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“Emily, look who I found in the living room crawling all over Uncle Mickey? Oh hey, Jonathan, how are you?”
What the Hell? My mom knows him? All these years, and my family has been around the only guy I have ever truly loved on a regular basis, and I had no idea?
“Hey, Ms. Jacobs. I’m good. How about yourself?”
“I’m great now that my girls are here in Oregon, where they belong! Hey Jonathan, do you think you could help me unload my car and bring in the goodies I made for you guys?”
“Sure thing. I’ll go right now, is the car open?”
“It is, but I’ll go with you. I just have to get this little monster off of me first.”
While my mom detaches Ireland from her back Jonathan just gives me a weak smile and leaves the room. My mom gives me an odd look. That ‘I’m your mom and I know everything’ look and follows after him.
I’m outside with the all the other ladies when my mom comes out onto the back deck. She can tell I’m hiding. I love football and would usually be in there watching the game with my brother. But with my new friend, Jonathan, and his old friend, Courtney, in the same room, I think I’ll pass this time.
My mom comes over and gives me a hug with a little extra squeeze and says, “You all good, Emmers?”
“I’m good, mom. How are you?”
“Nice try girly, but I know what I saw when I interrupted you in that kitchen. Ireland is fine with Mickey and everybody inside. Why don’t you and I go chat?”
As she releases me from my hug, she puts her arm through mine and starts walking me off the back deck and to a little bench at the rear of the yard. It faces away from the house, but towards the beautiful view of Mt. Hood. She knows that nobody can hear us out here and there is privacy. She’s so going to get me to talk. I always tell her everything in the end anyway, but I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about this.
“It wasn’t anything mom, nothing worth talking about.”
“Well, by the look on your face when I walked in, and his while he helped me bring the food in, I would say there was a whole lot more than just nothing going on.”
Moms . . . how do they know everything? I think it’s a gift and a curse but nonetheless their ability to know all is a real thing!
“Oh mom, it’s a long story.”
“I’m not going anywhere, sugar, and I am very interested in knowing how there is a long story about you and Jonathan when you just met.”
“We didn’t just meet, mom,” I sigh before continuing. “Remember when I told you the story about my trip to San Clemente and the whirlwind romance I had, but it was the week after I found out I was pregnant, so I walked away?”
“Emily, no . . . It can’t be . . . Jonathan is . . . he’s . . . he’s your Georgia, and you’re his Gracie?”
As the tears start to fall, my mom puts her arm around me and just lets me cry.
“Well, it sounds like you remember that story.”
“Of course I do, you were devastated. You fell in love with him and if I remember correctly, he was head over heels in love with you.”
“Mom, there was never anybody before him or after him that has even compared. I was so scared and I ruined everything before it even got going.”
“Honey, he was leaving to go overseas, and you were scared and confused about what your future held. You did what you thought you had to do.”
“I know, but still. There are so many ‘what ifs’ going through my mind. Seeing him play with Ireland earlier nearly killed me. She just instantly took to him and he’s so good with her. Who knows if he would have wanted me back then if I had told him, but if he had . . . mom, Ireland’s life would be so much better having him in it.”
“And yours?”
“And mine. He told me today that he wanted to get to know me again. That he wanted to get to know Ireland. That he wanted us to try again.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him I didn’t know if I could be more than friends with everything I had going on. And that Ireland comes first. He said if that was all I could give him, he would take it. But he agreed to one week before and it wasn’t enough for him. What if he can’t just be friends?”
“Do you still feel the same after all this time?”
