I can’t help but smile. He’s definitely a goofball.
“Can I take a picture of all four of you as your first shot?” He asks.
“That would be wonderful,” Sue exclaims for me.
He comes and takes the phone back from me, positioning himself near the end of the bed. “Okay, everyone gather around Jake.”
Mal adjusts Jake’s bed so he’s sitting up a little higher. “Ok Jake, I’m raising you up so we can see your handsome face better for the picture.” She fixes the collar of his shirt and fusses with his hair. “There you go, honey, you are perfect.” She is such a kind soul. I should be used to her ways, but I’m still amazed by how she interacts with Jake. I move the armchair and hold Jake’s hand, while Sue joins Mal on the opposite side of the bed.
“Okay, ladies, on the count of three, everyone give me a big smile. One…two…three.” Zander looks at the picture and smiles. “You ladies look perfect. Jake, man, you’re lucky to have so many beautiful women around you.”
“Oh, you big flirt, you,” Mal laughs.
He hands me back my phone. It really is a great picture, so I set it as my background.
“Are you ready to head home, sweetheart?” Sue asks.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I grab my gift bag, bend down, and kiss Jake’s cheek. “Love you.”
Zander comes back over and takes Jake’s hand once I step away. “Great to meet you, Jake. I hope to see you again soon.”
We gather in the hallway and follow Mal back to the desk. “Sugar, Zander told me your plans are open for what day you’re flying south, so I expect to see all ya’ll back here before you leave, ya hear?”
“Absolutely Mal. Thanks again for the gift.”
“Of course.” She moves over to Zander and wraps him up in a hug. “You take extra special care of her. She’s one in a million.”
“I promise, Ms. Mal,” Zander says as he hugs her back. “I’ll go back to my hotel and eat something. I have a few work calls to make, too. Would it be okay to meet up sometime tomorrow, Summer?”
I’m secretly glad he made the call to end our meeting here. I’m still shaky and need time to process everything. “That would be nice.”
“Great. I’ve got my appointment at 8am with Mary, but the rest of my day is free. I’ll send you a text after the meeting?”
“Okay, that sounds good, Zander.” I give him a small smile and nod.
“Wonderful. Again, it was amazing to meet you all. I’ll see you and Sue tomorrow, Summer. Have a good night, ladies,” he waves as he heads out.
I deflate a little as Sue puts her arm around me. “That went really well,” she states. “He seems like a wonderful man. Are you ready to head home and get some dinner?”
“Yup. I feel like I ran a marathon today.” That was so darn stressful.
We wave goodbye to Mal and head home.
“I’m ordering pizza tonight. We deserve a treat.” Sue heads for the pizza flyer she keeps on the fridge. “I’ll get your usual?”
“Yes, please,” I say distractedly. I’m replaying my interaction with Zander in my head. I drag my suddenly heavy feet up to my room, drop my backpack on the floor by the desk, and flop onto my bed, hair fanning out around me. What an exhausting day. Nerves this morning when I got up, and then the texts from Zander. The immense relief of finally leaving that high school. Meeting Zander for the first time, and the gift from Mal. It’s all overwhelming. Zander seemed kinda great, though.
I reach into my back pocket and grab my new phone to set it up and log into the cloud, and download all my stuff. As I’m adding some new apps, I get a text from Sarah that Zander gave her my new number.
That was nice of him to contact her. I hit video call to talk to her right away. “Hi Summer,” she greets with a wave.
“Hi Sarah.”
“How are you doing tonight?”
“I’m trying to decompress right now. It’s been an emotional day.” That seems like anunderstatement.
“I can imagine. Did everything go okay at school?”
