I can’t help giggling.Maybe I got my interest in craftsandpolitical history from her.
She tilts her head.I think I hear your parents.
I peek out the window and see their rental car in the driveway.I go down the stairs two at a time.
My mother climbs the steps to the house, while my father gets their luggage from the trunk.
Mom,I screech as I fly onto the snowy porch.
She hugs me, enveloping me in her familiar scent of freesia and vanilla.Something tight loosens inside.
Evelyn, it’s so good to—oh, darling!Are you crying?
I sniffle.It’s just so good to see you.You too, Dad,I tell my father who is waiting for our reunion traffic jam to clear so he can get in the house.
Come in, come in,urges Nan.You’re letting all the heat out.Honestly, Evelyn, your socks are all wet now.Go change them and give your parents a moment to get settled.
I beam at my bossy great-grandmother and go up to my room.It’s an attic room like Viktor’s, but the ceilings are so steeply sloped that there’s skull-cracking potential if I get out of bed too quickly.Maybe that cozy familiarity was another thing I liked about sleeping at his place.Or was it the brotherly teasing of his roommates who were like the big family I’d always wanted?
Or it was just Viktor.Especially that intimate time after sex, when we really talked.I swallow down the lump in my throat that forms whenever I realize that all my lovely times with him are over.
I know he said some horrible things to me that night, but did he really mean them, or was he just lashing out?
After my parents have had coffee and a chat with Nan, my father goes off to do some work, and I follow my mother upstairs to the guest room to watch her unpack.
Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?she asks.
How did you know?Maybe the crying was a clue.
Oh, I think I know you.My mother sits down on the bed and pats the space beside her.I flop down and tell her everything that happened with Alpha Z and Viktor.Well, noteverything,of course.I haven’t even told Annie about how sexually simpatico I am with Viktor.
When I finish my long, sad tale, I wipe the tears and snot away and finally look up at my mom.
Oh no!You’re crying too.I’m so sorry.It’s not that bad.I’m already half-over the whole break-up thing.Don’t be sad,I reassure her.
She puts an arm around me and squeezes me so hard.I just feel terrible that you’ve had such a tumultuous time.And the worst part is my role in it.I was selfish to keep you with me when you could have moved back to Minnesota and gone to high school here.And you know I don’t care about you being a part of Alpha Zeta Mu, right?
I kiss her damp cheek.My mother is such a loving person.It’s my own fault.I wanted to do something to impress you.But it would have been more impressive if I had stood by my own principles.I should have said no to the whole revenge scheme in the first place.
You’re only nineteen years old.You’re allowed to make mistakes,she reassures me.Your father and I have a tendency to be overprotective, to see enemies around every corner.
I nod.
But there are two ways to react to danger.I tried to prevent it, but he tried to prepare you to deal with it.
You two are a good combination,I reassure her.
Darling, Viktor sounds very impressive.She pauses, carefully considering her words.But he’s your first boyfriend.There will be more, many more, I’m sure.While it may sound cruel, it’s important to feel pain.Without suffering, we can’t appreciate our true joys.
I sigh luxuriously.Sure, I’ve been experiencing bouts of sadness and pain, but it’s not really in my nature.I live life on an even emotional keel.
When she pulls me close, I snuggle into her warmth and regress into my younger, more innocent self.Only momentarily though, because I’d rather be the new me, even if it hurts.
I’m flawed, but I’m learning.I wasn’t wrong to aim high and date Viktor.Loving someone helps me know myself better.Now I understand how fragile the bond of trust is between two people.Everything I’ve learned from Viktor, I can take into my next relationship.I should be healed and ready in, say, ten years.
I pull back.Thanks, Mom.
You’re welcome.Now tell me more about this Crafty Club that you and Annie founded.It’s very impressive that you started your own organization.
