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“And did you?”
He kisses my forehead. “What do you think?”
Chapter 22
I park behind Cat’s car and step out onto the plush green lawn of Grace Memorial Park. I should have brought some beef jerky and Mountain Dew with me, maybe that would give me the strength to do what I’m about to do.
Step into the lion’s den.
My mother and sister sit quietly on the park bench in front of Tyler’s headstone, their backs to me as I approach them from the sidewalk. Talking with me was Mom’s idea, but meeting at the cemetery was all Cat. Always the one to step in and mediate, Cat claimed that ‘talking in front of Tyler’ would insure that both of us remained civil and, hopefully, that Mom would hold her anger in long enough for me to explain myself.
“Catherine informed me that you and Nathan broke up weeks ago,” Mom says the moment after I say hello. I nod in reply, my mouth suddenly too dry to form words. Cat stands up and motions for me to take her place on the bench.
As much as I do not want to sit down, I do. I glance at Tyler’s graduation photo for strength and his smiling face actually helps a little. I clear my throat. “Yes, Mom. We broke up.”
Mom sits straight, her arms clasped tightly in her lap. A thick layer of makeup covers the dark circles under her eyes, but just because I can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. “Catherine also said you had something to tell me.”
I nod again. “After Tyler died, Nathan wrote a letter to Kris pretending to be me. He said that I didn’t want to see him ever again. Kris thought it was from me and he did what he was told.”
Mom lifts an eyebrow. “Why do you believe this story?”
“Because I saw the letter. He kept it and it was from my same Hello Kitty stationary.” I begin listing all the factual evidence I have to support my claim but then I stop, remembering that this is not a courtroom and I don’t owe any explanations. “Because I love Kris, Mom. And when he says he got that letter, I believe him.”
Mom inhales a deep breath and when she exhales, tears form in her eyes. She glances toward Tyler’s photo, maybe looking for the same strength that I needed from him. “Why would Nathan do that?”
I shrug. “He followed me around like a puppy all those years, remember? I guess he was just that desperate to date me.”
Mom’s lips form a thin line and I flinch on instinct, preparing for whatever outburst she’s about to unleash on me. “Well,” she says as the hint of a smile tugs at her lips. “You were quite the catch back then.”
I smile and shake my head, feeling blood rush into my cheeks.
She takes my hand. “Why did you keep all of these things from me?”
I glance back at Tyler’s photo to suck up some more courage before I reply. “Because you’re never around, Mom. You never call anymore and when I call you I get your voicemail. You need to believe me when I say that I didn’t mean to keep all of this from you. I would never mean to hurt you.”
She pulls me into a hug and apologizes as her tears run down my shoulder. “I know you love him, honey. You always have.”
I pull back and glance at Cat. She gives me wide eyes and a gesture to keep talking. “Do you think you will ever stop hating him?” I ask my mother.
She thinks about it for a moment. “I don’t…hate…him. The past is the past. I want you to be happy. I want the same for Catherine and for your father and me.”
I bite my lip. “That’s kind of cryptic.”
She gives me a sad smile. “I just need some time.”
Cat gives me a thumbs up behind Mom’s back. “So,” Mom says. “Do you have any plans for your birthday tonight?”
“Kris is taking me to dinner.” I feel guilty saying it, but it’s the truth.
Mom looks at my sister. “Do you mind if we come too?”
“Of course,” I tell her. I can only imagine what Kris will say when I call him later with this news, but it’s a start to putting this family back together. It only seems fitting to have this reunion on my birthday.
Later, Kris stands in front of the full-length mirror built into his closet door. He fidgets with his tie, yanking it to the left and then to the right, and then making it a little looser. He runs a hand through his hair and then stares at himself, an unimpressed look on his face.
I finish my hairstyle with one final bobby pin and then walk up behind him, sliding my arms around his waist and nuzzling against his back. “I know you’re worried,” I begin, hoping that I’ll think of something comforting to say before I finish my sentence, “But everything wi—”
“Will be just fine,” Kris finishes for me, turning around and wrapping his arms around me. I hook my hands behind his neck. My eyes close when he kisses me and I inhale the amazing scent of his cologne. We’ve slept in the same bed together for four days, yet I never get tired of his smell.
