AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’samazing,” my mom says, and I look up to find her watching me with a sweet smile. “And that’s because she has an amazing mom.”
My throat grows tight at her words, the realization of how much I’ve wanted to hear them only just now hitting me. I open my mouth, wanting to say thank you, to tell her how much it means to me, but feeling too choked up.
So I just nod and lick my lips.
After a beat or two, my mom slaps her thigh and pushes up from my bed.
“Alright, well…I’ll let you finish this,” she says, tiptoeing between things until she makes it to the door. “I’m gonna go check on your father and Junie. I think he said they were gonna go sit on the dock, so that’s where I’m headed.”
“Sounds good,” I finally reply.
She turns, but before she disappears, I call out to her again.
“Hey mom?”
Her face reappears in the doorway. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Her lips tilt up at the sides, and I hope she knows I’m actually thanking her for more than just the camping gear.
Maybe someday, I’ll learn how to say exactly what I mean.
I jog up the front steps and key into my cabin, stopping briefly to grab a package leaning up against the door. Then I’m wandering through the house, having left work on my lunch break to search for Junie’s blanket.
The thing about toddlers that nobody prepares you for is how batshit crazy your child will be if their routine gets thrown off. I know all too well if Junie doesn’t have her blanket when my mom puts her down for her nap soon, she won’t sleep at all.
With no luck, I fill up a glass of water and drink it slowly, leaning against the counter, my eyes scanning the living room for something I missed. As I’m dumping it out, I spot Sydney on the porch.
“Hi sweet girl,” I say, pushing my screen door open. “You just out here enjoying the sun?”
Sydney’s head spins my way, her tongue flopping out and her mouth wide as I crouch down next to her. She rolls onto her back, exposing her belly, and I laugh, giving her really good pets.
“Always looking for tummy rubs, huh?”
I sit outside with Sydney for a good ten minutes before I head back inside, deciding to try one more time to find the blanket before I give up. Miraculously, this time, it’s found—tuckedbetween Junie’s bed and the wall—and I let out a dramatic, victorious sigh.
Then I give my mom a call.
“Hey.”
“I found it.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” I want to laugh at the relief in her voice, but at the same time, I know exactly how it feels. I keep my giggles to myself. “Last time we didn’t have it, it took two hours to finally get her down.”
“I remember.”
I tuck the phone between my ear and my shoulder then grab the package that was at the front door and slice it open with a knife.
“I’m just gonna make myself a sandwich and I’ll be…”
My voice fades as I pull out a bottle of pills and spin them around. There’s a label with the name of some kind of medication but no patient name. I look back at the box, cringing when I realize it says Reid Cohen in big fat letters.
“Busy?”
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. My voice is distracted, my mind still focused on the orange bottle. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
