“It makes sense.” It’s a pathetic explanation.
Clearly nothing has made much sense for a while, but being close to the doctor treating me is a step in the right direction. I wish I could muster up excitement over Cornell. Even if I can’t remember wanting to be there, it’s an accomplishment to be proud of.
Maybe being there will rouse that spirit.
Siler hands the gift bag to me. “Don’t read the letter now. Wait until you’re on the plane, okay?”
Nestled inside the bright yellow bag, beneath a couple of sheets of tissue paper, is a white jewelry box.
“You didn’t need to buy me anything.” I peek up at him and see him chewing his lip, his face tense.
“But I appreciate it,” I tell him as I search his face for signs that he understands we’re still friends. I know he lied to me, but I’ve always been able to recognize that he cares. I can overlook it… for now.
Inside the box is a gold bracelet with a delicate, unique-looking figure eight chain and an infinity symbol set with a green stone in the center. It’s breathtaking but jarring.
A strong impulse rises inside me to cram it back into the bag and throw it as far from me as I can.
A full-body shiver leaves me stunned.
“Do you want help putting it on?” Siler takes the chain from my hands. When I look down, they’re shaking.
An unsettling sense of doom grabs hold of me.
Why in the hell is this gift of his bracelet freaking me out?
Is this just my mind throwing another weird curveball my way?I’m still searching for words as Siler tenderly takes my hand, effortlessly fastening the clasp of the bracelet around my left wrist. “It looks like it belongs there. Do you like it?”
Numbly nodding at him, I lift my wrist to look closer at the bracelet. “Siler… it’s amazing… it...” I stop myself from telling him it looks too expensive because it would sound unappreciative. “It’s a new good luck charm.”
Feels like anything but…
He laughs at me. “Only if you plan to lose it in a week. If you’re still keeping track, that would be the fifty -third lost lucky item since I’ve known you. Maybe keeping it on and never taking it off will help.”
Not a chance.
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I put the box back in the bag. “Thank you, Siler… for everything, not just the gift. You’ve been so patient with me since I became sick. You even hooked me up with your cousin so I won’t feel alone in New York.”
His hand caresses my wrist, lightly fingering the chain of my new bracelet, interrupting my thoughts. Shaking my head, I focus on the floor at my feet.
“You’re important to me. I just want you to know that.”
He crushes me to his chest. I feel him take a big breath. “Biz, this isn’t a forever goodbye. Right? My first game is in New York. You'll be there. Then we can make holiday plans. I’m going to blow your phone up every day. It’s… we’re still best friends.”
I lean back to look up at him, wiping tears from my cheeks.
“Besides, you’ll need to remember how much you love me after spending some time with Mya. She can be an acquired taste.”
He grimaces while I laugh lightly. That’s not the first mention he’s made about her attitude.
But she’s willing to take me on. She can’t be too terrible. Right?
My stomach dips as the plane takes off. Watching out the window at the patchwork quilt of land before the clouds take over, I marvel at the fact that my mind doesn’t remember flying the half dozen other times that I have, according to my parents.
Remembering the letter Siler put inside the gift bag, I pull it out of my backpack resting under the seat in front of me.
On the front of the card is a cartoon drawing of the two of us. He's holding a basketball, and I have a paintbrush. Affixed to the blank yellow card front, I run my finger over the E. Ahrens signed at the bottom.
I don’t remember drawing it. The realization makes me stifle a sob.
