Chapter 25 Remedy For A Heavy Heart
REMEDY FOR A HEAVY HEART
The curtains in the living room slide open as the truck idles outside the front of our house. Andy and Shyanne grab their sleep-over bags and climb out of the truck, and I dare a peek at Laura.
“Sorry for waking you up.” I shoot her a small smile that feels fragile. “Thanks for coming for us.”
“Hey, no problem.” She’s so sweet. “You can call us anytime.”
I touch Tate’s shoulder before I exit the truck. His eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “Remember when I told you that you deserve the best?” He doesn’t speak, so I do. “Laura’s it. She’s the best.”
With that, I slide from the back seat and let the door fall closed behind me. Tate doesn’t pull away from the curb until the front door is closed behind us. Mom and Dad meet us in the entrance. They’re both in matching plaid pyjamas, but where Mom is in slippers Dad’s feet are bare.
“Was that Tate?” Dad asks.
“Yeah.” I kick off my shoes, tucking them in the closet. Andy and Shyanne follow my lead and tuck theirs inside the closet as well. “He picked us up from the party.”
“I thought Shyanne was driving.” Mom’s eyes drift between us.
I shrug. “Plans changed.”
I can see by the way both Mom and Dad eye us that they know exactly why our plans changed. Dad nods, digesting the reality that I’m growing up far too fast for him. Mom says, “The back yard is all ready for you girls. There’s a heap of treats on the counter in the kitchen.
She pats Dad’s chest. “I’m glad you girls made it home safely. We’re going to hit the sac, but we’ll leave the back door open for you girls.”
“Thank you,” Andy and Shyanne say together.
Mom’s eyes meet mine halfway up the stairs. She winks at me, mouthing, “Love you.”
I smile at her even though I still feel fragile. “Love you too.”
“Your dad is seriously the best.” Andy flicks the strand of twinkly lights Dad hung inside the tent. He hung more outside, to light our way at night. And to make it magical for us while he can still make life magical.
Dad says that a lot. That we have to take the magic where we can, because the older we get, the harder it is to find.
Shyanne pulls a six pack of coolers from her overnight bag, giving them a little shake as she wiggles her hips where she sits. “I brought treats, too.” She smirks. “Thank you big sister.”
Andy hoots, reaching for one. She tosses it to me before grabbing one for herself. She takes a big swig and reaches for the massive bowl we’ve filled with chips in the center of a pile of blankets and pillows.
She pops another chip into her mouth, her eyes sliding from Shyanne’s to me. “What was that with Tate?”
I sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“I think he’s hot for you.”
My mouth drops and I gasp, “Shy! No, he isn’t. He’s my boyfriend’s big brother.”
“Who comes when you call him? Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“My family is close to his. We hang out together all the time.” I nibble a chip. “Tate is like a brother to me, of course, he came.”
“If you say so.” Shyanne takes a drink.
“He has Laura, and she’s the greatest.” I look down into my drink. “I think they’re even going to move in together.”
Andy leans into a pillow. “Have you heard from Holt?”
“We text.”
“Micha said some big wig was watching today.”
Something pierces my chest. Hurt, maybe. “He talked to Micha?”
“They were texting when we were at Kevin’s.”
“Oh.”
Andy straightens. “He was going for dinner with the guys, so it was a short conversation.”
There’s a beat of silence. It’s heavy enough to suffocate us all before I ask my friends, “Do you think I’m stupid?”
Shyanne frowns. “Why would we think that?”
“Because I love him.”
“Babe, any girl would love Holt.”
“Yeah, but he’s going to make it, you know…”
Shyanne nods. “Yeah, he’s going to make it. But you’re going to be by his side the whole way to the top.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s Holt. And he loves you.”
It doesn’t make me feel better.
I should never have given air to that ember of hurt I’ve been feeling at coming second to hockey when Holt always comes first for me. Now, it’s only going to grow.
I close the front door as Shyanne and Andy climb into her sister’s car. They’ll go grab Shy’s car from Kevin’s where she left it the night before. As for me, I have a headache and my heart feels a little heavy. A little sore.
I think I woke up a little hung over, but Mom made us her homemade waffles for breakfast, so that helped that. At least a little.
As I enter the kitchen, Mom slides a glass of orange juice and a Tylenol across the counter. She doesn’t bother to fight her smirk as she orders, “Take this.”
I don’t bother to pretend I don’t need it.
“I’m proud of you for making sure you got home safely.” Mom stretches plastic wrap over the stack of leftover waffles. “But I want you to know that you can call me and Dad, too.”
“I know.”
“We know you’re getting older, Faye. We know you’re going to drink.”
“I know.”
“We just want you to know that we’re here. No matter how old or what kind of pickle you end up in. We’re always going to be here for you.”
I round the island and step into Mom’s hug. “Thank you.”
I really needed a hug from my mom. I didn’t realize quite how much until this moment.
As though sensing that, Mom holds me tighter. She strokes my hair and rubs my back and doesn’t let go until I make that move first. When I do, assessing brown eyes the color of golden honey land on me.
I got Mom’s eyes.
“How about we close the curtains and watch rom coms all day long? We can gorge on the trashy snacks you girls didn’t eat last night until we feel like we’re going to vomit, and then we’ll order Chinese food?”
“You’re the best mom in the whole world.” Seriously, she is, though.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
I bob my head, trying hard not to cry.