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He opens his truck door, giving me a quick kiss before lifting me inside.
We drive down the hill, back to town, with the windows down and my hair blowing in the air. When I hear the familiar beat of “On My Mind” playing on the radio, my eyes open wide, and I turn to Matthew in shock. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing my own songs on the radio.
Matthew yells out in celebration as he turns the radio up loud.
I drop my head back on the rest behind me as I let the moment completely wash over me. My eyes start to fill with tears that I let slide down my face with no hesitation.
All of my dreams have finally come true after last night, and for the first time, I don’t want to hide the emotions running through me.
This, right here, is my moment, and I want to ingrain it in my memory to remember for the rest of my life.
Matthew grabs my hand, and it makes everything that much better.
“I’m so unbelievably proud of you,” he says.
I just look at him and smile so big that my cheeks start to hurt. He takes his thumb and wipes the tears flowing down my cheeks.
“They’re happy tears,” I choke out.
His eyes start to well with tears, but he blinks them away. “Happy tears are the best.”
I grin as we pull into town and turn down to where my mom’s house is. He parks, and we both hop out of the truck. He meets me on my side and takes a minute to kiss me before grabbing my hand and heading toward my childhood home.
“I have to get some things before my lessons start today, so I won’t stay long. I just want to say hello to your mom,” Matthew says.
“Okay. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”
I unlock the door and enter our house, only to be stopped short when I notice our kitchen is covered in what looks like the contents of our entire pantry. I raise my eyebrows as I turn to Matthew in question, then look back to the kitchen.
“Mom?” I yell out.
“Down here,” she says, sounding like she’s in the kitchen.
I walk to where I can hear her and see that she’s taking things out of the pantry and putting them back in, but in a way that makes no sense. The cans are all on the floor of the pantry while the bags and extra stuff that sat on the floor are eye-level.
“What are you working on?” I ask gingerly.
“Alana says these shelves need to be rearranged, so here I am, just doing my job,” she says, never looking up to me.
Matthew mouths to me,Alana?
I shrug like I have no clue why she’s saying her name. She’s her boss at the market, but I’m not sure what’s going on and I know she didn’t tell my mom to do anything at her home.
I lean down to where she’s sitting. “But, Mom, this is your home, not work.”
She turns her head and glares at me. “What are you talking about? Obviously, this isn’t my home.” She motions to all of the food items around her. “I’m at work. Now, don’t bother me. I have to get this stuff done before we open.”
I glance at my watch, noticing it’s eight a.m. When I see just how much stuff she’s taken out of the pantry and how much is put back in at all different locations, I tilt my head in question. “Mom, how long have you been working on this?”
She stops and thinks. “Not sure. I’m working the night shift, and it’s almost over, so six, seven hours?” She acts like she’s guessing, then gets right back to work.
Matthew’s eyes widen as we stare at each other, not sure what to do.
Has she been doing this since I left?
I place my hand on her arm, motioning to move her. “Mom, let’s get you up.”
“Don’t touch me!” she snaps, making me jump back.
