“You stinker!” says Preethi.
She’s right; Joey is a stinker. But the fact is, we’re all smiling now.
Including Ms. Waters. “I didn’t think I’d ever love again. But the good thing about being human is that we’re survivors. We can make it through almost anything, even the most painful things. When it was time, my heart opened up again, like a doorway. And Ed—my fiancé—walked right on through.At first, I was afraid to love him. Soon I became afraidnotto love him.”
“Aww,” sighs Lilliam.
Ms. Waters’s eyes glisten. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going to happen to us in the future. He could die. I could. Maybe he’ll grow to love someone else. Maybe I will. But right now I’m just grateful for getting a second chance. I love him more than anything. He loves me more than anything. And we’re going to try to keep doing that for as long as we can.”
Her phone alarm rings again. The session is over. Still, none of us make a move to leave.
“What about the essay?” Preethi asks.
Joey shoots her a look that’s equal parts adoration andCome on, why would you remind her about that?!
Ms. Waters chuckles to herself. “I think we can all agree that writing an essay right now would be overkill. Let’s skip it.”
“Yes,” hisses Joey.
Ms. Waters puts her phone into her bag. The desk is clean now. After we leave this room, it’ll be like we were never here.
“I don’t have a miracle solution for any of you,” says Ms. Waters. “What you’re going through is hard. It hurts because it’s supposed to. All you can do is feel your feelings, give yourself some grace, and try to do the right thing. Just know this pain won’t last forever. You will absolutely come out the other side, and you’ll be different. You’ll get to know the new you. Even love them. You’ll be stronger in the broken places.”
Finally she stands, offering us a broad smile. “Our time is up. I know that none of you want to come back next week—”
Before she can finish, I raise my hand. “That’s not true.”
Ms. Waters slowly beams at me. “That so?”
I shrug. “What else am I supposed to do? Talk to my friends at school about this stuff? They all have freakishly functional parents.”
“Let’s not judge,” says Ms. Waters.
“Oh, but I am judging.”
Ms. Waters laughs. Everyone’s looking at me with surprise. But I think they might be relieved, too.
Lilliam rolls her eyes but smiles. “I’ll be here, too,” she says.
“Me three!” says Preethi.
“Me five!” says Joey, skipping right over four.
We all stare at Gray. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles with a smirk. “This wasn’t as useless as I thought it would be.”
Ms. Waters looks like she might cry. “You’re sure?”
“Like Isabel said,” says Gray. “I never met a more screwed-up group of people. We’re definitely not cured yet.”
Ms. Waters eyes him. “I already told you, you don’t need curing. Because there’s absolutely—”
“Nothing wrong with us,” Gray says.
Two Months Later
There are already about a hundred wedding guests filling the reception tent by the time Lilliam, Preethi, Joey, and I walk into it. Ms. Waters’s wedding ceremony was beautiful. And mind-bending. To think, my own parents’ wedding had probably been just as joyous. They had no idea how things would turn out. No one can see the end from the beginning.
I decide to forget about all that for now and just enjoy the beauty.
