Page 39 of Here We Go Again

Mom

Be nice, girls. I’m sorry, Becca. I’m glad you’re feeling okay about things.

Becca

Thanks, Mom.

Gigi

I’m sorry too. breakups suck. but you can totally do better.

Alyssa

for real

For a split second, I debate whether I should tell them where I am, if only for the shock factor. My sisters remember Theo. They were younger when we dated but not so young that they don’t have any memories of him. They did the 5k with us right after Mom was diagnosed with MS, and they always loved it when he came over to the house. He and I took them trick-or-treating and to high school football games, and they were always trying to convince Theo to drive the three of us up to Buc-ee’s to get them some Beaver Nuggets.

Theo was a total pushover. He made the drive way more frequently than my parents did.

Needless to say, my sisters would lose their minds if they knew I was sleeping at his place. They would also jump to the same conclusion Mia has—that the obvious next step is dating him. And I’m not ready for that kind of peer pressure.

I’m also not sure what my parents would think. They were a little more aware of my post-breakup devastation than my sisters were. There was a lot going on that summer. My dad’s mom had Alzheimer’s, and in the month right after my high school graduation, her health turned from bad to much, much worse. Heartbreak over Nana’s memory loss on top of heartbreak over Theo really wrecked me.

I don’t think my parents still hold any ill will toward him, at least now, all these years later. But I was their little girl, which means they might.

Probably best not to mention Theo in the family group chat just yet.

Though I do have a question for my mom that might help me gauge how she feels about him.

Becca

So, Mom. Were you going to tell me you started playing pickleball with my ex-boyfriend’s mom?

Alyssa

uh, why is this the first I’ve heard about this?

Gigi

which ex-boyfriend?

Alyssa

probably the only one whose mom lives in Frisco?

Gigi

Theo? he was the best. not boring at all.

Mom

Maybe if you answered your phone every once in a while, I would have told you. I’m actually having lunch with Kim tomorrow. I forgot how much I like her.

Alyssa

wait. the Kim you’ve been talking about is Theo Williamson’s mom? how did i not know this?

Gigi