He smiled as his thumb stroked my cheek. “I want to be remembered as the guy who made you come loudly in the bathroom.”
I laughed, my head falling backward.
“I’m kidding,” he said softly. “I want to be the guy who helped you take charge of the life you want.”
“Deal,” I said, offering my hand in a handshake.
“Deal,” he said, shaking it. He pressed one soft kiss to the back of my hand, and I climbed into my car. It was hard to fathom how one night with a stranger could change your life forever, but I knew he would. Because I was going to quit my job tomorrow. I was going to honor that promise and I was going to remember him and this feeling for the rest of my life.
Chapter Fifteen
Jace
I knocked on thefront door of my moms’ condo once and waited thirty seconds before opening the door and letting myself in. It was generally best to warn them before I walked in, because even in their fifties, they were still very into each other in a way that I’d walked in on too many times over the years.
“Jace!” Ima exclaimed, walking toward me for a hug as soon as the front door closed. I wrapped my arms tight around the beautiful dark-haired woman who’d rescued me in so many ways since I met her. She was the mother every kid deserved and deciding to call her Ima shortly after I’d been adopted had been the easiest decision I’d ever made as a teenager. No one deserved a parenting title more than her.
She pulled back and gripped my shoulders, looking me over. She was the more outwardly nurturing of my moms. It was a trait I’d seen in her soft brown eyes the moment we’d met. Even now when she lookedme over, clearly checking to see if I was doing okay, I got flashbacks to that first day in her office.
I’d been hungry and I’d seen people going in and out of Baruch Haba for weeks. People went in looking despondent, and they walked out looking hopeful. I wasn’t an immigrant, which I’d realized was the population her business catered to, but I was desperate and I needed just a fraction of the hope everyone else come out with.
I’d walked in to find a young woman at the desk who took my name and asked why I was stopping in. I’d shared that I was looking for a homeless shelter and a place where they served warm meals since winter was starting to set in. Ima had been at the counter behind the desk pouring a cup of coffee and she turned around to face us when she heard my request. She looked me over then in the same way she was just now before saying,“I’ll take this, Carmela. Come with me.”
She’d waved me into her office, but not before picking up two donuts from the counter and putting them on a plate. She’d closed the door, gestured for me to sit down and then gently pushed the donuts in front of me. “Eat something while we talk,” she’d said. I’d nearly cried with gratitude. It was a Saturday, and I hadn’t eaten since I’d swiped something from the school cafeteria the day before. She watched me with a soft smile on her face while I ate, and I’d been astounded that this woman who I’d just met seemed to know what I needed in the way a mother would know what her child needed just from a glance.
Neither of my birth parents had ever met my needs the way she had.
“What’s wrong?” Ima asked, snapping me back from my memories. “You look stressed.”
“I’m okay, Ima,” I said. “It’s a long story and I’d rather not get into it before we go to Adrian’s. I want to celebrate with Leo and Sophia.”
She rubbed my biceps again before dropping her hands. “You’ll come back here and talk to us after?”
“I promise, I will.”
She smiled, satisfied enough to let it go when Mom came out of their bedroom, her long, blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and her dress the signature bright pink that matched most of her wardrobe.
“Are we supposed to be acting surprised that he knocked her up? Because color me not surprised,” she said to Ima before noticing me. “Hey, Jace,” she said, smiling broadly at the sight of me.
I came over to see them every couple of weeks at least, and it was always nice to see how happy they were when I did. I’d been young when my birth mom died, and my father had barely even noticed my comings and goings since he was usually too high to be aware of his surroundings. Negligent parenting would be a generous term for what he did.
“Hi, Mom.” I stepped forward to hug her.
While Ima’s hugs were gentle, hugging Mom felt more like being momentarily trapped in her love. She’d never been overly affectionate with words, but I knew how much she loved me from the way she gripped me whenever she hugged.
Ima was the one who’d brought me home on Christmas Eve a few weeks after meeting me, right after I told her that both of my parents had died of overdoses. She hadn’t wanted me to be alone for the holidays and insisted that her wife would be okay with me joining them for a few days. I had no idea if she was right or not, but I’d trusted her. I’d waited in the hallway of this condo building while Ima talked to Mom, and a few minutes later, she welcomed me inside. Mom’s willingness to do anything for Ima, even take in a strange teenager off the streets, made me feel like I understood her to her core. She loved hard and selflessly, andher playful, joking way of approaching life had made me relax around her and breathe easy in a way I’d never done before.
“What’s wrong with him?” she asked Ima, noticing my stress as well.
I chuckled and let go of her. “You can both relax, I’m fine. Let’s go before Leo comes over here to round us up. He sent me five texts in the last hour, and he was not pleased when I told him I was stopping here first.”
Adrian and Sutton lived across the hall, and I wouldn’t have put it past Leo to barge in any minute and demand we follow him for the festivities.
Mom shook her head. “I liked it better when he was a fuckboy. Leo in love is little extra for my taste.”
Ima took Mom’s hand as we all walked toward the door. “I think it’s sweet how obsessed he is with her.”
“I like seeing him like this too. It’s entertaining,” I said as we walked across the hall to Adrian and Sutton’s.
