Page 46 of Shattered

Friday we drove to my mother’s house.

The moment we walked in, mom’s face lit up like someone had switched on every light in her body.

“Jake!” She rushed forward with arms outstretched, looking directly at Axel. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. I was worried about you after everything.”

I stopped breathing. My lungs forgot how to work.

“Mom, no, this is?—”

“The wedding was beautiful, wasn’t it?” She took Axel’s hands, squeezing them with affection. “I know things were complicated for a while, but I’m so happy you two worked it out. I can stop worrying now.”

Axel’s eyes found mine. He looked lost in a situation he had no map for.

“Mom, listen. This isn’t Jake. This is Axel. Remember? Axel Irving. Daniel’s friend.”

Her face crumpled like thin paper. Confusion flooded her eyes, followed by something that looked like fear. “What? No. You’re married now. Why are you saying that? Where’s your husband?”

Aunt Maria appeared from the kitchen, taking in the scene with one glance. Years of practice showed in how smoothly she intervened. “Elena, why don’t we have tea? I made those cookies you love.”

“But Delia is saying strange things. Why is she confused about?—”

“Come help me, sister. You know I always take more time when I’m alone in the kitchen.”

Maria caught my eye as she guided Elena away. A small gesture told us to stay put.

From the kitchen I could hear Maria’s gentle voice explaining something. My mom’s higher pitch responding, still confused but calmer.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Axel. “I didn’t know she was doing this.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I should have corrected her immediately.”

“Maria was right. It would have upset her more.”

Maria returned minutes later with mom behind her, looking calmer if still bewildered.

“On bad days she’s convinced herself the wedding happened,” Maria said quietly. “That Delia is married. That everything is fine.” She looked at me with eyes that had seen too much. “Correcting her causes distress that lasts for hours. It’s kinder to let her believe what makes her happy.”

“But it’s not true,” I whispered, even though the truth felt useless in the face of her confusion.

“No.” Maria’s voice was so gentle it hurt. “But we’re running out of time for her to be happy about anything. Let her have this while she still can.”

We went back to the living room. Mom had pulled out photo albums, my entire childhood spread across the coffee table in glossy memories.

“Look at this one.” She showed Axel a picture of me at six with missing front teeth and pigtails. “Wasn’t she adorable? You must have known even then you’d marry her someday.”

“She was beautiful,” Axel said—his voice shifting into something soft, almost wistful, something I’d never heard from him before. The way he stared at me briefly made my cheeks grow warm.

“And this one from her high school graduation. She was so nervous about her speech.” Mom kept turning pages, kept talking to Axel like he was Jake. “You would have been so proud, Jake. She’s always been special.”

I sat there watching Axel nod at the right moments, pretending to remember things he’d never witnessed, becoming someone else entirely because my mother needed him to be.

After an hour we said goodbye. Mom hugged Axel tight, told him to take good care of her daughter.

“I will,” he promised. “I will.”

In the car we didn’t speak for the first few minutes. I drove while Axel stared out the window at Brooklyn sliding past.