“Hi, honey,” she says. I can’t see her face, but I know she’s smiling. Sinthia Bradley spends more time smiling than not.
She has lines on her face to show for it, but she wears them like a badge of honor. She says they’re the mark of a life that’s been worth living each and every day.
She tells me about how Dad fell asleep in the waiting room at his dentist’s appointment and about the colors they picked out to paint their newly remodeled bathroom.
We only live three hours away from them now, but missing them is the hardest part of living here in Aspen Springs. I secretly hope we can get them to move here with us one day, but I don’t want to tear them away from the life they have built together in Steamboat Springs.
“How’s Oliver?” she asks, and pure love shines through in the way she says his name. Being away from him has been hard for my parents, but they have seen how good this change has been for him.
They were supportive of the move from the first time I mentioned it. Honestly, they’ve been supportive of pretty much everything I’ve wanted to do in my life, aside from a few truly tragic teenage ideas.
“He’s good.” I swallow past the emotion building in my throat. “He, um… actually.”Fuck.Why can’t I get this out? “He said ‘yeah’ when I asked him if he wanted pancakes.”
Normally, this is something I would have told my parents the minute it happened, but the immensity of it had me keeping it to myself for a few days. I told Linc and Wyatt, but no one else.
My mom lets out a soft gasp followed by a barely audible whimper. I’m pretty sure she’s crying. “Oh… Kane. Are you okay?”
I blink past the tears that are building in my eyes. “More than okay, Mom.”
“I miss you all more than you know, but you all are where you are meant to be. That boy needed a fresh start. I think you all did.”
I nod because she’s right. We all needed it for different reasons, but it all led us here.
“How are my other two boys?” she asks. I love how much my parents care about Linc and Wyatt. They’re every bit their sons just as much as I am.
“You should call and ask them,” I say, shaking my head. She talks to them all the time, so I’m just giving her shit.
“You boys aren’t very good about telling me when things are wrong, so I have to ask around the group.”
My body shakes with laughter. “Quite the detective, Mom.”
“I wouldn’t have to be if you three could be trusted to tell me when things aren’t peachy keen.”
“Mmhmm…” I hum.
She can say whatever she wants, but my mom would be meddling and checking up on us, no matter how many details we told her about our lives.
“Any special ladies I should know about?”
Abby’s face flashes through my mind, but I shove it away. “No, Mom.”
“For Linc or Wyatt?”
Abby’s face makes a repeat performance in my mind.
I’ve seen the way they both look at her. It’s pretty clear they have feelings for her, and I know Wyatt kissed her.
There’s also the fact that Wyatt didn’t come home after he drove her home from the bar. He said she asked him to stay because she didn’t want to be alone.
He didn’t disclose any more than that, and I haven’t had the courage to ask. I don’t know if it would be better to know or to be left in the dark.
They both carry their own kind of misery.
“You know them. They’re happy with their single lives.” This has always been true, but as soon as the words leave my mouth, I don’t know how much truth they hold anymore.
“And are you happy with your single life?” she asks.
I hesitate, not knowing how to answer her questions. I want to be with someone. And there is someone I wish could fill that role.
