“I was,” she draws out, “but I couldn’t wait another second to hear about my best friend's date!” Taking off her shoes, she saunters into the kitchen. After giving my mom a hug, she stands next to me, hip bumping my side. “So…”
“It wasn’t a date and youbothknow this.” I point my index finger at both my mom and Wren but they both just roll their eyes. “He was just helping me check off the first item.”
“Let me ask you this,” Wren deadpans, “did he let you pay for anything?”
“Well, no. But?—”
“No but’s. This was a date whether you think so or not.”
“Amen!” My mom decides to chime in.
“Mom! Don’t encourage her!”
“It’s exciting! You’ve never had aboyfriendbefore.” She wiggles her eyebrows at the thought of me having a boyfriend. “Forgive me for being happy for you.”
“Henry isnotmy boyfriend,” I voice sternly in hopes that they won’t see the want I have for Henry to be more than a friend.
I think back to the ferris wheel and how he asked the attendant about the safety concerns before we got on. The questions he asked me so that I wasn’t scared. The way his thumb rubbed my skin to let me know he was there.
I know I saidjust friendsbut part of me wonders if we could be more than that. Seattle isn’t that far and we clearly both like one another.
At least I think we do, but I could be mistaking his friendliness for flirting.
Maybe staying friends is for the better.
“Hello!” I snap out of my thoughts to see Wren waving her hands in front of my face. “Earth to Maisie!”
“Sorry,” I mumble and finish shredding the last of the cheese for the pasta.
“We can stop talking about Henry for now because we need to talk about the birthday party coming up!” Wren rests her elbows on the counter, holding her head up. “Did Maisie show you the decorations we got? Pink galore!”
My mom sets the boiled pasta aside as she begins working on the cheese sauce now that I’ve finished my portion of helping.
“Oh girls, I cannotwaitto see it! You know I love a good birthday celebration.” I can see her smiling from her profile as she starts mixing together the different cheeses. “I just hope everyone has fun.”
“Everyone will have fun, Wren and I will make sure of it. We’re all family around here anyway.”
“Thank you both for doing so much of the planning. I just love you both so much.” She rounds the counter pulling us both in for a hug, squeezing us together into one.
“I love you, Mom,” I say at the same time Wren says, “I love you, Elaine.”
“Elaine! You’ve outdone yourself!”Wren says through a bite of the mac and cheese as we sit around the dinner table.
“Hey, don’t forget, Igratedthat cheese,” I say knowing damn well I didn’t do much tonight.
“And we love your grating abilities, honey,” my mom says, eyes sparking with humor.
Growing up, having our weekly family dinners wasn’t something I always looked forward to. I never understood why we needed this family time when I lived with my mom and grandparents and saw them everyday.
Now I would turn back the clock if I could just to have five more minutes with all of us at the table.
It’s funny how fast time goes yet it feels like none has passed at all. It feels like just yesterday my grandma was sitting with us. Except it wasn’t, it was over a year ago now.
Sometimes I wish I knew she was dying to help offset the pain I felt when I woke up one morning to her gone. I’ll never forget my mom’s face when I came downstairs ready to head to work. The red rimmed eyes, the shaking hands. Her trembling voice as she told me Grandma Judith had passed the night before.
She was the first real heartbreak I ever felt. I never knew my dad since he left before I was born, and I was so young when my Grandpa Jon passed that I only remember what I see in photos.
My grandma was there for every dance recital, my multiple failed drivers tests, my high school prom. She was there for it all and just like that, she was gone.
