Page 62 of Heal For Me

My therapist has compared Payson to a project, but I shut that down quickly. Payson is not a broken-down house that needed to be restored. If anything, she is a diamond in the rough that needed the right environment and care to shine.

It’s hours later, I’m pissed because Payson never called, so when Mum pulls in, I groan internally. I am in no mood to entertain. I haven’t showered yet because I’ve been distracted and enjoying the weather, trying to not just stare at my phone all afternoon. Mum’s going to be miffed at me, but we have over an hour before it’s even remotely close to teatime, so it’s not like I won’t be ready.

Dad steps out of the house and throws a towel over his shoulder. He must have been doing the dishes because the front of his shirt is wet. He places his hands on his hips, but the huge smile on his face gets me. It could be because Mum is home but seems odd he’s that happy when she’s only been gone a few hours. I don’t know anyone that loves each other as much as they do, but still. He’s nearly vibrating with excitement.

Two other doors besides Mum’s open, and I narrow my eyes. “Did she pick up the tea guests or something?”

“Or something,” Dad singsongs.

What the fuck is happening? But the moment a tanned leg steps out of Mum’s Beemer, my entire body stills and my heart fucking stops. The world moves in slow motion as I scramble to my feet and move to the edge of the steps. A blond dog jumps out and bounds right for me, barking happily.

Like a kid on Christmas who got a gift they weren’t expecting, I look to my dad for answers.

His eyes sparkle with moisture. “Go get your girl, son.”

27

Payson

Ash’s mom, or mum as he says, is as sweet as I would expect from the few phone conversations we have had.

She squeezes me like I’m a long-lost friend, or like a mom would squeeze a daughter after going a long time without seeing her. It feels amazing being hugged with so much love. I try and not let the emotion build, but when she pulls away and I see her tears falling freely, my dam breaks and a single tear drops down my cheek.

“I’m sorry.” I laugh, feeling awkward, and try to wipe them as quick as I can, but her dainty hands beat me too it.

“Nonsense. Look at the state of me.” We suck in a breath, blow it back out, and smile. “Even more beautiful than I remember. And your eyes, goodness me.”

She’s so much more British than Ash.

Her eyes flick behind me, and she beams. “You must be Nelly.”

That nickname is so cute and sounds even cuter with her accent.

I let go of her, and she embraces Janelle the same way she did me. To no surprise, Janelle was already crying. Various people around baggage claim pretend not to look at the scene we are causing.

Ash doesn’t look like his mom, but there are definitely similarities. Not height, though, that’s for sure. She’s somewhere between my and Janelle’s height, and I know Ash is similar to his dad, but you can tell she is his mom for sure. Maybe because she’s ridiculously pretty. Ash said his parents are probably older than I would think, but I can’t image her being over fifty. I suppose with having a daughter who is thirty-six—or around there—she probably is, but she’s hardly sporting any wrinkles, her blonde hair is thick, shiny, and similar in color to Janelle’s. Deep-brown eyes, so warm and inviting and now glossy with moisture, flick between me and Janelle.

“You girls are going to flip London upside down.”

I’m not sure what she means by that, but it makes Janelle grin.

“Well, I am hoping to fall in love while we’re here, so, here’s hoping!”

Ash’s mom lets out the daintiest laugh that could compare to a violin, I think. “I will keep my fingers crossed for you.”

The bags take forever to arrive, but I hardly notice since Beverly—she told us to call her that or mum, but I’m not ready for that just yet—has kept us entertained with various stories of her kids growing up. It started with her telling us how on the first flight after all the kids were born, and how Ash peed himself on the plane and had to walk around the airport half naked because they had to check their bags due to lack of room. It’s comical to imagine a young Ash, she said he was around five, walking around pants-less in the airport. Now, he would have women flocking to him after seeing what is hidden behind his pants, and that thought makes me stabby, but a little Ash is hilarious, and I can’t wait to tease him. She also told us about a time when Henry fell asleep by their pool with a bowl of cereal and, according to her, had the tan line of the bowl for the rest of summer, so he refused to walk around shirtless. That was just two summers ago though, which I thought was the funniest part. I’ve not met Ash’s brother, but he sounds like a less broody Ash.

His sister, Grace, sounds lovely, and Beverly shared no embarrassing stories about her. She did say how she was born to be a mom and was always following her around and caring for her little brothers. I guess it makes sense why she has three kids now, I think I remember Ash saying that anyway.

The UK is like a different world compared to the US, at least Bayshore. I wasn’t aware London has more people than New York, but apparently so, and once we step off the tube, as Beverly called it, I see just how true that is. Janelle and I attempt to follow her through the crowd of people, shoving our way through the same way they are shoving, to hopefully catch the subway.

The tunnels are dingy, but the people crowding them look dressed for a gala of some kind. Suits of all shades, dresses, and skirts. Women in heels, which I have no clue how they are managing all this in heels, but go them. I guess if it’s something you do every day, you get used to it. And since their faces are shoved in phones and not paying any attention to where they are heading, unlike me and Janelle who are scanning around like prairie dogs looking for danger, I’d say they have done this a time or two. Todd, on the other hand, seems to thrive in this environment. He slept most of the flight, and you can tell because his tail hasn’t stopped moving—his way of telling me he’s ready to play.

Ash’s mom is speedy. I don’t know how she is moving so fast, but I’m nearly running to keep up with her walking, not to mention my bag is about as big as me and I have a dog. I feel awful for Janelle lugging two bags as big as mine, yet she’s still ahead of me. I could blame my leg size, but I’m going to blame the surgery on this one. My knee is tweaking, but it’s not painful, more of a pulling. Maybe I should have put my brace on before we left the airport.

After scanning our tickets, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, literally. We break out of the tunnels and the various scents of cologne and perfume, also sweat, but that could be me, disperse, and in its place is . . . coffee, I think? Mixed with air pollution. Like most cities.

There are so many things to look at, but my eyes can’t find one thing to land on.

---