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Mom stomps over to the light-switch and flips it on. I flinch, the light hurting my eyes after so long hiding in the dark. When my eyes adjust, I can see the young woman with my mother looking over me. It sets my teeth on edge at first, but I quickly realize it’s nothing but polite curiosity in her face. No attraction or approval, just normal, harmless inquisitiveness.
She has the largest blue eyes I’ve ever seen, round and the color of cornflowers. Her skin is flawless, and she has a glow about her that I usually attribute to older women. This girl is still young, but she is content in a way most women my age aren’t. She looks so familiar, but I can’t place her.
Mom crosses her arms. “It’s one dinner with your family. Get dressed, Andries.”
“There are hundreds of people I have no interest in meeting,” I inform her, reaching for my headphones. Mom plucks them out of my hand and tosses them into a nearby chair.
“You can at least say hello to Petra here. You haven’t seen her since her and your Uncle Alex’s wedding, and she’s come all the way from New York to see us,” she says, voice firm.
Petra? Oh! It’s Uncle Alex’s wife! That’s where I know her from.
The relief that she isn’t a potential date is swift, but I keep my expression neutral. “Yeah, I remember you now. What do you want?”
Petra opens her mouth to speak, but Mom cuts her off. “You and Petra are the same age, so I thought it might be nice to have someone you can relate to around.” She loops an arm aroundPetra’s shoulder and brings her forward a little more. “She’s in college too. I bet you both have a ton in common.”
I groan, closing my eyes. “Mom, you can’t expect me to just become friends with—”
To my horror, Mom backs out of the room just as quickly as she entered. “You two just come down when you’re ready! See you in a bit!” she chirps, shutting the door behind her.
What the fuck, I think, looking at Petra. She shrugs, and I wave her over to an empty chair, which she lowers herself into carefully.
“Sorry about this,” she says, looking a bit awkward. “But your mom is worried about you. She thinks since we’re peers, you might enjoy my company a little more than some of the dinosaurs downstairs.” She grins at her own joke, but I can’t bring myself to laugh. “So, uh…what are you writing in your notebook?”
I look down at the leather-bound notebook, and back up at Petra. “You don’t have to pretend to care. I don’t know why Mom brought you here, but seriously, you’re wasting your time.”
“Your mom told me your girlfriend broke up with you.” She ignores my complaints, speaking to me in a rather soft tone. “I know how it feels to love someone and then to have that person break up with you. It’s a pain like no other.”
I laugh sardonically. “That’s what Mom told you? Wow. Well, I’m the one who broke up with her if you must know. But it’s fantastic that she can’t bother to pay attention to the details of my relationship.”
“Oh, you did?” Petra blinks a few times. “But why? Julia said you two were deeply in love.”
“Because it’s for the better,” I tell her, my tone coming off more nostalgic than I aimed for.
Petra looks unsure, but circles back around to my writing. “What are you writing in there? Are you an aspiring author?”
I consider lying, but what’s the point? “Sort of. Much to the disappointment of my parents.” When my eyes scan my own words again, there is a lump in my throat, and I decide to tell her the truth. “I’m writing about how the woman I love above life itself broke my heart. Writing has therapeutic effects, or so I’ve been told.”
“What did she do to break your heart? It has to be something terrible if you want nothing to do with her anymore.”
“Oh, she was…” I stop myself, not wanting to reveal too much to this aunt I’ve met just once or twice before. “Whatever. I just want to write everything down, get her out of my system, and then move on. I was just a fucking idiot who believed she was the one.”
Petra’s eyes go wide. “The one!?” she repeats, visibly astonished. “You’re not an idiot. The heart wants what the heart wants. Don’t be surprised if just writing it out isn’t enough to wash her from your system, though.” I make a strangled noise, really hoping that she’s wrong about this. “How long were you guys together?”
I search Petra’s face, but I don’t see any malice, or conniving motivations. Just genuine curiosity. She’s probably just fishing information for my family, but I can share things they already know.
“Like three months, but I knew she was the one from the day I met her.” I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “You must think I’m crazy.”
“Crazy? You?” she asks, shaking her head, a small smile spreading across her lips. “At seven I was already painting family portraits with your uncle and I and our two children, so I’ll be the last person to judge.”
I’m beyond shocked that she’d share something so damn personal, but I can’t help laughing at her story. “Okay, that’s even weirder than what I’m going through.”
She laughs with me and the evening suddenly feels lighter. I might not know her much, but it’s good to be around someone who isn’t here to judge you about your past relationship.
“What’s her name?”
“Roxanne,” I tell her with an ounce of nostalgia in my tone. “Roxanne Feng.”
“What a unique name. Did your mom meet her?” she inquires.
