“Oh, Beck, why are you crying? Your dad was getting all emotional too,” Mom says in her sweetest tone.
“I’m fine, really.” But I’m not. Shit. I wipe at my face and pull it together the best I can, and when it seems like I can’t the front door opens.
“Beck, I’m—” Jensen doesn’t finish her sentence when she realizes I’m not holding it together.
She’s at my side in an instant and doesn’t even see the FaceTime until she hears my mom.
“Oh, who’s this?” my mom asks, acknowledging Jensen now in frame.
Too many emotions are hitting me right now for me to speak. My mom remembers me. I want to tell her so many things. Tellher about Jensen and what she means to me, but don’t want to overwhelm her.
I clear my throat the best I can then wipe at my face. “T-this?—”
Jensen’s hand runs down my back softly. “Hi, I’m Jensen, a friend of Beck’s.”
My mother’s eyes turn soft. “You’re so beautiful, and is that a dog I saw too?”
“It is,” Jensen replies with a smile, not even batting an eye after walking into this. “Her name is Dottie.”
“Hi, Jensen,” my dad adds, but his eyes immediately meet mine after. “We were looking at some pictures, should we show Jensen some of the really good ones?”
I find a bit of a smile when my mom’s eyes light up. “I love this one.” She holds up a photo of me standing on Dad’s pool table, I couldn’t have been older than four in it. “You know, Rory told me he wanted Beck to become a professional billiard player, but I wanted him to play baseball so badly.”
Jensen’s hand moves to hold mine as it registers that Mom actually remembers me right now.
Dad takes the response on this one, thank goodness. “You sure did. He agreed with you too, considering he plays in the major leagues now.”
Mom’s eyebrows pull together as she tries to place this information, and I almost attempt to change the subject but then Dad hands her something else. “Here’s his first baseball card. Jensen might see it better if you hold it up.”
Mom takes the card cautiously, but as she looks at it she nods. “That’s right, he did.” She holds the picture out with a proud grin. “See what happens when you listen to me?”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I finally find some words. “I could listen all day.”
Jensen’s hand squeezes mine, and while part of me is thankful that it’s out of frame the other part wants to pull it in frame. To tell my mother what Jensen means to me, but spilling all my feelings now would be unfair to Jensen in this moment when we haven’t even talked about it ourselves.
We spend the next ten minutes talking with my mom about memories of my childhood and a few slipups happen when some pictures of me and my grandfather come up.
Dad was quick to switch it up with some other pictures, but after a while we know we’ve kept her talking long enough.
“I’m so happy you called,” I say as my dad starts to collect the photos.
“Me too.” My mom’s smile isn’t as bright as it was at the start, and then it turns into a wince. “My head is really hurting now. Beck, will you help your dad with dinner? I know you both love breakfast for dinner, maybe you can do that? And don’t forget to pack your bag for baseball practice tomorrow.”
Shit, she’s getting lost in another time.
I take a deep breath. “Yeah, breakfast for dinner sounds great, and don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s ready to go. I won’t forget.”
“Good.” Her head nods and her eyes stare off into another moment in time. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I make a nod to Dad that I hope he understands is to get her down to rest immediately, and he nods back. He stands and slowly comes to her side. “Let me help you get settled, then I’ll come help Beck.”
Jensen and I wait, not moving a muscle until I’m sure they’re no longer in the room. Leaning forward, I end the call. My heart rate picking back up again.
She remembered me. She told me she was proud of me.
Jensen’s hand slides on my back in another soft caress. “Beck?—”
She gets my name out, but then I’m pulling her in my arms and I lose it.
