Page 98 of Before We Fell

It’d been cute. For ten minutes alone, she’d talked about football, her lack of knowledge, what would my dad think of her not knowing a single darn thing in regard to the game, only caring about the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her Amanda had never cared either, but that didn’t mean she didn’t always choose the team opposite the one my dad cheered for, just to get under his skin. Their banter had sometimes shaken the foundation of their original farmhouse.

No way was I putting that kind of pressure on her. Plus, I never knew if I should talk about Amanda around Riley, or should I not? She’d enjoyed the night I showed her pictures of her mom, but other times, it made her more sullen, more withdrawn.

The day was going to be hard enough without her parents there, I didn’t want to make it worse.

But would it make it better?

This was the edge I walked every day with Riley and the fact I still couldn’t figure out drove me crazy.

“Well I want them to like me,” she huffed, all cute and wiggly, like she didn’t know how to stand still, or be herself.

Which was the most ridiculous part of all. My parents already knew her. They already liked her. It’s not like they hadn’t seen her at school functions, or had months now of Riley talking about how much shelovedher teacher Miss Frazier.

“Come on.” I guided her toward the door. “Everything will be good. I promise.”

“Except for the whole miserable part of the day you mentioned when you invited me.”

Odd. I hadn’t even thought of that. Maybe Riley winning the greatest hair fiasco of the year award so early in the morning distracted me. More likely, it was the woman next to me who helped fill my life with peace and something better to focus on than our misery. “Other than that, it will be good.”

I agreed and she laughed in response.

We barely stepped onto the front wooden porch when my mom was there, pulling back the door and shoving a hand to the screen door.

“Hello!” she cried. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Thirty-One

Lauren

“So,I know it’s been a long day…”

Noah squeezes my hand in the truck. “A good day.”

I’d been worried about Thanksgiving since the day he’d asked me to go with them. The last thing I thought would be enjoyable for anyone was if it had gone the way Noah originally described. To my surprise though, Keith and Krystal had not only welcomed me into their lives, there’d been very few moments of sadness and the sense of loss. I didn’t know if they’d been acting for Riley’s sake, or if it was a sign of them healing, but even Riley had seemed to enjoy the day.

More so, they’d made me feel like part of the family from the moment Krystal hugged me on their front porch when we arrived.

I grinned at him even though the cab was dark and he probably couldn’t see much besides my white teeth. “A great day. But if you and Riley are up for something, I have a tradition on Thanksgiving.”

“What is it?” Riley asked from the back seat. She’d been a sweetheart all day. Gone was the epic outburst that had flown my heart into hyperdrive this morning and in its place was a little girl who had been more carefree than ever before.

In fact, she’d been like that since Halloween. For almost a full month, we’d had glimpses of the girl Riley used to be. She still had moments of sadness, a craft I had the kids do of what they were thankful for this year had brought her to tears. But she’d pushed through it, pushed her lips out and ended up drawing a beautiful picture of Noah’s house.

The picture had been hanging on his fridge ever since. One night, he’d told me he planned on framing it. That the first year without her parents, she was thankful for him, and his home.

It had been adorable, and more than once he’d caught me brushing my fingers over the photo, the two of them outside the front of it, holding hands.

God, how did I get so lucky to fall in love with such an incredible man?

We were on our way to my house, where Noah and I had talked about dropping me off for the night. It would have been our first night spent alone in weeks, but I had thought after the day I knew would be hard for his family, that he and Riley could use some time alone.

Surprisingly, she didn’t seem like she needed it. Perhaps she was still on a sugar rush from the four pieces of pie she inhaled in between giving Keith grief over his football team losing.

Or perhaps, she really was okay. Considering she didn’t seem like she needed a break from me, I was taking my shot.

I shifted in my seat in the truck and looked to her in the back. “Well, after Thanksgiving dinner, I always decorate for Christmas.”

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