Page 27 of Love Notes & Lifelines
“She’s been in and out, but mostly happy. I hope you get a few moments with her.”
Part of me wishes Lucía wouldn’t share her optimism, because it only hurts more when it doesn’t happen.
“That’s great. I’m happy to hear it.”
I sign in, then walk down the halls that smell of death. Morbid but true.
It’s quiet when I enter my mom’s room. Eighties hits are playing in the background and when I find her, her foot is tapping to the rhythm her mind might not remember, but her body will never forget.
“Laura? Are you awake?”
Her lashes flutter open, and she smiles. “Now why are you calling me Laura? Are you too cool to call me Mom?”
My entire body shakes with emotions I’ve learned to keep sheltered because I never know if she’ll be able to handle them.
“Oh, baby. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
I run to her and drop my face into her chest where she clings to me.
“Mom. I—I’ve missed you.”
“Now college can’t be that bad.” And just like that, my heart breaks into a million tiny pieces. It’s becoming harder to recover from these heartaches, but this time, my heart has broken for the last time. There’s no putting me back together again.
“It’s not, Mom. It’s great, actually. I’m very happy. I met a guy.”
Her eyes light up at this news. I never shared it with her when I was in college. She’d want to meet him, and it would have been a whole thing, and now I’m sad I’ll never get that experience with her.
“Is that right? Tell me about him.”
So I tell her about Beck, minus his nieces and his own drama. I tell her the fantasy she always wanted. The one where the girl got the guy and happily ever after was forever.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BECK
“Stella?”I yell like a bad rendition of an old action movie. Daisie Dog darts past me, knocking over Emmy and almost taking out my legs. “Dang it, Daisie. Calm the fuck down.” The damn dog runs straight for Stella’s desk.
I’m holding the elevator open with my foot while I wait for Emmy to shuffle out in front of me. Tuesdays and Thursdays are her favorite days right now because she gets to see the one person who has been able to pull a smile from her—Stella.
And speaking of the devil, Stella’s beautiful face pokes around the corner as though she’s playing peek-a-boo, Daisie Dog sitting like a lady at her side. Traitor.
I shake my head when Ruby squeals and reaches for Stella who is, in fact, playing peek-a-boo.
Has she always had a slight hint of red in her light brown hair? She stares at me with those amber orbs that tell a million stories and make you believe in the happy ending. I stand immobile and mute.
Ruby punches me in the face with the toy phone she has in her hand, and I almost drop her but recover quickly—thank God. At least she broke my trance and not my nose.
One would think that after two weeks with little to no sleep, I’d be somewhat adapted to life with kids. But I’m not. Not by a long shot.
Emmy sprints into Stella’s waiting arms and Ruby wiggles so much I finally give up on the cringe factor of her crawling on this floor.
Note to self—ask the cleaning crew to bleach the floors every day.
“Thank you for doing this,” I say. Her reaction is guarded as she nods but keeps a soft smile on her face for the girls. “Has the temp I hired been able to take over most of your responsibilities when they’re here?”
She looks at me briefly and nods again. Has she always been this shy? Not at the party where we shared a kiss, but in the office? I vaguely remember how odd I found it that she was babbling the day I became an uncle-daddy, but I can’t recall a single word from that day, or even what her voice sounds like at a normal volume.
Pulling out my phone, I leave myself a note.Ask about sounds. Does lack of sleep make you forget random shit?
