He rolls his eyes and levels me with one of his glares. “They were awful. You can admit it.”
“They weren’t that bad. Just…abstract.” At this, he bursts into laughter, and I swear the sight has the heavens singing.
We spend the rest of the morning talking and laughing, lounging on the couch, and generally just enjoying each other’s company. When it’s time for me to head back to my place, though, the mood plummets. Neither of us really wants to part, but I have to get my stuff together for my shift tomorrow. We stand in the doorway far longer than we should, unwilling, or maybe unable, to say goodbye until the elevator dings, and an older woman steps off, breaking the spell. With a gentle squeeze of his hand, I turn, leaving my heart behind in a second-floor apartment.
Cooper
Staring at the trailer that houses all of my happy childhood memories, a lump rises in my throat. I’ve missed this place so much, but more importantly, I’ve missed the woman inside it. The woman who accepted me. The woman who took me in. The woman who fed and clothed me. The woman who chose me when the one who birthed me tossed me aside like trash. The woman I turned my back on.
“I’m not sure about this, Teddy. I… I don’t have the right words to tell her how sorry I am. She must be so mad at me. What right do I have to just show up after all this time?” He steps in front of me, bending his knees so he can look at me eye to eye.
“Enough of that. She’s missed you, and she’s just excited to finally have you back. If you need a minute, take it. We’ll go in when you’re ready, but please don’t think she’s anything other than happy that this moment is finally here.” I reach out and grab his hand, shocking both of us. I take a deep breath, and we start up the porch steps.
My feet have just barely touched the first one when the front door is yanked open. My breath catches, and time freezes. There in the doorway stands the woman who taught me what a real parent was like. She looks a little older, but Nyla Davenport is still as beautiful as the day I left. Her auburn hair is loose, curling around her shoulders, only showing hints of grey near her temples. Her green eyes sparkle in the sun, and there are crow’s feet at the corners, indications of a happy life. Her unshed tears match my own, and her dainty hand shakes as it comes to rest over her mouth. “Cooper,” she says in a whisper.
“Mom,” I croak out. The next thing I know, I’m engulfed in her arms, and just like when I was a kid, she lowers us to the ground and holds me as I cry.Jesus Christ. I swear I don’t normally cry this much.
It’s only when my eyes are cried out and my shirt is soaked from her tears that our position registers. She’s touching me, and I’m not freaking out. I look at Teddy, who’s crying too, but he must notice the shock written all over my face. He just shrugs and mouthsMomas if that explains everything.I guess in some way, it really does.
“Okay. Enough of all these dramatics,” Mom says, trying and failing to subtly wipe her eyes. “You boys come on in the house. I have some fresh tea in the fridge.”
We all take our shoes off in the entryway before heading to the kitchen. Teddy walks to the chair on the left, and I immediately take the one to his right. A soft cry has me turning to look at Mom. “Don’t mind me,” she says. “You boys just move around each other like y’all were never separated. It’s instinctive and automatic. Just like when y’all were little boys.” We share a soft smile at her words.
After setting a glass of tea in front of each of us, Mom takes her seat. “Now, I wanna hear about everything that’s happened since you left. Don’t leave anything out. I wanna hear it all. I feellike I missed so much!” A chill spreads through the room, and my grimace doesn’t go unnoticed. “What?” Mom asks. “What’d I say wrong?”
“Nothin’, Ma. It’s just…” Teddy trails off.
“It’s not a happy story,” I finish. “A lot of awful things happened to me, and I did a lot of awful things to myself as a result.” I only give her the CliffNotes version, but that doesn’t stop her from getting progressively more pale the longer I speak.
“That sonuvabitch! I swear to the good lord above, I’ll kill him! And to think that sad excuse for a judge said it’d be better for you to be with blood. Shows how much he knows. I ought to give him a piece of my mind the next time I see him at the Pig!” Color has returned to her face by the time her rant comes to an end. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, baby. I hope they buried that bastard under the jail.”
“Ah, well…” I start, staring at the tabletop. “I would have had to tell someone about all this for that to have happened.”
“So nobody else knows?” Her voice is soft, and suddenly I’m eight-years-old in the back of a car and Mom is telling me there’s nothing that would make her stop loving me.
When I look up, I see confusion written across both of their faces.I may have conveniently omitted this part when I told Teddy the story.I shake my head. “No, ma’am. Just Max, my therapist, Teddy, and now you. I was so ashamed. I just wanted to forget about it. Then so much time passed, I didn’t think anyone would believe me. Plus the thought of facin’ him again is terrifying. I… I don’t know if I’m strong enough for that,” I admit.
“Oh, my sweet boy,” Mom says as she comes around the table to embrace me. I bury my face in her stomach and revel in the safe touch. “If you ever decide you wanna take that step, just know that I believe you, and I’ll be by your side the entire time if you want.”
“I would never be able to do it without you. These past thirteen years without the two of you have been awful. I feel terrible for letting my shame keep me away longer than it had to.”
“You have nothin’ to feel terrible about, Cooper Sorenson, and I won’t stand for hearing that come out of your mouth again. You understand me? You did your best, and you survived. Nothin’ else matters.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say on a sniffle. “I can’t quite take credit for surviving, though. Teddy helped save me this last time. And before that, it was Max. If not for the two of them, I definitely wouldn’t be here.”
“Don’t discredit yourself. They may have stepped in when the load became too heavy, but there’s a lot to be said for a fightin’ spirit. Every day, you fight, and that’s something to be proud of. Now, who is this Max? You’ve mentioned him twice now. Is this a friend? A boyfriend?”
The happy glow that had started to spread with her talk of a fighting spirit dies a sudden death at ‘Max’ and ‘boyfriend’ being used in relation to each other.
“What?!” I screech. “No. Uh-uh. No way. Absolutely not! Max isnotmy boyfriend. We’ve never thought of each other like that,” I say. A nervous glance at Teddy reveals that he’s studying the table like it holds the meaning of life. “Besides…” I sputter. “Max is short for Maxine. She is my closest friend—and has been since we met eight years ago.”
“So, no boyfriend then?” Mom asks with a sly glance between Teddy and me that doesn’t go unnoticed by either of us.
“Ma!”
“Mom!!”
Teddy and I are sporting twin blushes at this point.
