Page 127 of The Color of Us

Braving the cold as we run around in the snow feels both so foreign yet so familiar, and we stay outside in this winter night until the temperature threatens to freeze more than branches.

I launch myself into his arms, and he catches me, as he always does. “Schroeder.”

“Your mom is coming in tomorrow,” he points out. “You excited?”

“I am. I really am.” I hold on to him very tightly until I drop back slightly as I finally share something new. “Erica is coming too.”

“She is?”

“She is. It’s a start.”

“It’s a big start.”

Tonight, I am happy in ways I couldn’t have imagined or hoped for.

“Danny?”

“Yeah, sweetness?”

“Take me home tonight,” I sing through my shivering.

“Whatever my girl wants.” Danny scoops me up and plods through the snow toward his truck. “Whatever my guardian angel wants. Tonight and always.”