“Do you mind if I ask how old you are?” She cocked her head to the side.
“Not at all.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m twenty-four.”
She made a note in her notebook. “So, you were twenty when you became Luna’s guardian. That’s a pretty big responsibility for a twenty-year-old. How have both of you been handling the transition?”
“We have fallen into a routine,” I responded.
“I love my brother and Avery, but I do miss Gram a lot. One minute, it was me and Gram and sometimes Avery while Grant was in college, and suddenly she was gone, and Grant and Avery were around full-time. Sometimes it still doesn’t feel real. I’m starting to forget things about her, though.” Lu absentmindedly played with her fingers, holding back tears. “I don’t want to forget her.”
I pulled her close to me. “I’ll never let you forget her, okay?”
“I see how important remembering your Gram means to you. The point of coming to see me in therapy is not to forget, but to manage our feelings and actions for when we do remember. I want you to think back to your time with her and feel happy and fulfilled, rather than the continual pain of missing her. Do you think you might want to try working together?”
Lu looked up at me, and I gave her a slight nod of encouragement. “Yes, I would like that,” she said with confidence. I was so proud of the respectful young woman she was becoming.
We discussed some of the challenges Luna faced, and how we’d like to address them before we left to make a follow up appointment with the receptionist.
“So, what’d you think?” We had settled into the car to head back to the house. I turned the music off so we could talk.
“I liked her. She seemed like a mom.” She smiled, looking out the window.
I held my breath. She hardly talked about not having a present mom, but since becoming a teenager, she has brought it up a little more. “Ready to head home?”
“Yep.” She nodded. “Can I pick the music for the drive home?”
I handed her my phone. “Go for it.”
She put on our Gram’s playlist. A playlist of songs filled with memories of Gram. We were both quiet the rest of the way home. She eventually fell asleep, so I grabbed my phone to call Avery.
“Hi, baby, how’d it go?” Avery answered.
“Really good,” I said. “I think she’s going to be a good match. Even if it’s a bit of a drive.”
“Are you leaving now? When will you be home?”
“No, I’m calling to let you know we’re about to pull up. The appointment went short since it was a meet and greet.” I turned onto our street.
“Right now?” she asked frantically.
“Everything okay?” She sounded off.
“Yeah, of course.” I heard shuffling and movement on the line. “See you soon,” she said and hung up.
That was weird. Avery sounded distraught. When I turned onto our street, I saw a man running out of my house, waving back at Avery. I met Avery’s eyes and she instantly paled.
My blood boiled as I gripped the steering wheel.What had I just seen?
I woke up Luna, and we got out of the car. As I approached Avery, she had tears in her eyes. She mouthed ‘sorry,’ and that was all the confirmation I needed.
Avery cheated on me…
In our home…
Nausea rose from my stomach.
My heart pounded.
There had to be a reasonable explanation.
