32. Lucy
Lucy
“I’m going to stop by the ladies’ room for a touch-up,” Leo’s mom, Cora, says. She looks at Zoey and me. “Would you girls care to join me?”
I’m heartened that she’s including me. His mom and sister have been so kind and welcoming. Just like Leo.
“Sure, I’d love to,” I say.
I start to follow Zoey and Cora as they walk off, but I turn to Leo. “Will you be okay here alone?”
The ballroom is even more crowded now.
His smile is warm. “Yeah. I just saw Nick and Poppy walk in, so I’ll go say hi to them. Have fun. And don’t let my sister spray perfume around an open flame.”
I laugh as I walk off to the ladies’ room. When we walk in, my eyes go wide. It looks more like a fitting room at a designer clothing store than a public restroom.
The walls are covered in pretty striped wallpaper. There’s a plush loveseat in the corner. The floor and sink look like they’re made of the same expensive marble as the lobby.
I glance around when I don’t see any actual toilet stalls, confused. But then I see another massive door and a sign above it with the word toilettes written in cursive. This place is so fancy that the restroom is two separate areas.
Cora sets her clutch on the sink and pulls out mascara, lipstick, and a Q-tip.
I stand back and watch as Zoey helps her mom with her eye makeup.
I smile at the resemblance between them.
They both have the same long, dark, chocolate brown hair, deep brown eyes with golden flecks, and full lips.
They’re both really tall too. They must be like five-eight or five-nine.
Cora turns to me. “My eyelashes don’t look like spiders, do they?”
Zoey chuckles. “Mom, it looks good. Thick lashes are in.”
“She’s right. You look amazing,” I say.
Cora smiles like she’s relieved.
“You’re both really beautiful,” I say. I make a flustered noise. “Sorry, I hope that’s okay to say. I just have always thought it’s really special when mothers and daughters share a strong resemblance.”
Cora beams at me. “Oh, Lucy, honey. You never have to apologize for giving a compliment like that.” She looks at Zoey and pats her hand. “I’m thrilled that you think I look anything like my gorgeous daughter. At my age, it’s a joy to be told I look like a twenty-five-year-old.”
Zoey chuckles. “You always look amazing, Mom.”
I take a second to clean up my makeup in the mirror.
“Do you and your mom look alike too?” Cora asks.
“Yeah, we did. She had the same red hair as me.”
Cora's smile fades, seeming to pick up on my use of the past tense when talking about my mom. “Oh, honey, does that mean…”
I nod. “She passed away a couple of years ago. My dad passed a couple of years before that.”
Cora looks stricken. “Oh, honey. I am so sorry.”
She pulls me into a hug.
When she lets me go, I notice Zoey is looking at me, her expression pained. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I didn’t know.”
I nod, appreciating her sympathy.
“Does Leo know?” Zoey asks.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “He’s been such a great friend. Really supportive and kind.”
Cora’s eyes are teary as she nods. She grabs my hand. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. Oh, my dear.”
“It’s been hard. I kind of lost faith in people after I lost my parents. But then I met Leo, and he’s helped me out so much. He helped me get my dog back. He helped me find a job. And I still can’t believe he offered to let me stay in his house.”
The second I say all that, I start to feel nervous.
Leo probably didn’t tell his mom and sister about the way I’ve struggled.
He’s really respectful of my privacy and wouldn’t go around telling people what I’ve been through.
But now that they know…will his mom and sister think I’m using him?
Will they think I’m an opportunist? They only know me as Leo’s new friend, and here I am, telling them all the things he’s done for me.
But they don’t seem the least bit fazed. They look proud, actually.
Cora smiles, her eyes misty. “That’s my Leo. Always so sweet and generous and helpful.”
Zoey nods along.
Cora grabs a tissue from the box on the sink and dabs at her eyes.
“You know, when he was little, probably about five or six years old, I was driving him to school. We stopped at a traffic light, and he noticed a homeless man sitting on the corner with a sign. He couldn’t read yet, so he said, ‘Mom, what does that man’s sign say?
’ I told him it said, ‘Hungry. Anything helps.’ And he said… ”
She trails off, her mouth wobbly. Like remembering this moment is making her emotional.
She clears he throat. “He said, ‘Mom, if he’s hungry, we need to give him food.’ But I didn’t have any food on me, and I told him that.
Do you know he did? He unzipped his backpack and pulled out his little lunchbox.
He took out all the food and snacks he packed for school that day.
He said, ‘I wanna give that man my lunch and all my snacks.’”
I rest my hand on my chest, blown away by the generosity of Leo at such a young age.
“Oh my gosh. That is precious,” I say.
Cora beams proudly as she dabs at her eyes.
“Even when I told him that if he gave away his food, he wouldn’t have anything to eat at school, he said he didn’t care.
He was sad that man was hungry and wanted to help him.
So I rolled down my window and asked the man if it would be okay for my son to give him his lunch and snacks.
He was so kind and grateful. I remember how happy Leo looked when he saw him. I’ll remember his smile forever.”
My heart swells in my chest picturing Leo as a little kid wanting to help someone he didn’t even know.
“He has such a pure soul. He always has,” Cora says.
I grab her hand. “I think that shows what a wonderful mother you are. You raised him to be like that.”
Emotion flashes in her eyes. “That’s such a kind thing to say, Lucy. Thank you.”
She turns back to her reflection in the mirror. “Now look at my mascara. My eyes look like spiders now.”
We all chuckle as we sniffle. Zoey and I help fix her makeup, then we walk back out into the ballroom.