Page 101 of Run
“But that means …” my mom trails off. “Why didn’t she stay in foster care?”
“She said the house with Axel and Lena was her home. And she missed it.”
Mom shakes her head and looks off into the distance. “All the shit that poor girl went through. And you said she had an accident?”
“Uh, yeah. She was hit by a truck.”
My mom gasps and throws her hands over her mouth. “No!”
“I know. Crazy, right? But, Mom, when I tell you she is so resilient … She couldn’t walk at first, but now she’s almost walking on her own again. She’s absolutely amazing.”
Mom’s eyes bore into mine, and then she gives a wry smile. “You’ve always cared deeply for her.”
I grin.
“And, so, you guys are together?”
“As far as I’m concerned, yeah. We are definitely together. And I don’t ever want to be apart from her again.”
Mom pats my hand. “Well, I guess what’s meant to be, has a way of working itself out.”
I mull that over. “Yeah, I guess it does. I just wish we hadn’t lost so much time.”
Mom’s face falls, then she recovers. “It wasn’t wasted, honey. It was time that was needed for you to both grow.”
“Maybe.” I push off the picnic bench. “It’ll only take me a few minutes to mow this postage stamp of a yard you have, and then I thought we could go get sandwiches at DiBella’s?” She nods as she stands and I gesture toward the house. “Go inside before you freeze out here. I’ll be quick.”
Before I step away, Mom speaks up again. “Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
She hugs her arms around herself. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
She looks at the ground and then up at me. “Just for everything the both of you went through, and for losing all that time together.”
“It’s not your fault.”
A sad look flutters across her face. “I just wish I knew back then what I know now. And everyone could have been spared any extra grief.”
I consider that for a moment, then pull my work gloves from my pockets. “We’re happy now, Mom. And I’m really hoping we’ll stay that way. That’s all that matters, right?”
“Right.” She turns and starts walking toward the house, and I swear I watch her wipe away a tear from her face.
CHAPTER 34
ETHAN
Ipicked Ari up from PT after leaving my mom’s house and on the way home asked what she wanted for dinner, telling her I would make her anything. She insisted we make dinner together, saying she couldn’t just sit by while I waited on her, despite the fact that I said I wanted to do it for her. That led to a little spat.
Then, when we got home, she wanted to shower since she was cold and damp and smelled like chlorine from the therapy pool, and I tried to help her—not because I’m a perv but because she has to step into and out of the tub to use the shower at my house, and I didn’t want her to slip. And that led to another little rift.
I think, possibly, we are over it now. Maybe …
We settled on make-your-own pizzas and, of course, we had to turn it into a competition. Now, Ari and I sit across fromeach other at the kitchen island with a baking sheet standing up between two cans of soup as a divider so we can’t see what the other is making. We rolled out the dough together and we each greased and flowered our baking sheets, but because everything Ari touches turns to gold and everything I touch turns to shit, her dough stuck perfectly to the edges of the pan while mine has been slowly creeping inward on itself, and now I have a glob of dough in the shape of a hot dog bun that I’ve spread sauce on and sprinkled cheese on and am now attempting to arrange toppings to make it look like something spectacular and not a giant wiener.
Which gives me an idea.
