’s how she may have heard them. How could she hear them any other way? Especially after I told her she should go back to Kansas the night before.
Okay. So I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past twenty-four hours.
But she said her gift was a sign of what she hopes the future holds, and I need a sign right now. I have to figure out what to say to fix my mistakes, and whatever is in this bag may help.
I tear it open, pulling the card out first. It’s handmade with a child’s drawing of three circles, each with four lines sticking from them. There are also dots and what could be smiles in the middle of the circles. Underneath each one, Hope has written a name. Sebby. Mama. Charly.
I smile and look more closely at the details. The stick arms are touching. Like the three of us are holding hands.
My chest might burst.
I open the card and read what’s inside.
So we can be the Three Mooseketeers. Get it? But mostly because we love you.
I know what’s in the tissue paper even before I pull out the moose rack beanie, but I still let out a laugh when I see it. There are even lights hanging from them, like the ones I made her and Charly. I don’t know how she made that happen, but it definitely took effort.
I turn them on and pull the beanie over my head.
It fits perfectly.
When Mom turns around, she laughs. “It turned out perfectly.”
“You knew about this?”
“Of course. She told me her idea, and I told her to get your grandpa to help with the lights.”
“Grandpa helped?”
Mom nods and holds out a plate with cannoli, but I shake my head. “I’ve got a mistake to fix.”
Because I’m not going to lose Hope or Charly. I’m not letting them go without a fight.
Chapter 36
Hope
After the scene outside the church, all I want is to get Charly home as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the crowd in the parking lot has a different idea. Every person wants to tell me what happened, and everyone has a slightly different version. What I piece together from their stories together is that Seb modified hisDukes of Hazzardhood slide to a trunk slide and saved Charly from getting run over.
The part no one has to tell me is the part where Seb told me it was over between us and ran away. I was there for that, and it replays in my head about a thousand times as I make my way through the people surrounding us.
Mr. Patrick, who I don’t even remember meeting, apologizes profusely, and asks over and over if Charly is okay, like he’s known both of us forever. Mrs. C. rushes up to us as I walk back into the church to find my parents.
